Tuesday, June 30, 2009

iPhone OS 3.1 Beta & iPhone 3.1 SDK Beta Offered To iPhone Developer Community!


iPhone OS 3.1 & iPhone 3.1 SDK
According to engadget and its reliable readers, Apple has released iPhone OS 3.1 Beta and iPhone 3.1 SDK to the iPhone Developer Community. I am beginning to wonder if there is something really wrong with iPhone OS 3.0. My iPhone 3G has hanged it self more times since the upgrade than it's entire life in my hand, which is closer to an year.
The iPhone battery management and WiFi drop offs even when sitting next to the wireless router are other reported errors, the former specially for the iPhone 3GS and the latter for both iPhones.

Either way the engadget discussion might get heated up and give us more information. They already have attached screen captures from improved video app for iPhone 3GS.
engadget

Are You In For An iPhone 3GS?

Should I get a iPhone 3GS?
I for one know that I will wait a while before I get an iPhone 3GS for various reasons and overheating iPhone 3GS is certainly one reason.
But looking at the all the features and benefits, I know it is good upgrade but considering the facts of price and the fact that I am happy with iPhone 3G, makes it "wait a while" for me.
But it might be different for you and TechCrunch has the article for you. The article discusses all the aspects of the new iPhone 3GS and helped me to decide. Should I get a iPhone 3GS.
TechCrunch

Comcast Clearwire Making WiMAX Waves In Oregon.

Comcast WiMAX in Oregon
Andy Abramson directed me to an article by Rethink-Wireless that shows Comcast had great plans when it partnered with Clearwire.
The combined service that includes WiMAX has been launched in Portland Oregon which continue to provide service to customers with combined fixed broadband, WiMAX (Comcast Speed 2Go) and Sprint EVDO plus WiMAX in areas where Clearwire is active.
The company will offer a metro plan and card that works within the WiMAX footprint area, and a nationwide plan and card that offers 3G everywhere, using the Sprint Clearwire.
While ago we reported the about the WiMAX Speed Test in the same area that reached 13Mbps from various positions that included a car moving at 60-70 MPH.
According to Rethink Wireless the pricing plans do seem attractive across all three companies, either combined or stand alone, depending on what you are looking for and where you want it!
"COMCAST is offering a 12-month introductory rate. For $50 a month, a subscriber gets 12Mbps home cable broadband and WiMAX, which is only a $7 premium over the cost of cable broadband alone (and includes a free Wi-Fi router). A national 3G add-on is an extra $20 a month and roaming to other Clearwire WiMAX markets is free. After the one-year trial the tariff goes up to $73 a month ($93 with 3G). There will be a $99 charge for a dongle (and other devices to follow in future), though people who commit to a two-year deal get the gadget for free.

Clearwire itself charges $20 a month for its in-home 'Clear' service, from $40 a month for mobile internet, and $50 a month for unlimited consumer roaming. It also has a creative range of pricing options, including sharing a connection between multiple devices, or taking up month-by-month contracts or short term passes (a day pass is $10, and customers can add an in-home voice option for $25). Sprint 4G is $80 a month with a two-year contract that includes 5Gb per month of 3G data and unlimited 4G bandwidth. All these plans enable consumers to get cutting edge mobile broadband capabilities - as use of dongles starts to take off, European-style, in the US - for a small premium."

Another good reason for me to shed AT&T DSL and go Comcast way if the service come to San Francisco Bay Area. Mind you, I have been a loyal customer of AT&T, for a long time. I Started my DSL service when PACBELL was still alive and kept it through SBC and now AT&T. Service continue to be the same, no improvements for what it looks like eons but the cost keep on rising.

I looking for better service for cheaper or the same price and Comcast has beeen very inviting.

Rethink Wireless

Andy Abramson

Monday, June 29, 2009

25 MB Attachments On GMail.

25MB File Attachments with GMail
Shattering all limits that most public email services provide, Google's GMail has increased the allowable size of attachments and messages. Now with Gmail, you can send and receive messages up to 25 megabytes (MB) in size.
On the other hand, the receiving person may not be able to get your files because of limitation on his / her email service, in that case invite them to Gmail.

RedSnow, Jailbreaking IPHONE 3G Firmware 3.0 (iPhone 3GS Jailbreak Has To Wait)

Jailbreaking IPHONE 3G with redsn0w
While looking for information on iPhone 3GS overheating problems, I came across this video on the YT.
Phill from JailBreakiTouch says that it is easy to jailbreak new iPhone OS 3.0. The video itself is not a great the information might be for someone looking to jailbreak an iPhone. I have not done this so I can not vouch for it either. Besides Apple says developpers cannot jailbreak. If you try and cook your iPhone, it is your problem.
But if you go ahead, the author of the video suggests adding some applications to make it worth the trouble.
The iPhone Dev Team blog posted the following message, refering to redsn0w in June;
"redsn0w is an easy to use, multi-platform, multi-device jailbreaking and unlocking (iPhone 2G only) tool for the iPhone 2G (original iPhone), the iPhone 3G (but not the 3GS) and also the iPod touch (first and second generation). Currently it is available for Windows and Mac OS X (there are some issues using redsn0w with OS X PPC, please use an Intel Mac until we have this problem resolved)."

Once it is jailbroken head to Cydia and install:
Winterboard - Changes the look
Five Dock Icons - gives you 5 icons at the bottom instead of 4
Make it Mine - Change AT&T or Rogers etc to whatever you want
SB Settings - Quick tool at the top of your phone - Slide finger across top to activate it and many other applications for jailbroken iPhones,

If you follow the youtube link, you will find liks to jailbreak applications for both Windows and Mac platforms.
Dev-Team Blog

Overheating iPhone 3GS? Make mine a Pink iPhone 3GS


Browning of iPhone 3GS

There are reports all over the web that new iPhone 3GS could overheat and turn from pink to brown (the white iPhone 3GS).
The repeorts indicate that this happens when people use GPS, games and Browsing over the 3G as well as WiFi.
"Yesterday when the was placed on my desktop screen on it I noticed a mark intriguing back of my phone. It is reddish / pink and goes around the iPhone e following the shape of the battery ..." Le Jounal du Geek
When contacted, Apple have asked to send the phones in for testing by their engineers and I have not seen any official reaction to this. If the case is related to iPhone OS 3.0 as some points out (A user reported that after upgrading to the new OS 3.0, his / her iPod was getting hotter than usual.) may be fix is needed to manage the power. My old iPhone 3G, has been behaving normally, even after the upgrade. On the other hand, it is hard to turn black iPhone 3G in to a pink one.
Either way I hope this will get fixed soon and not lead to a bunch of exploding Phones.

Apple discussion board, here 1, here 2
Le Journal Du Geek

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Google Voice Invitations Are On The Way

Google Voice Goes Public
Google Voice has began sending out invitations to those who requested one. We of course long time GrandCentral customers were the first to get the Google Voice service. I am, as I have mentioned before, a very happy Google Voice user and I feel that it could only get better.

So if you have got your invite, get ready to get your new phone number or assign your existing number to Google Voice. Either way this could be your number for life! Once you do get a number, you can read our article like making calls with Google Voice, Import Your Contacts Into Google Voice and many others that we plan to bring in.
If you have not registered, visit Google Voice and request an invite to Google Voice.
Official Google Blog: Google Voice invites on their way


Savage Twitter Takes Care Of $11000 Wireless Charge.

$11000 Phone Bill
It is good to know that donttrythis, Adam Savage has managed to clear off his $11,000.00 wireless bill from AT&T. But the good point behind this is that if it is good for Savage, it can bee good for you too.
I like Savage brothers, not only because they are from San Francisco but I like to watch them bust many a myths. I like it more the way they present it.
According to Adam, not only the charges are erroneous but the calculations are off the wall as well. According to charges, looks like he spent most of his holiday inside a room or outside a park, roaming the web.
But the important fact of this issue is the power of the Twitter where more than 60,000 followers helped to erase the bill according to this news article.
I am thinking of saving all these news and AT&T mutterings, who knows, it might come handy someday, specially if you are a AT&T customer. This is not the first time outrageous phone bills came out in the news. But carriers like AT&T seem to think it is alright not to fix the systems from blocking users from reaching such outrageous charges.
"His Tweet (a message on Twitter) simply read: “AT&T is attempting to charge me 11k for a few hours of web surfing in Canada.

His message spread amazingly quickly on Twitter. Within three hours, AT&T was the second most discussed topic on Twitter, second only to Michael Jackson.

By the end of the day, the carrier was “very gracious about taking care of it all,” Savage said, deciding to free him of those costs.

But the problem, he says, is that most of those suffering exorbitant roaming fees suffer in silence, or go through endless telephone calls with the carrier to try and reach a compromise."


Saturday, June 27, 2009

Asterisk Versioning Explained


Asterisk Version Tree
If you got side tracked with Asterisk versions like 1.2, 1.4 and the latest 1.6 fret no more. There is a nice article on Asterisk's blog that earlier has appeared on Leif Madsen's blog.
The article takes you through the Asterisk Versioning Tree in and branching on Asterisk versions for EOL 1.2 to Latest 1.6.
If you have not been following the development process of asterisk, this is one certain starting place.

Asterisk Blog

Leif Madsen

BlackBerry Tour From Verizon Foe $199

Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Tour
The Boy Genius hs looked in to an internal site / memo at Verizon and telling us that Verizon will offer the attractive device, BlackBerry Tour, for $199 with a contract on July 12th. Man looks like I will have to make those 4th of July calls and take photos with my iPhone!
The BGR

Palm Pre Mojo Development kit Leaked!

Palm Mojo SDK
Looks like you do not have to apply and wait for the Palm Pre Mojo Development kit, which is actually named early access Palm Mojo software development kit. It makes you even smile (smirk) when you read at Palm site;
"Only a select few partners received the initial release of the Mojo SDK. Now we’re expanding access to it, which could mean access for you. If you’re interested in participating, complete the application at the link below. Not everyone will receive the Mojo SDK right away. But when you do, you’ll see how easy it is to develop for the Palm webOS™ platform"
Alright developers (all of you) get to work! I need apps for my Palm Pre!
Oh Preinsiders has the scoop and download links

HTC TouchFLO 3D (Manila v2.5) Is Pulling You Towards WinMo To Leave Footprints!

HTC TouchFLO 3D (Manila v2.5)
HTC is proving that beauty is more than skin deep when it comes to it's WinMo devices. When HTC Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 get their upgrades this summer, looks like they paln to male it even hotter.
By looking at the screen shots, you may wonder or even forget what the OS running underneath, looking at one I wonder it is a Palm and the other makes me thing where did I see that on the iPhone. It is invitingly mobile look, rather than trying to provide vistaS. HTC seems to be serious about WInMo.
And if you know German, here is a video for you as well.

Info via Pocketnow

Friday, June 26, 2009

Sharp Corp's "Solar Phone SH002"

Solar Phone SH002 Being charged in the sun
Solar Powered Sharp Solar Phone SH002
"Solar Phone SH002" released by KDDI Corp as one of its summer 2009 models, has capabilities to charge it self by Solar cells embedded on the phone.Top cover of the flip phone is equipped with the solar cell(s) that charges the phone batteries.
Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad, which usually breaks apart devices to analyze the products, managed to get their hands on a limited availability handset, which is pictured here.
Before tearing down the phone, they also tested the solar charging capabilities of the phone. During a very nice and sunny afternoon, the phone reached 1 minute talk time capability after being charged for 40 minutes. The phone had zero capacity of power when the charging began. The talk time increased to 30 minutes at 60 minute mark and full 5 minute talk time (?) was reached after charging for 85 minutes. This seem to indicate that solar charger to be used as residual or emergency charger rather than the principal charger.
Whatever the reason, even if we get all the phones with solar cells in them, we might still leave our charger transformers in power plugs seeping valuable energy away in minuscule amounts. But multiply that minuscule amount by millions of phones or billions of phones with power transformers plugged in all the time!
I usuall have all the chargers on an extender with a switch, and turn it off when I leave home, and only turn it on to charge my phones, cameras or computers. Even a little energy conserved will help our world.
Tech On, Article on Solar Phone SH002 Tear Down

iPhone Porn App "Hottest Girls", Pulled, Banned, Basically Not There!

iPhone Porn App
The developer is saying that the app is not banned but pulled off the shelves because their servers could not support the amount of traffic the iPhone hottest girls were generating.
A note by the developer as mentioned by cnet;
"The Hottest Girls app is temporarily sold out. The server usage is extremely high because of the popularity of this app. Thus, by not distributing the app, we can prevent our servers from crashing. Customer satisfaction is more important to us than profits. Those who already have the app will still be able to use our app. To answer the question on everyone's mind: Yes, the topless images will still be there when it is sold again."
But the developer site is now bare.
On the other hand Apple is saying that the developper misrepresented true facts of the app and added Hot girls from developer website after the app was approved.
Apple told cnet that "The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store."
cnet

Palm Pre Does Things The iPhone Can't, Sprint


Palm Pre Bites iPhone!
Sprint is trying to tale bite or bytes out of Apple and iPhone with the new ad or what appears to be a new ad. More like Sprint bit sour grapes.
"You can have a mighty fancy phone, but it’s only as good as the network it uses and the calling plans available to consumers. Look past the iHype and we think you’ll see a new Sprint with a strong network, appealing new phones and value-priced calling plans. We’ll keep striving to get even better, but we sure hope folks – especially those with contracts elsewhere expiring soon – will give Sprint a look."
Sprint at facebook

Making Calls With Google Voice


Google Voice Howto.
Once you sign up and activate, Google Voice, unlike other VoIP IP Telephony services, it does not replace your existing phone number. In fact you receive a phone number with capabilities to direct all calls you receive at this number to any of your existing phones.
But sometimes you may want to make a call from your new Google Voice phone number. Say for instance you want to display Google Voice number in Caller ID, Yes it is possible with Click2call feature from Google Voice.
You will need access to the internet and from any device or any browser, surf to Google Voice site
Click the Call button at the top left of the site, in the resulting dialog, enter a contact’s name or phone number if it is in the contact database. Otherwise just enter your destination number. Then in the second box "Phone to Ring" drop down and select the phone you want to use for the conversation. But say if your phone is not working or if you are at another place, enter the number where you are at and click the Connect button. Google Voice will call you at your number and when you pickup you will hear a dialing tone, that is Google Voice calling the destination. If the person at the other end picks up phone the call will be completed! It is that easy.

Cisco Service Provider Mobility Community Network

Social network for service providers
I learned about a fantastic new portal at Cisco, Service Provider Mobility. With projected wireless slated to be growing 66 times the current level or equivalent of 120% annually and 4G networks looking to make us more productive on the go or otherwise, service provider community is going to be a very busy crowd.
So as usual, Cisco has stepped into fill a gap, a community portal for service providers to gather and discuss issues, wishes and achievement etc. Basically a social network for serive providers.
Perhaps the following should invoke your interest in mobile space;

  1. New innovative applications such as YouTube, Flickr, WebEx
  2. Exciting integrated devices such as the iPhone and Blackberry
  3. Roll out of higher performance networks such as LTE, WiMAX
  4. New business models enabled, and
  5. Unprecedented levels of personalization and ease of use
Links after the Kittur Nagesh welcome message to visitors at Cisco's Service Provider Mobility Community

Follow the link and join the Service Provider Mobility Community.
[via CISCO SP360 ]

Cisco teleworker / telecommuting survey, June, 2009.

Teleworker / Telecommuting Survey

"In the age of a global market, time and distance separates people and workspaces. Cisco has long recognized that telecommuting and collaborative technologies are effective in breaking down separation barriers and enabling the transition to the borderless enterprise. In addition, as demonstrated by our recent study, a properly executed program for telecommuting can be extremely effective at unlocking employee potential by increasing work-life balance, productivity and overall satisfaction."
Rami Mazid, vice president, Global Client Services and Operations, Cisco

Cisco released the results and findings of its Teleworker Survey, of about 2000 it's own workers which was actually an in-depth study of almost 2,000 company employees. The study, researched the social, economic and environmental benefits and short falls of telecommuting at Cisco. The results were not a surprise to me as a Telecommuter, there were significant increases in work-life flexibility, productivity and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability to work remotely. Personally in addition to working from home for three days of the week, I have greatly reduced international travel as well.
Cisco's Internet Business Services Group, the company's global strategic consulting arm, the company has generated an estimated annual savings of $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework. In addition, with the steady adoption of enterprise-class remote connectivity solutions like Cisco® Virtual Office, the recently announced Cisco OfficeExtend, and virtual collaboration tools like Cisco WebExTM, (I am a big fan of WebEx for iPhone)Cisco anticipates that employees and employers will continue to see a rise in the benefits associated with telecommuting.
You can read the full report at Cisco.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

AT&T 3G MicroCell Coming At The End Of 2009!


AT&T 3G MicroCell
Since we reported about the AT&T's debut into femtocell market, the original page where the above logo came from has been locked away. If you are wondering what this femtocell and microcell is read, AT&T 3G MicroCell Out But Where?

According to unstrung, AT&T's executive director for radio access network delivery, Gordon Mansfield at the Femtocells World Summit in London has confirmed that about 200 users are testing the femto service in targeted customer trials.I am sure those are happy as rabbits with their bars on cell phones multiplying and staying top. Unstrung also mentioned that the device is, as we thought it was femtocell device is supposed to have been made by Cisco.

Mr.Mansfield has also mentioned, "we will expand that into a marketing trial of the AT&T-branded 3G Microcell, which will be open to customers through our AT&T stores… in a handful of cities.

"We're on track for a full national launch by the end of 2009."

Mansfield also confirmed that AT&T will launch with a standalone 3G femtocell, (as opposed to a femtocell that's integrated into a residential gateway). But integrated femtocells are not out of the picture either, "Certainly we're looking at integrated femtocells," said Mansfield "Some people think that integration is putting a femto into a residential gateway, and that's one aspect."

Unstrung


Playstation Emulation (psx4iphone) On iPhone 3GS

psx4iphone on iPhone 3GS
The ZodTTD over at ZodTTD has posted about playstation emulation on iPhone 3GS and if you are fan of Playstation and final fantasy ZodTTD is the place to visit;
"So how would you like to run psx4iphone on your 3GS right now, even without a jailbreak? Well you can! I can make a build for a limited number of people. In order to run this build you will need a tool like DiskAid for PC & Mac to place games & bios, that you must supply yourself, in a publicly writable directory. It’s simple drag & drop."
ZodTTD



Google Announces The AdSense for Mobile Applications beta

AdSense for Mobile Applications
Google has announced the availability of a beta program of its flagship money maker AdSense, specially geared towards mobile applications, just like those that run on our iPhones and Androids.
AdSense for Mobile Applications allows developers to earn revenue by displaying text and image ads in their iPhone and Android applications.
To get mobile app developers familiar with the program google has created a site, mobileapps where they could learn more about the AdSense for Mobile Applications program, see answers to frequently asked questions and sign up to participate in our beta. Advertisers can also learn about the benefits of advertising in mobile applications.

Official Google Blog: Announcing the AdSense for Mobile Applications beta

Truphone For iPhone OS 3.0 Comes With VoiceMail Notification.

Truphone For iPhone OS 3.0
I just installed Truphone for iPhone OS 3.0 on my iPhone 3G. But the information I am going to give you does not come from my experience. Since I had trouble with my account and I will fix it tomorrow, when I will be able to think properly!
This is newly released iPhone OS 3.0 compatible version of Truphone for the iPhone is now available to download from iTunes Store.
In addition to all the great features, Truphone for iPhone OS 3.0 now comes with voicemail notification. This is a completely free feature just as receiving calls. Retrieving and listening to your voicemail message will not cost you a cent.

Truphone Message Waiting Alerts gives you:

  • On-screen Message Box - tells you who has called and left a message
  • App Icon Notification - tells you how many messages you have waiting
  • Real-time alerts - gives your callers confidence their message will reach you quickly
The latest Truphone for the iPod touch app (v3.0), which launched on May 31, is already compatible with the OS 3.0 software.
Truphone also mentioned, "TruLover - there is a known bug regarding adding contacts that will be resolved in the next update of the app, which is currently with Apple for approval."
(Truphone blog)


Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Apple TV 2.4, Free Remote Control With iPhone App Released

Apple TV 2.4
Apple has released an upgrade to it's Apple TV Product and a new iPhone app to control the Apple TV. Since I saw the item on the Apple Support discussion forum, Apple has not listed the change log for the upgrade. Eventually when it does, it will be on this knowledge base.
Supposed to be documentation update from the same forum above;

Remote app directional control
Control your Apple TV with simple finger gestures via the Remote app. This feature requires Remote 1.3 running on an iPhone or iPod touch with iPhone OS 3.0.

Flickr Search
Search Flickr photo tags to find recently updated photos of interest. Save searches to quickly find new photos or use as a screen saver for Apple TV.

New view options
View movies By Genre, By Movie, or Unwatched. View TV Shows and Podcasts By Date, By Show, or Unwatched.

Updated transport and chapter modes
During video playback, click right or left to fast forward or rewind. Additional clicks increase the speed. Click down to show chapter markers.

I am using it to controll my Mac Mini.

HTC Hero, Introducing latest Android Based HTC Phone

snapvoip

Android Gets Flash, (HTC Hero)

HTC Hero Gets Adobe Flash
The just announced Android based HTC Hero seems to be the first Android device to have capability to have Adobe Flash on board. Adobe and HTC announced the fact and released a video and a press release. The link to the video is in the press release posted below.
I think will all I hear about HTC Hero, I will replace my Developer version of Android G1, or Google Phone, with it as soon as it comes out.

Press Release;

SAN JOSE, Calif. and LONDON — June 24, 2009 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and HTC, a global designer of mobile phones, today announced that the new HTC Hero is the first Android phone to ship with support for Adobe® Flash® Platform technology. The new phone delivers a more complete Web browsing experience and provides access to a broad variety of Flash technology based content available on the Web today.

“As the first Android device with Flash, the new HTC Hero represents a key milestone for Android and the Flash Platform. With close to 80 percent of all videos online delivered with Adobe Flash technology, consumers want to access rich Web content on-the-go.” said David Wadhwani, vice president and general manager, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “The collaboration with HTC offers people a more complete Flash based Web browsing experience today and presents an important step towards full Web browsing with Flash Player 10 on mobile phones in the future.”

The new HTC Hero is a key element of the HTC experience and a new generation of HTC mobile phones and devices. Users can browse and discover a broad set of Web content and applications not supported by mobile phones in the past. People can also view YouTube videos using Flash technology, and enable full screen viewing mode by simply double tapping the screen.

“Adobe Flash is an important core technology for people interacting and experiencing the Web, it is only natural to be offering it on the new HTC Hero first,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer, HTC Corporation. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Adobe and to bringing Flash Player 10 support to our phones in the future.”

The HTC Hero delivers powerful, compatible video playback performance using Flash technology, and interactive content enabled by ActionScript® 2.0. Users can enjoy and navigate through Web videos using intuitive video controls. With progressive streaming of large MP3 audio files from a Web server and the local file storage, the HTC Hero provides a seamless audio experience. Support for Sorenson and On2 VP6 codecs enables higher quality video and playback of existing Web content. A demo of the user experience enabled by the Flash Platform on the HTC Hero and the Android operating system can be viewed at www.adobe.com/go/htchero.


Cost Of Building An iPhone 3GS,


iPhone 3G S’s Bill of Materials

iSuppli has done again the act of teardown analysis to come up with the new iPhone 3G S’s Bill of Materials (BOM) and and the cost to build an iPhone 3GS. It seems to be just $4.63 more than the previous estimate on the earlier 8GB iPhone 3G.
"The entry-level, 16Gbyte version of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 3G S carries a BOM cost of $172.46 and a manufacturing expense of $6.50, for a total of $178.96," said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst, teardown services, for iSuppli. "This is slightly higher than iSuppli’s estimate of $174.33 for the original 8Gbyte iPhone 3G based on pricing in July 2008. Although the retail price of the 16Gbyte iPhone 3G S is $199, the same as for the 8Gbyte version of the original iPhone 3G, the actual price of the phone paid by the service provider is considerably higher, reflecting the common wireless industry practice of subsidizing the upfront cost of a mobile phone and then making a profit on subscriptions."
If you like to see the details, please visit iSuppli report. But follow this if you like to wear an exploded iPhone.


Android and Sense UI powered HTC Hero Hands On


HTC Hero
HTC Hero, Android and Sense UI powered smartphone, is the first phone to utilize HTC Sense™ - UI, What HTC terms as the new UI is meant to offer a simpler and easier phone navigation, while putting people at the center.
The new user interface focuses on offering users an enhanced mobile experience. The three principles that Sense is based upon are Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected,

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Charge Your iPhone/iPod Wirelessly With Wildcharge

WildCharge for iPhone
Tom Keating at VoIP and Gadgets directed me to a useful gadget to be added my arsenal, WildCharge Adapter Skin for iPhone. I am the first one to misplace chargers and cables in the block, at least in the office and home. So this wireless charger seems to be a good gift for myself.
The WildCharge works across all the iPhones and I will be using it to charge my newly updated iPhone 3G (No iPhone 3GS yet).
I have a bunch of iPhone Gadgets for use in office on the go and in the car, like fastmac iPhone Battery Pack. But I am sure this is also going to be a nice addition.
Thanks Tom
VoIP and Gadgets Blog

Switchvox Developer Central Beta Test Suite Walkthrough

SwitchVox Developer Central
Since Digium launched the announced the Switchvox Developer Central Beta, (an online community for developers who are integrating voice and web applications using the Switchvox unified communications solution), a lot has been happening.
The latest addition that one of us tested was the toolbox feature Switchvox Extend API Test Suite which allows you to test any API method calls online. It seemed a bit difficult for me but all that doubt went away after I saw a video, "video walk through SwitchVox Developer Central" posted on the Digium Blog.
The Switchvox Developer Central Beta, and the associated tools and the community are a great asset if you are working with SwitchVox. Please also do not forget to have a look at sections like featured applications and the blog. If you are a beginner, getting started section is the start, (it was for me). Link to the site after the jump;


Switchvox Developer Central Beta
Digium Blog Article

Always On Asterisk

Asterisk Always On
John Todd at Digium has a nice little piece about Asterisk and it's future. From secret service mics and headsets to radio communication based on Asterisk, the IP PBX of the future. The always on Asterisk will have lesser needs of keyboards/keypads, screens and mice. The system will use voice recognition and semi implanted listening and talking devices to fulfill our communication needs seamlessly. So we all will be reachable in the daylight hours as well as during twilight hours.
He does not stop there and goes on to hint at iPhones and Androids doing their bits with Asterisk as well. He concludes the article with "Hang on, if you think the volume is loud now about Asterisk being built into everything, the next year is going to be deafening!"
Gread work Todd.

Asterisk: Always On


Monday, June 22, 2009

Google Voice To Go Public Soon?

Google Voice.
I have been enjoying Google Voice, which I got in due to being a customer of GrandCentral, for a few moths now. I have had mixed results and mostly the service is in positive side. Initially I / we had some connection issues but they seem to have gone away now. I even have Google Voice on iPhone. In addition to GrandCentral services, Google Voice added SMS, Voicemail transcript, Conference calling and low priced international calling.

Right now the word is that Google Voice might be ready to go public. According to Network World, Google has received one million phone numbers.
Us the early users are enjoying the phone numbers provided by Level 3 and if these one million numbers are right, it could be good news for people waiting to add Google Voice to their Accounts.
Of course Google has not confirmed the issues sighting "as a matter of policy, we typically do not comment on contracts with third-party technology suppliers."
There were also reports that Google Voice will support number portability and allow users to assign their own numbers to the service.
But all in all Google Voice some thing I am very glad to have.
Networkworld

Visual Networking (TV, VoD, Internet Video, and P2P) will increase 8 fold between 2008-2013, Cisco Visual Network Index.

Cisco Visual Network Index
Recently released, Cisco Visual Network Index (VNI) is carrying some interesting predictions for our communication needs in the near future. VNI is Cisco’s ongoing effort to forecast the growth and use of IP networking worldwide.

Highlights from the current Cisco VNI forecast include the following:

  • Global IP traffic will increase by a factor of five from 2008 to 2013, approaching 56 exabytes per month in 2013, compared to approximately 9 exabytes per month in 2008.
  • By 2013, annual global IP traffic will reach two-thirds of a zettabyte (673 exabytes). A zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes.
  • By 2013, the sum of all forms of video (TV, VoD, Internet Video, and P2P) will exceed 90 percent of global consumer traffic.
  • By 2013, global online video will be 60 percent of consumer Internet traffic (up from 32 percent in 2009).
  • Mobile data traffic will roughly double each year from 2008 through 2013.
You will find the complete white paper at Cisco's VNI Forecast(PDF).

SIP Softphone Application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Media5-Fone.

Media5-Fone
Media5-fone from Media5, provides iPhone and iPod users with ability to connect with any SIP IP-PBX, be it an Enterprise telephony service or Service Provider Network, like the ones we have listed in The Free SIP Account Provider List
Media5-Fone lists following features;

  • Pure SIP standard softphone
  • Voice Mail Integration
  • Loudspeaker
  • VoIP over Wi-Fi
  • Native Contacts List
  • Hold
  • Easy Configuration
  • Call History
  • Mute

According to the Media5 press release, "the Media5-Fone enables offices as well as the mobile worker to use their iPhone as an IP-PBX extension, allowing them to access the same phone services and features as if they were in the office. Remote workers can be in contact with any other office or employee easily and efficiently, promoting collaboration across all locations.
VoIP service providers who offer calling plan can also benefit from the same SIP connectivity extension for their customers who own an iPhone."

"This new release of the Media5-Fone extends our mobile portfolio to iPhone users on the go, and offers them the key features needed to integrate an easy-to-use SIP IP-PBX extension within the iPhone,” explained Pascal Doré, Mobility Product Line Manager. "In addition to this Lite version, our engineers are already at work to bring the next fully featured Enterprise version of the Media5-Fone that will embed strong Voice security encryption among the key features. Worth mentioning that the Media5-Fone can be co-branded and custom-tailored for any specifics system needs."

The Media5-Fone application for the iPhone is available in the Apple iTunes.

Media5 Press Release could be found here.

Asterisk 1.4.26-rc3 Released.

Asterisk 1.4.26-rc3

The Asterisk Development Team announced the third release candidate of Asterisk 1.4.26. Asterisk 1.4.26-rc3 is available for immediate download from Asterisk Download site at Asterisk.org.

This release resolves three moderately important issues;

* Race condition with StopMixMonitor() (issue #15259)

* Fix memory corruption and leakage related to reloads of non files mode MoH
classes (issues #15109, #15123, #15195)

* Proactively avoid a potential crash in app_queue by changing the datastore
traversal in ast_do_masquerade to use a safe list traversal

For a full list of changes in this release candidate, please see the ChangeLog:


Issues found in this release candidate can be reported at http://issues.asterisk.org

Friday, June 19, 2009

Twitter Kills A Girl (Twittercide,)

Twittercide,
I wonder what Oprah got to say after a teenager killed herself or twittered herself to death. Austrian Times reported that Maria Barbu, 17, had tried to plug in her laptop with wet hands after the battery died during a long session on social networking site Twitter as she took a soak at her home in Brasov, central Romania.
So what ever you do tweets or other stuff like facebook, try not to take computers to bath. Better take something like iPhone to the bath and that way you only kill the phone. What a way to get a new iPhone 3GS. On the other hand, check with your parents, after all they might kill you if you destroy a iPhone in these hard times.
Austrian Times via Gizmodo.

Reset iPhone 3G To Factory Setting, Before Selling Or Giving Away


Factory Reset iPhone 3G
Now that most of you got the new iPhone 3GS, you might be thinking of giving away or selling your iPhone 3G. But you may want make sure that you completely erase and set the iPhone to original factory condition. Just resetting the does not erase everything and you might end up giving away very valuable information.
Completely resetting the iPhone takes a while and you need assign about one hour for the procedure and you need to have the iPhone plugged into a power source through the procedure. Since I have written this procedure before with screen captures and instructions for every step, I am going to point you to that article.
Enjoy your new iPhone 3GS and give away or sell your old phone without any worry.
Reset Your iPhone To Factory Setting. (Low Level Format Your iPhone) | VOIP IP Telephony


Ofono.org Joint Effort By INTEL AND Nokia, For Open Source Mobile Telephony


Open Source Mobile Telephony From Ofono
Ofono published the announcement below, on their site leading me to think, that this is a space to watch. The support and the aims of the project points high and this will really be a success for the open source telephony supporters.

Intel and Nokia are pleased to jointly announce the oFono project, an open source project for developing an open source telephony solution.

oFono.org is a place to bring developers together around designing an infrastructure for building mobile telephony (GSM/UMTS) applications.

Review the oFono architecture diagram for more information.

Review the source code for an even closer look.

"oFono is licensed under GPLv2, and it includes a high-level D-Bus API for use by telephony applications of any license. oFono also includes a low-level plug-in API for integrating with Open Source as well as third party telephony stacks, cellular modems and storage back-ends. The plug-in API functionality is modeled on public standards, in particular 3GPP TS 27.007 “AT command set for User Equipment (UE).”

Nokia and Intel will jointly maintain the oFono project. We'd like to invite all developers to join the ofono.org effort and community.

Marcel Holtmann, Intel Open Source Technology Center
Aki Niemi, Nokia Devices, Maemo Software"


Where Does AT&T 7.2Mbps Network Takes You And How

AT&T's 7.2Mbps network
Gizmodo has done a good job of explaing what AT&T's 7.2Mbps network does to your mobile communications pleasure. It is not much, even less for me as I constantly experience wireless nirvana (as it stands now) in my trips to Japan. (We even have 100M fiber to home for less than what we pay for our DSL line from AT&T, the DSL line which we had for almost a decade, still cannot reach full capacity due to a switch being too far away!). Tethering phones to laptops goes without asking in Japan as well and the excuse of high speeds draining batteries, yes but presented with a load of Bull. I have doubled my iPhone 3G's battery capacity with now where to go very fast in the USA.
But is is very interesting where we are regarding to network speeds. As Giz says The "S" in iPhone 3GS, which is for speed, is appropriate, as long as you on looks to past to compare.
I did some iPhone speed test a while back and not much has changed since then.
So for your answers on AT&T and other wireless networks follow th link below;
Gizmodo

Taridium Enterprise PBX Gets Apple iPhone Interface.


Taridium Enterprise PBX iPhone Interface

New York, New York – June 17, 2009 – Taridium, the next generation VoIP solutions provider, today announced the immediate availability of the ipbx iPhone interface for it’s award winning enterprise PBX solution. With the ipbx mobile interface your employees always stay ahead of the game. Visual voicemail allows them to listen to their office voicemail directly from their iPhone, check their recent calls, call users back as if they were at their desk and even host telephone conferences. This does not only save money, but also allows access to the Taridium unified voicemail system, where a single mailbox serves VoIP phones, mobile phones and any other phone that supports conditional call diversion.
If required for compliance reasons, all calls passed through the mobile phone can be recorded and immediately reviewed on the phone. Users are presented with a familiar interface that seamlessly integrates their iPhones into the office telephone system.
“One of the big advantages of the Taridium ipbx iPhone interface is that users can now access internal PBX extensions directly from their mobile phone with a single click – it basically allows you to take your office extension with you” says Dominique Kull, Taridium’s CTO.
The Taridium ipbx iPhone interface comes standard with all ipbx installs and with Taridium’s ipbx eXpress software. The interface is compatible with Apple’s iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.
Taridium News

iPhone 3GS Upgrades Anyone? It Is Discounted Now!


iPhone 3GS Upgrades
AT&T has announced that it is reducing the extra $200 that it charged for old iphone 3G customers who were not eligible for discounted iPhone 3GS upgrade earlier.
People were dismayed that they would have to pay fill price of $399 for 16GB or $499 for 32GB (I still have to pay as I am not eligible untill next year. But I think I will wait as iPhone 3G is doing what I need at the moment. I think I would rather get a new Android G2 first, unless development needs come first.)
3G owners who would not have been eligible for the best price on an upgrade until July, August or September can get the phone at discounted price now.
Call *639# from your phone and AT&T will text you back letting you know your upgrade options. Following is the message I got! :)
There is a word that twitter had lot to do with the price reduction. AT&T spokesman have mentioned that they are trying to listen, but I guess it would not be easy if the signal level on my phone above is any indication (This is in San Francisco Bay Area, not death valley). Hey AT&T, Skype over WiFi is much better than your wireless most of the time. Fix it!

iPhone 3GS Gutted

Click on the image for a larger view.
iPhone 3GS Opened.
RapidRepair has opened their brand new iPhones so you could have a look at what is inside the brand new iPhone. There is complete analysis of the guts of the new iPhone 3GS and of course the old iPhone 3G.
The motherboards differ in these given that iPhone 3GS having a faster processor and built in video and the Compass.
Following information gives some details of the iPhone 3GS;

iPhone 3G S system board is shown on the left, right board is iPhone 3G.

CPU - Samsung
339S0073ARM
K2132C2P0-50-F
0N1480911
APL0298
N1TVY0Q 0919

NAND Flash Memory - Toshiba TH58NVG702ELA89
IA8816
TAIWAN
09209AE

System Memory - 337S3754
CMA
G0919
5Y9307885E4

Infineon - 36MY1EE
A9177314
Z171033B

You can get all the gory details at RapidRepair


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

iPhone 3GS Versus Nokia N97, A British View

iPhone 3GS VS Nokia N97
BBC's Rory Cellan Jones looks at Apple's iPhone 3GS and Nokia's N97 from different angles.

MLB Full Live Games On iPhone 3G! MLB.COM At Bat 2009

MLB.COM At Bat 2009
According to Silicon Alley Insider, MLB is providing Live video streaming of out-of-market games for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch starting tomorrow. If you are a baseball fan and have an iPhone or iPod, you'll be able to watch the whole game, both over wi-fi and the iPhone's 3G connection with MLB.COM At Bat 2009.
Remember the yesteryear when people listen to games on their portable radios held to their ears, now comes the new version which will lead to see people walking in to poles, walls and you!, unless you are a baseball fan with an iPhone!
The App in available from iTunes app store, But you have to upgrade to the new iPhone OS 3.0 first.
SAI

Android Phone By Samsung, ( Samsung i7500 ) Reviewed

Samsung i7500

OCWorkbench has done a good review of the Samsungs new Android phone. In Addition to multiple photos, specification of the Samsung i7500 there are a few videos that let you see the details of the phone and it's operation.
The Samsung i7500 has a 3.2" 320x480 AMOLED screen, providing a better experience and the 5 megapixel camera should help you with day to day simple photo needs (Storage is not a problem either as it can have upto 40GB.
Another major feature is the support of HSDPA and HSUPA allowing downloads of up to 7.2mbps and upload of 5.76mbps. The Samsung i7500 has a battery capacity of 1500mAH.
All in All seems to be a performence Android and could give a good challenge to Android and other phone lineup, like T-Mobile myTouch 3G, aka HTC Magic.

OCWorkbench

T-Mobile myTouch 3G (T-Mobile G2, HTC Magice etc) Coming Soon

T-Mobile myTouch G3
I read at WSJ via Gizmodo that details about Android powered follow up to T-Mobile G1 will be released as early as next week.
Either by design or our creative capabilities, the phone, now known as T-Mobile myTouch G3, was also known and released as HTC Magic by Vodaphone. But we always liked the name Android G2, perhaps due to our alliance to Androids.
One way or another, we are going to have a hot phone summer, T-Mobile myTouch G3, iPhone 3Gs, Palm Pre and BlackBerry Tour.
Gizmodo
Keep in touch.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Huawei Releases New Android Phone, U8230


Huawei’s U8230

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”), showcased an Android-powered U8230 smartphone at the CommunicAsia 2009 in Singapore.
The U8230, the Android based phone allows users to switch between full and half QWERTY keyboards and to navigate programs easily via a 3.5-inch LCD touch screen. Huawei’s U8230 uses the Google Chrome Internet browser which supports a variety of Google applications such as Google Map, Google Search and Google Talk. It is also fitted with a battery which has a capacity of 1500 mAH - the longest battery capacity among Android-powered handsets currently available.
Huawei also showcased C8000, a Windows Mobile based smart phone.

ocworkbench


BlackBerry Tour, Latest Smartphone By RIM


BlackBerry Tour (model 9630)

New 3G World Phone Keeps You Connected on High-Speed CDMA Networks in North America and UMTS/HSPA Networks Abroad

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Tour™ – a powerful new 3G BlackBerry® smartphone for CDMA customers in North America. The new BlackBerry Tour smartphone offers state-of-the-art communications and multimedia capabilities with outstanding mobile performance and consummate styling. It is a feature-packed and highly refined world phone that keeps you connected and lets you tour the world in style.

"BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “With its striking design and exceptional performance, the new BlackBerry Tour will offer a compelling choice for the growing number of wireless customers looking to upgrade their existing cell phone to a smartphone.”

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone allows customers to stay seamlessly connected - across town and around the world. It supports high-speed 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad.

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone also provides the industry’s leading mobile solution for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking together with built-in GPS and advanced multimedia capabilities, enabling customers to make the most of both their personal and professional time.

The BlackBerry Tour features a chic black finish with chrome highlights surrounding its sleek design (112mm x 62mm x 14.2mm and 130g). It includes a large, highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard with chrome frets and finely sculpted keys for fast and precise typing. In addition, the large (2.44"), bright display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi) delivers the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone, presenting pictures, web pages and videos with incredible clarity.

Other key features of the BlackBerry Tour smartphone include:

  • 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording*
  • Full HTML web browser, including support for streaming audio and video (RTSP)
  • Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
  • 256MB Flash memory
  • Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting cards of up to 16 GB today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available
  • Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other location based applications and services
  • BlackBerry® Media Sync allows customers to quickly and easily synch music from iTunes® and Windows Media Player with the smartphone**
  • Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
  • Preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go®, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
  • Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr®, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry® Messenger, Yahoo!® IM, AIM®, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger™
  • Support for BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking & sharing, news & weather, and more
  • BlackBerry® Internet Service allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
  • BlackBerry® Enterprise Server provides advanced security and IT administration features within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments
  • Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of talk time and 14 days of standby time

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone (model number: 9630) is expected to be available this summer from carriers in North America.

For more information visit www.blackberry.com/tour

* Video recording requires microSD card, which may be sold separately
** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone (model number: 9630) is expected to be available this summer from carriers in North America.





Saturday, June 13, 2009

Unlocking SIM Card For iPhone OS 3.0

image from Mr. Unlock.net
Unlock iPhone 3GS with unlocking SIM card
I found this on Voipinfo.org and might be handy for people like me who travel frequently. Many a times I find myself with blinking "NO SERVICE" when I travel outside of USA. I do have SIM cards from other countries that I have paid for but they do not work with my iPhone. So it is always my blackberry that works, everywhere.
According to the post and the information on the website, the unlocking SIM card for iPhone seem to work with OS 2.0 and the latest iPhone OS 3.0 Betas and supposed to work with different carriers worldwide, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, O2 and others.
The following information was taken from the Mr. Unlock.net but as I am not sure of the legality of this product I will provide you a link to the voipinfo.org. You will be able to find your way from there.
FULL Unlock for Any Network! Worldwide!
ALL Functions Working!(Incl. 3G Data network and EDGE!)
Very Easy unlock, no knowledge required!
No iTunes Sync!
This is the ONLY Reliable & Stable unlock Solution for the iPhone 3G!
No Signal Loss like other Unlocks available!
Instant Access to 1000's of iPhone Applications!
100% Working, 100% Reliable, 100% Safe!
Full Money Back Guaranteed!

Voip-info.org


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Old iPhone 3G Accessories Are Compatible With iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS
After Apple announced the new iPhone 3GS, many people realized that it is not much different from the previous one, iPhone 3G. The camera which is 3.0 Mega pixels, capable of recording videos and also could auto focus. Apple also threw in voice control and compass of which I only miss the voice control. In addition to faster processing of course you have a choice of 32GB, 16GB and 8GB memory options, starting from $99.
So basically iPhone 3GS is everything iPhone 3G was and a bit more. So all the accessories that you bought for iPhone 3G will work with iPhone 3GS. The only problem is for the vendors and manufacturers of these accessories, to inform users that their products are compatible with the new iPhone. Marketing campaigns could be very expensive and the current economy is not that helpful. (I was wondering about the economy as I was trying to get a seat to fly to Tokyo yesterday as all the flights I wanted were all fully booked!)

Reset Your iPhone To Factory Setting. (Low Level Format Your iPhone)

Complete iPhone Reset
Now that iPhone 3Gs is ready to come out, may be this ought to be in order. Resetting iphone to it's pristine factory setting can take very long time but it is not a hard thing to do.
This is not same as "iPhone Restore", restore just pretend to reset the iPhone and your information are still contained within the iPhone and a technically capable person is able to pull out these data and compromize private information. It is better to completely erase the information before selling or giving away your iPhone.
This article will guide you through Apple implemented low level formatting of your iPhone, thus completely erasing your information from the iPhone so that a regular person will not be able to pull up your information.

One prerequisite for this procedure is that you be running iPhone 2.0 or above on your phone. Check the version you are running by selecting;
SETTINGS --> GENERAL --> ABOUT (From the photo below, you can see that I am running version 2.2.1)If your iPhone says anything less, you can upgrade by connecting to iTunes and selecting "Check For Update" within iTunes. The upgrade is necessary for complete reset of iPhone, the earlier versions did not offer this capability.
Once you have confirmed that your iPhone is running a iPhone OS 2.0 or above, you can begin the reset procedure.

1) Connect your iPhone to a Power Source, the resetting can take a long time and it is better to connect to your wall mount charger as you need to leave it on during the process.
2)Again select SETTINGS--> GENERAL--> RESET on your iPhone and you will be presented with a bunch of choices but select "Erase All Content and Settings" as shown bellow.3) Now you will be presented with the warning "This will delete all media and data, and the reset all settings. This will take about an hour" and the option to "Erase iPhone" as shown below.
Make sure that the power stay connected to the iPhone and sit back and relax. within about an hour, you will have an iPhone with factory setting, all your information erased.
Now you can sell your iPhone and get a new iPhone 3GS! once it is relesed.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Leo Laporte Loses It With Mike Arrington Over Palm Pre

Palm Pre Fight!
Now I really wonder if Leo is biased? I know he can do better, Feuds never do good :) But it seems like many people do not like Mike from the comments left on YT.
WeSeePeople: Boy Big Guys Fight And Say Bad Words! Leo Laporte Loses It With Mike Arrington

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Total Palm Pre Review

Palm Pre Review
Engadget has done a marvelous job of reviewing the Palm Pre. The uber long review is so lengthy, they are presenting it in three sections, actually four if you count the post I am directing you to.
Joshua Topolsky, has done a very thorough job of going through the inards of Pre, including in depth looks at all of the Pre’s built-in applications. The memory limitations of Pre does not seem to be solved by WebOS and background tasking.
Opening a PDF of 3.9MB seem to send Pre into convultions, basically it froze the phone and giving a memory. It was also asking reviewer to close apps.
Joshua likes the web browser enough to give praise for speed and the UI, and says it’s slightly faster than the iPhone 3G’s. I am yet to check.
All in all, I will have a pre, soon. Because the phone seem to bring about some state of the art mobile features.
Enjoy Joshua's review. It is one of the best I have seen in a while.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Small Business Bundle (Wireless, Wired, And Internet, From AT&T For $100!

AT&T Small Business Service

Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to providing affordable solutions for small businesses in a tough economy, AT&T* today announced the industry’s first bundled offer targeted at small businesses that includes wireless, wired and high speed Internet services, starting at less than $100 a month.

The “All for Less” bundle is now available to qualifying small business customers (one to four lines in a single location) across AT&T’s 22-state footprint. The services, which come on one consolidated bill, include:

  • Wireless from AT&T: Customers will be able to conduct business on the go with 450 minutes each month per wireless device, which operates on the nation’s fastest 3G network, available in nearly 350 U.S. metropolitan areas. AT&T provides a full suite of wireless devices and solutions that are ideal for small businesses.
  • AT&T High Speed Internet Business Edition: Available in a variety of speeds to accommodate the needs of any small business, the service includes U.S.-based business-class technical support, all-in-one protection suite for selected tiers, up to 11 e-mail accounts and AT&T Wi-FiSM connectivity at more than 20,000 hot spots at convenient locations nationwide and more than 90,000 hotspots worldwide.
  • Local Voice: Unlimited local calling voice package, including Call Forwarding and Caller ID.
  • Long Distance Voice: Unlimited domestic long distance calling.

To qualify, customers must already have wireless service or purchase new wireless service from AT&T in addition to new or existing local voice, long distance voice and broadband services.

“We know that small businesses today depend on communications services to keep their operations productive and to do business wherever they live and work,” said Ron Spears, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T Business Solutions. “Small business customers also tell us that they like the simplicity of bundles – one provider, one bill, and greater discounts. That’s why we’re introducing an offer that includes our portfolio of industry-leading services at a great value, helping jump start small business activity in a tough economy and giving them yet another reason to select AT&T.

“In addition, the wireless component of this bundle is enabling the anytime, virtually anywhere communications desired by small businesses on the go,” Spears said. “Through our nationwide capabilities and unparalleled product and service portfolio, we offer bundles that maximize productivity both inside and outside the office.”

According to industry research firm In-Stat, small businesses with one to four employees spent nearly $17 billion last year on telecom services and associated equipment in such areas as wireless, broadband, and local and long distance voice – all of which AT&T is positioned to serve.

For more information or to purchase All for Less, small businesses should call a small business advisor toll-free at 1-866-790-3712 or visit att.com/AllForLess. Businesses with more than four lines or businesses with multiple locations that are interested in similar bundled offers from AT&T should contact their small business advisor or designated AT&T account manager.

Small businesses looking to find information about all AT&T products and services or free business resources such as webinars, white papers, training, case studies and best practices can visit att.com/onwardsmallbusiness.

AT&T Press Release.


Truphone 3.0 For iPhone and iPod Touch


truphone 3.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch

Truphone has released the latest version of it's flagship mobile phone product, truphone 3.0. It is available from itunes store for both the iPhone and iPod Touch. The product could be used while in WiFi zones to send and recieve calls just like a mobile phone.
The truphone 3.0 for iPhone was launched a while ago but the company just released the truphone 3.0 for iPod Touch.

“Following the successful launch of Truphone 3.0 for the iPhone we were keen to follow-up as quickly as possible for all our iPod touch customers. That’s what we’ve done to ensure that they can take advantage of all our new improvements: improved UI, account management and call quality. We believe Truphone 3.0 sets a new benchmark in terms of quality and performance”, said Geraldine Wilson, CEO Truphone. “With these improvements, we believe Truphone 3.0 is the best application to turn your iPod touch into a Wi-Fi phone and staying in touch with all of your IM communities.”

iPod users, If you already have Truphone for the iPod touch, just upgrade to Truphone 3.0 from within the App Store on your iPod. New users can download Truphone for the iPod touch from itunes App Store.

To make calls with Truphone for the iPod touch, you need a headset with microphone, or a microphone adaptor. You can purchase the great quality (and great value!) Truphone Mic Adaptor here for just £9.99 plus postage ($14.99 plus postage for non-UK and non-EU residents). Every Adaptor pack comes with a special bonus too!


ooma Hub and Scout Selected As Innovation Award Winner In The VoIP Category By Network Products Guide 2009

Ooma System

Palo Alto, Calif — June 3, 2009 — Ooma announced today that Network Products Guide, the industry’s leading publication on information technologies and solutions, has named the ooma Hub and Scout a winner of the 2009 Product Innovation Award. This annually venerated award recognizes and honors vendors from all over the world with innovative and ground-breaking products that are bringing essential and incremental changes and are setting the bar higher for others in all areas of information technology.

ooma is an innovative phone service which combines with a broadband Internet connection and home phones to provide incredible cost savings and advanced telephony features through exceptional VoIP technology. The ooma Hub is a one-time purchase eliminating monthly phone bills with free calls within the U.S. and low international rates. The ooma Hub’s high-performance Linux system enables a fully networked home by connecting the Internet, home phone and cell phone into one system. The ooma Scout extends the benefits of the ooma system to additional phone jacks in the home. To read more about this product innovation, please visit www.networkproductsguide.com/innovations/

“Innovation is clearly an important factor for greater success and has the most impact on staying competitive," says Rake Narang, editor-in-chief of Network Products Guide. “Innovative products such as the ooma Hub and Scout bring significant improvements in home phone communication through advanced telephony features and networking services.”

“Network Products Guide’s recognition of ooma Hub and Scout further validates ooma’s excellence-in-class and dedication to innovation” said Eric Stang, Chief Executive Officer at ooma. “We are thrilled to receive this honor and remain committed to providing innovative technology for the benefit of our customers – superior call quality and reliability while saving money by eliminating monthly home phone bills.”

Ooma Press Release.


SIPGATE, Free Phone Service To Unplug Landlines In USA

SIPGATE One
SIPGATE's recently launched free phone service seem to be going after 100 million landlines or land lines in the USA. After setting up the free account and receiving a free number in my locality, I am sure I will be using the new service, called SIPGATE One more often, perhaps more than my landline(S).
The service utilizes your broadband connection to offer a fully-featured phone service, complete with a free telephone number, no set-up costs and no monthly charges or minimums.
Another plus for the SIPGATE One is, it is capable of using any of your phones, including standard analog phones, mobile phones or VoIP phones. SIPGATE also offers a softphone for your PC. With a VoIP phone, calls to other SIPGATE users are completely free and also the incoming calls on the free U.S. phone number SIPGATE one provides. If you setup a free SIP account, you can use it as a VoIP Phone as well. Out going calls to US and Canada costs 1.9¢ per minute.
Sipgate turns your phone service into a completely web based service. Just like your web based Gmail or YahooMail. You can divert your calls to any number that you are at or call anyone with a single click and manage your calls, voice mails, just like you manage your emails.
There are many other benefits with SIPGATE One, You can setup all your phones, home, cell and office to ring in parallel, so all your calls are following you.
Remember those times that your forgot your cell phone behind? Just divert the calls to cell phone to your nearest phone, be it home office or hotel phone.
You get a call while you were on your way to a meeting and you want to take a note of the phone number and the conversation but you do not have time or a note pad handy, Just press *6 and your conversation will be recorded and you will be able to listen to it later. You can also setup a quick conference to add more people to a conversation. All these are offered without any additional fee.
There are many other features that I missed or not listed. Best would be to visit the SIPGATE and check it out for yourself.
Small Business', start ups, SIPGATE is getting ready to provide a SMB version (SIPGATE SMB)of the service and I know where I am going to test them. I am waiting.
SIPGATE

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

World’s First Retail DOCSIS® 3.0 Cable Modems At Fry’s Electronics

DOCSIS 3.0-certified Motorola SURFboard® SB6120 cable modems

Enabling blazing fast Internet up to 4 times faster than DOCSIS 2.0, Motorola’s award-winning SURFboard
® SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 eXtreme cable modems to be sold through Fry’s Electronics

HORSHAM, Pa. –01 June 2009 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced agreements to sell DOCSIS 3.0-certified Motorola SURFboard® SB6120 cable modems through Fry’s Electronics stores across the U.S. The Motorola SB6120 is the first DOCSIS 3.0 modem to launch in retail.

An established leader in the direct-to-consumer market, Motorola has sold more cable modems in retail than any other provider. The agreements with Fry’s Electronics highlight the ongoing importance of the retail channel to Motorola and give consumers access for the first time to the same DOCSIS 3.0 modems available to cable operators. The DOCSIS 3.0 standard enables faster Internet download / upload speeds — up to 4 times faster than DOCSIS 2.0 — and supports high-bandwidth Internet services as well as gaming, streaming video and multimedia downloads.

The Motorola SB6120 and SBV6220 work in concert with Motorola’s NBBS Device Management Software Platform and Motorola’s eCare solution for remote customer configuration to provide service assurance to the consumer.

“We’re witnessing the greatest advancement in DOCSIS cable modems in more than ten years, and Fry’s Electronics is at the forefront of the retail DOCSIS 3.0 movement,” said Alan Lefkof, corporate vice president & general manager, Motorola Broadband Home Gateways & Software. “We are pleased to work with Fry’s Electronics and to provide consumers with high-end modem that will work with any form of DOCSIS network their cable operators provide.”

Motorola SB6120 was recently honored with a 2009 Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®) Mark of Excellence award presented by CEA’s TechHome Division. Motorola was also awarded DOCSIS 3.0 certification by CableLabs® in 2008 for both the Motorola SURFboard SB6120 cable modem and the Motorola SURFboard SBV6220 digital voice modem. Motorola’s DOCSIS 3.0 modems include downstream channel bonding, support for IPv4 and IPv6, and advanced encryption services. They are also backwards compatible to DOCSIS 1.x / 2.0 and can easily be deployed without service interruption. The modems maximize an operator’s current infrastructure investment and enable new high-value service deployment. In addition, the SB6120 provides consumers with the peace of mind that it will work with existing broadband service while preparing them for future high-performance upgrades.

Motorola


Call Into Twitter With Twitterfone

Call into twitter

TwitterFone is free service that lets you update your Twitter feed using your voice from any mobile or cell phone. To use Twitterfone, you need to register via an invitation, and verify your phone number and your Twitter account. Once that is accomplished, TwitterFone will then give you a local phone number to call to leave messages. Thereafter any message (Tweet) you send will be transcribed, and posted to Twitter along with a link to the recording If the message happned to exceed the Twillters maximun message length, only the first 140 characters is transcribed. The entire recording is still available for listening. Once you call the given number, there is a time limit of 15 seconds on the recording.

TwitterFone is great for when you're on the go - in the car, on a train, or running between meetings - and don't have WiFi or time to log on to the internet. TwitterFone transcribes what you've said from voice to text, and posts it to your Twitter feed for you.


According to the About page on TwitterFone, in order to use TwitterFone you need to have a Twitter account and a mobile phone. To get set up with TwitterFone, you need to have an invitation , which comes with a one-time only invitation number.

Once you have your invitation, you can register with the TwitterFone service. During registration, you'll be asked for your email address, your Twitter credentials, and your mobile phone number. As a security measure, we'll validate your mobile phone during the registration process by sending you a text message with a code in it, and asking you to enter that code on the website.

Once you're done that - you're done! You can start using TwitterFone immediately by dialing the local number we give you when you're registered.

TwitterFone


T-Mobile G3 Coming Soon, T-Mobile CTO Confirms.

T-Mobile G2
During an interview with moconews, T-Mobile’s CTO Cole Brodman, confirmed the soon to be released T-Mobile G2, Google phone 2 (Android G2). He said the follow-up device to the T-Mobile G1 will be out in early summer and details of the release would come later this month.
Brodman said the device will run the so-called “cupcake” version of the operating system, which is currently rolling out to T-Mobile G1 subscribers. He wouldn’t say much else about the device, but it sounds like it has a high likelihood of coming from a new handset partner, like Motorola (NYSE: MOT) or Samsung, rather than from HTC, which manufactured the original T-Mobile G1. Brodman: “We’ll have multiple new Android devices—from multiple partners—this year.”
Moconews

Wireless Sync For iPhone And iPod

Ultra Wideband (UWB) Peripherals.
Alereon, Inc., the Certified Wireless USB technology leader for Worldwide Ultra Wideband (UWB) WiMedia solutions, today announced the first demonstration of an Apple iPhone/iPod peripheral reference design based on the new worldwide, low power 90nm-LP AL5301 chip built at Samsung's 12inch wafer fabrication facility in Korea.

The demonstration consists of a small wireless USB peripheral connected to a typical iPhone or iPod's edge connector. The adapter enables any iPhone or iPod to both provide extra battery power/charging as well as synchronize wirelessly to iTunes whether on a Windows or MAC OS machine. Future enhancements will enable connectivity to HDTVs for displaying photos or videos.

"The success of the Apple iPhone and iPod motivated us to apply the simplicity of our low power Wireless USB solution to the needs for high throughput wireless connectivity for synchronization" said Eric Broockman, CEO at Alereon. "Our new AL5301, because of its low power consumption, allowed us to produce a small form factor ideal for use with Apple's elegant iPhone family"

Press Release


iTunes 8.2, Get Ready For iPhone 3.0 Update!

iTunes 8.2
iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update.iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: Apple Security Updates

iTunes 8.2 for Windows (64BIT)
iTunes 8.2 for MAC

4GB iPhone? Call It A Sub $100 iPhone!

T-Mobile 32GB iPhone place holder in Australia (EngadgetMobile).
Sub $100 iPhone
The number of iPhones rumors seem to be increasing proportionately to the number of days we are close to WWDC and the latest make me wonder about the economy not being able to recover any near time. Why? "cos Apple is supposed to be releasing a 4GB iPhone. Perhaps Apple and carriers wondering about 32GB will not attract GrandMas to iPhone?
Yes I am waiting for the new iPhone and if they warrents an upgrade, I will. But the 4GB iPhone, I will pass, both the rumor and the phone. If I am wrong, you can expect a sub $100 iPhone from AT&T.
The rumor came from EnGadget

Monday, June 01, 2009

Back After A Long Holiday!

Been away for a while and back now. Will start posting soon.

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