Posts Tagged ‘Cellphones’
ZOMM Keeps Careless Owners In Touch with Their Phones [Dongles]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 3rd, 2010
Even if you drop your phone down a hole, or trap it in a locked briefcase, ZOMM promises to be there to connect incoming calls. It's kind of like a leash for those of us prone to abusing our phones.
Powered by Bluetooth, this hockey puck works as both a wireless speakerphone for inaccessible phones, and as an alarm should you leave your phone somewhere, forget it's there and start to walk out of range.
Slated for an official CES release, the device has a rumored $80 price point. Kind of expensive and niche, but could be useful in a pinch. [technabob]
Microsoft’s Lost Decade in Mobile [Decades]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 1st, 2010
10 years ago, you could buy the HP Jornada 548 with a color screen, which let you listen to MP3s, surf the web, check your email, and keep a calendar. It had a touchscreen. It ran Windows. It was awesome.
Today, you can buy a smartphone with a color screen, which lets you listen to MP3s, surf the web, check your email and keep a calendar. It has a touchscreen. It runs Windows. It does everything—everything—better than its ancestor did, in a much sexier hardware package. Plus it makes calls! It will cost you less than the $450 Jornada 548, though you'll probably have to sign a two-year cellphone contract. Amazingly, though, its software looks and feels almost exactly the same as its ten-year-old brother.
I don't just want to beat up on Microsoft here, because disregarding aesthetics and UX, Windows Mobile has evolved a lot since it was just a twinkle in Windows CE's eye. But not as much as the competitors around it, and not fast enough to stay relevant. So instead of looking back, let's look forward: Microsoft, Windows Mobile 7, whatever it is, is your chance to win us back. The mobile space moves faster than is did back at the turn of the millenium, back when you had some of the best mobile software on the market, but it also has a shorter memory. Show us what you've got; we're eager to see it.
Apple Refuses To Send Stolen iPhone Back To Rightful Owner After Repair [Crime]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 1st, 2010
When your stuff gets stolen, FILL OUT A POLICE REPORT. Consumerist reader Alisa is figuring this out the hard way after Apple received her stolen phone for repair. Even though it's clearly hers, they refuse to return it.
I got robbed on the subway in Brooklyn about 2 weeks ago, my iPhone (and some other crap)was taken. I called the police who were very helpful , they searched the area for a little bit, follow protocol and all that fun stuff.
Anyways, fast forward to yesterday when I get a email from Apple that someone had filed a request for a replacement phone due to a software malfunction from Apple CareService. I suspected that since I made an appointment with an Apple genius before, the Serial number on the phone was associated with my email. I called Apple to confirm this, after Apple and AT&T transferred me back and forth a few times I had the confirmation from the two companies the phone was mine , I had the address the service request was coming from (in the email) and a phone number (from an Apple rep).
I'm so excited that I can get my phone back! Until the cops arrive at my house, they tell me that since I didn't file a police report they can't do anything. I didn't file it because in order to file one, I would have had to go to a precinct downtown (like an hour away) look through books of pictures to try to ID the thief, whose face I only saw from the side for a millisecond. And really, what would a police report do for an iPhone that was stolen on a NYC subway a week before Christmas?(plus i had a final that night) The two officers also told me that even if I had a police report it would still be up to Apple and AT&T to decide how to proceed with the situation.
So I call AT&T... and over the course of 12 hours I speak to a bunch of people who are all very sorry that this is the situation I'm in, but their hands are tied — they have to honor the warranty and it does not matter that it's clear the phone is mine. They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise.
So I head to the police precinct where an officer calls the rep I spoke to last (aka the authorities speaking to Apple). The officer spends about an hour on the phone with Apple telling them that once the current holder of the phone ships the phone back to Apple, they should ship me the replacement. He gets the same answer I got—they will not do anything, they do not care that the person who has the phone currently is using a stolen phone and is not using it with AT&T (AT&T confirmed the phone # I got from the Apple rep is NOT an AT&T number).
It's not even about the phone anymore (I bought a blackberry—$600 is a TAD ridiculous for a new iPhone) its the principle of the situation, basically Apple is siding with someone who will most likely jailbreak the phone as opposed to helping a loyal customer (I've been using Apple products forever—iPods, Macs and iPhones (since the first gen)) who legally bought the phone from Apple and is using it with AT&T.
The whole situation is just illogical to me.
Yeah, illogical is a good word. Absurd is another. Does anyone out there know if this is purely about not filing a police report, or is there some other reason why Apple is being such a dick about this? [Consumerist]
Motorola’s Rumored Superthin Android Phone Sounds Spectacular [Rumor]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
We had few complaints with the Droid, and the Sholes, Occiphobic as it may be, is lustable, without a doubt. But Motorola’s alleged next phone, the .35-inch-thick, 1080p-capable Shadow/Mirage, makes Motorola’s current Android lineup look old-fashioned.
All we’ve got for now is a crude rendering and a dubiously sourced Chinese leak, but given the recent spate of Snapdragon-powered Android phones, the specs are within the realm of plausibility: crammed into the slim body, there’s a processor capable of decoding 1080p video, an 8-megapixel camera, and an HDMI port, masked by a 4.3-inch, 800 x 464 screen, as compared to the Droid’s 3.7-inch display of the same resolution.
If true, this means that there’s an Android phone that’s at least as powerful as, and thinner than, Google’s überbuzzed Nexus One sitting just over the horizon, which strikes yet another blow to the mythos of the be-all, end-all Android device. [Mobile1 via BGR]
Guy Turns Dell Netbook Into 10-Inch Android Mini 3i Phone [NetBooks]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
Ohoho, this is a mod that tickles my funnybone. Remember the Dell Mini 3i Android phone, destined for China only? Some dude has taken his Inspiron Mini netbook to pieces and turned it into his take on the Dell phone.
Because after all, who doesn't want a 10.1-inch Dell phone? Err... [Shanzai via JkkMobile]
Logic Bolt’s Second Projector Phone Makes The LG Expo Put Down The Cake [Phones]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
Boy, Logic Wireless has been chomping down the slimming pills since we saw their first projector phone a year ago. Just look at their svelte Logic Bolt V 1.5 now!
The Symbian S60 phone beams images in VGA 640 x 480 resolution, with a diagonal dimension of 64-inches (4-inches more than the first Bolt model). Battery life is pretty poor though, with the 2hours of projecting only just enough time to watch a film. Unless you're projecting, you can get 3hours of talk time, or 200 - 250 hours of standby time.
A lousy 2.6-inch QVGA screen ensures you'll be watching all of your content via the projector function, though interestingly enough it also has a TV tuner, though we'll have to wait until CES next week to find out more about the specifics there. There's two cameras, the forward-facing camera is 1-megapixel and the back cam is 3-megapixel, and a microSD card slot is present for storing extra content.
Logic Wireless has promised to show off their second projector phone next week at CES, though with all these external projector add-ons floating around for the iPhone and other handsets, the need for a dedicated projector phone is diminishing by the minute. That goes for you too, LG. [AVING]
Ten Minutes With the Nexus One [NeXus]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
We've had our hands on Google's Nexus One phone, but weren't allowed to take any pictures. This fellow, on the other hand, managed to capture his playtime in a crisp, clear video which blows away any previous blurry clips.
Heads up: There are a few not-so-safe-for-work seconds around the two minute mark. So you might want to skip over that if the boss is near (or if you don't enjoy Californication).
I think these ten minutes cover nearly the whole Nexus user interface and give a reasonable idea of what to expect when we finally get our very own gadgets to play with. Gorgeous! [via nowhereelse.fr—Thanks, Steve!]
HTC Russia Claims Only the HD2 Will Get a Windows 7 Upgrade [Htc]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
HTC Russia claims in a recent twitter post that the HD2 will be the only HTC phone to get an upgrade to WinMo 7. All other phones will remain on Windows 6.5.
Translation:
For Diamond 2 firmware is not planned. Of the existing communicators on the market, only the HD2 firmware to get WM7.
Of course, I really wouldn't qualify this as "official" just yet. [twitter via MobileTechWorld]
Innergie mCube Mini Is The World’s Smallest Travel Charger For Laptops [Chargers]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
Innergie claims their new mCube Mini is the world’s smallest travel charger for laptops. A very good thing, especially if you travel light. I refuse to pack more than one duffel bag no matter how long I’m away.
Specifically designed for cars and airplanes, the mCube Mini can be powered by either a 12V or a 15V outlet and can support netbooks and laptops that need up to 65W of power at 15-21V. It also has a USB port so you can charge other portable gadgets at the same time. Again, it’s small—60 x 26 x 18mm to be exact, so it’s fairly comparable in size to a typical cellphone. Available now for $70. [Innergie via Slashgear]
Palm Pre and Pixi “Plus” Coming to Verizon, and Soon [Rumor]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
The Palm Pre is coming to Verizon early next year. We know this. But this morning, BGR gives us something new to be excited about: The Pixi’s apparently coming to Verizon as well, and both models get a (titular?) upgrade.
Verizon’s lineup, according to BGR’s tipster, will consist of the Palm Pre Plus (codenam: Russell) and Palm Pixi (codename: Romo), which apparently look exactly like their non-plus predecessors, and will both run the currentl version of webOS, 1.3.5, at launch—a fact that jibes with the previously-announced “early next year” launch time, since Palm’s been updating the OS at a steady clip.
So anyway, what’s “Plus” about these phones? It could just be change in moniker, engineered by Palm and Verizon to inject a little energy into their existing lineup, but I’d expect something more more substantive: a faster processor, larger battery and in the case of the Pre, reengineered keyboard are all plausible guesses. Whatever it means, please, Palm, please don’t tell me your CES keynote is just going to be a glorified carrier announcement. Palm needs new hardware. We need new hardware. Hardware! Ungghhhhhhhh. [BGR]
