Mobile Devices - Page 191

A report that comes to us from Ars Technia through CNet states that Apple may finally catch up to Smart Phones from 2007.

I know you are wondering what I am talking about, why the iPhone is miles ahead of the other smartphones right? Well yes and no; the iPhone is a good product but even 2 and half iterations from the original it still lacks some basic features found in many other phones.

One of these is voice command and voice synthesis. But if the anonymous sources that tipped of Ars are accurate that long awaited feature will arrive with the iPhone Software 3.0.

Lets hope they are true, as that could mean real turn-by-turn GPS and a host of other fun toys.

Read more here.

The gang over at iSuppli stripped down their new $80 iPod Shuffle and added up the cost of the innards and packaging to see how much they really cost.

In a shocker to anyone that has not really been following Apple's business model they found that the cost of all components, was around $22.00.

This makes the markup on the device in the realm of 360%. This hefty little markup brings some of Steve Job's comments on netooks into questions.

He has said before that he did not know how to build a system for under $500 that was not a hunk of junk. Yet the iPod shuffle using cheap Samsung parts might prove different. Perhaps he meant he did not know how to build anything with a customer price tag of under $500.

Read more at Business Week.

When you think of Piracy you may think of hackers in a basement banging away on a keyboard trying to break the next game or copy protection. You may have images of torrent files or the MPAA. After today you may just have another image altogether.

It seems that one group of iPhone pirates decided they did not like the un-ethical behavior of another group and what's more decided to do something about it.

The coders of the software Intallous, which allows you to download free apps from the iTunes store. They were not charging for this service but did ask for a donation if you were so inclined.

Then another group came out with a service called Mega, this allowed for direct downloads, but for a price. The creators of Instalous did not like this so one of their members wrote an app called grabulous that allows a user to grab apps from Mega for free.

Read more here

Skype will finally be coming to the iPhone. According to a news release the new App will be available from the App Store on the 31st of March.

This will add to the other Instant Messaging applications but will also bring VoIP to the iPhone as well.

According to CNET the new app will not have the same look as the desktop versions but will still maintain the Skype feel. Unfortunately the main point of Skype, VoIP calls, will only work over WiFi and not the cellular network. Chatting will still function over the Edge or 3G network though.

Be on the lookout for this to hit tomorrow, and watch for a jailbroken app to allow for Skype to call over the Edge or 3G network shortly after.

Read more here

While the rumors have been floating around for months that Dell has been working on some sort of smartphone or mobile internet device, CEO Michael Dell has finally let the cat out of the bag at least giving us confirmation that the rumors are true.

In an interesting twist Asus, a company that has had a few technical support and reliability issues in the past has surpassed Apple in the early days of 2009 as the most reliable computer manufacturer.

This is according to a study done by RESCUECOM, they compare technical support calls against the number of systems shipped.

RESCECOM noted that Asus had a very high score of 972, this is more than likely due to the mass of EEEPCs shipped in the early parts of this year. The score may settle out as the year progresses and we may again see a change of leadership.

Apple meanwhile dropped to second place after ending the 2008 year in the top position with a score of 324.

Read more here

The gang over at Boy Genius Report has spoken with someone high up in AT&T and they seem to be confirming the third coming of the iPhone.

According to the article it looks like June will again be the time of mayhem and non-working servers that have come to expect from AT&T and Apple. They have never quite been able to deal with the demand on upgrades and new hardware.

But that is not the biggest or worst news, If the Boy Genius is right we might just start seeing AT&T's horrible shovelware on the iPhone. Yup AT&T's U-verse applications might be coming to the new iPhone.

What a shame that would be.

Read more here

Yesterday was the big day for the iPhone OS 3.0 sneak peak. Many sites were all a buzz with live blogging and Twitter links covering the event.

The funny thing is that what was all the excitement about? From where I am sitting iPhone OS 3.0 only gives us things that have been on other smart phones for years, Copy and Paste, MMS, and finally a landscape keyboard.

Yet in true Apple fashion this is touted as a huge and revolutionary advance for users.

In reality the only people getting something new are developers, they get a better understanding of the App Approval Process as well as access to areas in the OS that were off limits before.

My biggest question about iPhone OS 3.0:
Will Apple finally upgrade its activation network to prevent the outages that have happened every time they release a OS for the iPhone?

Read more here

Yesterday we reported that Apple had inserted an authentication chip into its headphones to prevent the use of third party headphones with its new iPod Shuffle.

Apple is stating it is not intended to lockout third party vendors at all, but is an effort to ensure that all headphones work and are able to control the iPod Shuffle correctly.

However, Apple would not comment directly and instead pointed people to Kevin Lee, the vice president of marketing and strategic business development for Monster Cable; he said it was not authentication without going into specifics.

When ask if this has happened before, Lee had to admit that he had never been restricted like this by Apple before.

Read more here

Well the rumors that the new iPod Shuffle has an authentication chip to prevent the use of third party headphones might just be true.

The gang over at Boing Boing Gadgets dissected the headphones and found an odd chip. But it was V-Moda that confirmed the chip was in fact an authentication chip.

This means that Apple is now trying to find ways to lock out even using their party earphones on their devices. But I imagine that they will work with anyone willing to pay enough.

Read more here

Looks like the iPod touch 2G has finally been hacked for the masses.
Today the DevTeam released a free jailbreaking application on the heals of the $15 one that was released this morning

This adds the iPod touch to the "pwned for life" according to the Dev Team Blog.

The new Jailbreak is completely untethered and allows iPod 2G users to access the world of third party applications that are available through Cydia and Installer

Read more here.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commision has recalled about 30,000 LG 830 Spyder phones after a user's 911 call was dropped.

Something that falls in the interesting category crossed my desk this morning.

This is a new case for the iPhone, but it is not a simple "protect your phone" type of case. No, this case includes a battery to help increase the usefulness of your iPhone between charges.

The new gadget is called the iConn+ iBP1200 it looks like an oversized leather slide-in case for the iPhone but once you open the front flap you find out that it is much more.

Under that cover rests an extra Li-polymer 3.7V/1200mAh battery that is capable of almost doubling the length of time between charges. You are still able to connect and sync your iPhone even while in the case. The iBP1200 will also charge both batteries at the same time when connected to power or your system. You also still have access to the headphone jack and camera while in the iBP1200. Considering the number of apps that eat your battery like a kid in a candy store this is certainly something that the market could use.

Pricing should be around $80 (US) with availability right around the corner.

With the Mobile World Congress going on in Barcelona it is no wonder much of the news this week is about phones.

Well here is some more for you. It seems that Acer has just announced four smart phones of their very own. The phones show up on the heels of their purchase of Eten and while one was announced by Eten before the purchase the others appear to e new projects.

All four phones offer some very good features and show promising specs.
The pricing and time will tell if they will have a big impact on the market or not.

Read more here at Fudzilla.

Skype has been striking deals with mobile phone makers. In fact they just announced a deal with Nokia to have Skype bundled on Nokia phones.

The first phone to see the new Skype will be the N97 Nokia's flagship Smartphone. Skype will be integrated heavily into the phone, including being part of the address book so that you will be able to see which of your contacts are online with Skype straight from there.

Skype and Nokia are also going to allow the service to work over both the 3G and Wifi networks. This would mean messaging and VoIP calls even when you are not at a hotspot.

There is some concern that Nokia phones sold in the US would have this stripped from them as Skype on a mobile is a large fear for US cellular providers.

Read more here at CNet.

Most of the Press has been speculating that Apple might take Palm to court for Palm's new Pre Phone. Most of this speculation comes from Apple's recent Patent on Multi-Touch.

However while some of us expected Palm to counter Apple with the many patents they already have that relate to touch screens etc. what none of us expected was for a different company to file a patents infringement suit against Apple.

The new suit claims that Apple has used a vital part of a technology created and patented by Picsel Technologies and Picsel Research. The technology allows for rapid refresh of content on mobile phones.

Piscel is claiming that Apple used this in its iPhone and iPod touch.
If they win Picsel could be looking at a substantial payoff.

Read more here at iPhone Central.

More Apple news this morning, this time we see what may very well be a new back for the future iPhone.

The pictures popped up on MacRummors and appear to show a next gen iPhone with a matted and slightly textured back plate. Although no one can verify the authenticity of these images they appear to have come from China where the iPhone is assembled.

The initial image was posted by iPodObserver, they were responsible for showing the early back plate images of the iPhone 3G.

With all of the rumors about the new iPhone I am not sure what to believe, but based on the number of times I have to clean mine per day I do hope this new back plate is real.

Read more here at MacRummors.

It has been called "the rumor that wouldn't die" at least that is how some are referring to the repeatedly denied entry level iPhone rumors.

But according to some new information over at Fudzilla it looks like the stagnant economic times coupled with entry level touch and multi-media phones by rivals like BlackBerry might change Apple's mind.

If the David Stellmack has his information correct a new $99 (US) iPhone could hit the market soon.

This phone would be little more than a Low-Res 8GB iPhone 1.0 but would still fill in a gap that Apple is currently missing.

Read more here.

It looks like the rumors we reported on a few days ago might have a nugget of truth in them. Earlier in the week we pointed to an article stating that Microsoft would be partnering up with nVidia to make its next generation of smart phones.

Today we see another story indicating that Tegra (nVidia's SOC ARM officering) will be used in MS' next gen smart phone. This is possibly where all the nPhone rumors have their basis.

nVidia has been hard at work on Tegra and needs a success with this while Microsoft desperately needs a makeover for its boring Windows Mobile OS.
Combining the visual computing power of Tegra with an updated Win Mobile could give MS a real competitor to the iPhone.

Of course it looks like Tegra might pop up in the next Gen iPhone too.
With all the new players and new technology the Smart Phone market is looking to be very interesting in 2009.

Read more here.

Asus and Garmin have joined forces to launch a new smart phone.
The new phone will be called the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 and will be the first mobile phone that is Location-Centric.

I am sure you are wondering what that means exactly, well in simple terms it means it is a GPS device at heart and a smart phone 2nd. This is in contrast to most GPS enabled phones where the GPS functions are secondary or an afterthought.

The G60 will be launched in Barcelona, Spain during the Mobile World Congress trade show which kicks off on February the 16th.

While details of the agreement are mostly confidential, it is known that Asus and Garmin will share profits from the device as well as distribution.

Read more here at the Sydney Morning Herald