We've all seen the ads. Every carrier and their mother insist's that in some way, their network, coverage and speed rates are better than anyone else's. Personally, we're tired of the vague statements these shiny new commercials keep telling us with their unclear coverage maps dotted with vagaries.
Leave it to the modern smartphone to solve the issue of service misinformation. It's finally time to have carriers put their money where their mouths are, with the help of an iPhone app they're probably not too thrilled about: Carrier Compare.
The concept of Carrier Compare is simple: Press start, and the app will analyze your network's Signal Strength, Response and Speed Times, then compare it with other services nearby. The result? Depending on where you are during your day and night, you may find out the carrier you use isn't so compatible with your daily routine. And if it's time to shop around for a new service, the comparison option gives you great leads on which networks actually work for you this time around.
No more reliance spotty marketing language or impressive looking coverage graphics. With Carrier Compare, consumers actually have the power to win, just a little bit, against carriers this time.
Currently the app only compares for the Big 3, that's to say we're only talking about Verizon, AT&T and Sprint for the moment, but considering that most budget carriers also piggy-back on these networks, it's a great way to see if cheaper options such as Boost Mobile which is on th Sprint Network, would work for you.
So far the possibilities are nearly endless for how Carrier Compare can be used, but we believe people moving to new cities, or those who are looking to switch from the price gouging of their network will definitely benefit from the data provided.
We're glad the people at SwayMarkets have taken the initiative of releasing such a powerful tool for free, and we hope they continue to add carriers for comparison as well as support for Android. Hopefully this facilitates a movement for REAL QUALITY reflected by network performance and carrier prices. For now, thanks to Carrier Compare, we don't have to be guilty of fast-forwarding that Verizon commercial next time not that we ever were.
Since the first release of the Nexus-series of phones and following Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, it seemed obvious that both patents and hardware have been becoming more of a focus for the search giant.
Considering that the company's biggest and clearest rival is Apple, this really comes as no surprise, but what about tablets?
If anything, it's quite obvious that the high-end market is already dominated by the iPad (and our iPad Accessories), but hot sales of the Kindle Fire have proven that budget is beautiful too.
And it seems like Google see's it the same way.
During an April 12th Q1 earnings call, Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page expressed specific interest in lower-end, affordable Android tablets as a target for the company, and we couldn't be more excited about the prospect.
Currently, the biggest hurdle for the Android tablet is simply the size of its demographic there are just far too few people buying tablet devices running on Google's OS to warrant the same amount of tablet-Specific apps and large feverish communities that both Apple and Amazon can boast about.
Still, considering how well other companies have done so far, the potential is definitely there for Google, it just looks like adoption is simply a matter of supplying a little jumpstart to grow customers. And for a non-essential device like the tablet, lower prices make complete sense.
In our own polling, we've found that a vast majority of people would prefer a phone over a tablet mainly due to two factors: Price, and Necessity. Unlike phones, our reliance on a device that's the equivalant to a phone with a larger screen seems impracticle for the price point.
If budget Android phones are growing adoption for smartphones, then a cheap sub-$250 Android tablet may be able to do the same for tablets.
With the open source platform that is Android, we can only see this as a start of a revolution with the people's tablet.
They say if you're seeking to innovate, then you should look back and be inspired by the past. It seems the people at Pebble have taken that saying to the next level with their newest ready-to-roll product: The Pebble E-Ink Smartwatch.
Designed to work with Android and iPhone devices, the E-Ink Smartwatch pairs with your phone via Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR to deliver text messages (Android only) and other notifications, show incoming call details, control your phone's music player, and track your jogging/biking progress via apps through the phone's GPS. All this data is delivered on a glare-proof E-ink display with options to create or download your own apps included.
With an available SDK and support for simple If This Then That functionalities, customization of the device looks extremly promising to us.
Currently this sleek little device is available only on Kickstarter for $115, but that may be ending soon as it looks like the publicity for the Pebble E-Ink Smartwatch has outpaced expectations. As of this article, they've made more than 3.6x the amount of their original fundraising goal ($363,000 so far vs. the $100,000 initially expected).
Don't fret though, with such great numbers coming out of their initial fundraising, things are looking good for Pebble's future.
The product itself is an interesting juxtaposition on what's happening in tech and innovation. The cell phone can arguably be seen as the wristwatch killer, with many people opting out of wearing cumbersome bits of old technology for more useful smartphone screens, but it's clear that as time goes on, convenience will outpace novelty making smartwatches a great alternative to constantly reaching in your pocket to see what that beeping is about.
While everyone else is focusing on the device that can arguably be presented as the wristwatch killer, it looks like Pebble is smart enough to bring an old and for centuries well-established device back to the forefront. With phone thefts on the rise, and more people using public transit, the smartwatch allows for a safer and easier way to access your device without reaching into a pocket or bag.
Expect to see more devices like Pebbles watch in the future. It might just be the next big thing in tech.
We've seen a lot of opinions lately coming from prominent blogs asking phonemakers to stop with the low budget smartphones, and the only response we could come up for it was: Why?
Of course we need to put things in context: When writers are complaining about budget Android smartphones, they're right about some things: Budget phones leave a lot to be desired. They're made with aged technology and hardware that can be more than 2 years old, stifling the progress and frenzy we saw during the HTC vs. Samsung vs. Apple innovation wars between 2010 - 2011.
Cheap, budget Android phones seem like gimmicky attempts when you compare them to the newest, shiniest toys. And it feels like companies are just trying to make up for the loss in Feature Phone revenue, while having the public be satisfied with the same stats across the board. It can mean stagnation, where companies might get a little too comfortable with these kinds of devices out on the market making their strategy more focused on staggered, cheaper to make phones rather than high-end pocket computers that are top of the line.
For this writer, it feels like more of an issue about access. Having cheaper smartphones means a larger pool of users for developers, which means more apps with more people connected to them. It also gives better freedom: People aren't all willing to shell out $600+ for a phone, that simply isn't in the budget for most wallets out there, and enslaving oneself with an extravagantly priced 2-year contract for a high-end phone isn't in the cards for most either.
Budget smartphones allow for quicker adoption of these devices, and it's also one of the hottest competing markets out there, making phone companies innovate while keeping their products much cheaper. If everyone went budget, it would solidify features on smartphones that we all can use between networks, devices and applications.
So this writer hopes, that for the sake of innovation, access and true universal mobile interaction, that budget phones keep trucking along. For the sake of innovation.
With not too shabby sales of Amazon's first tablet, leaks from the online retail giant are showing the company is preparing itself for the release of the next Kindle Fire. The newest iteration of their break-through tablet is set to be bigger and better, with an eye-popping 10-inch screen and impressive state-of-the-art features showcasing that a new budget-friendly rival is arriving against the The New iPad, and it's a tough contender.
But in the end, the details are currently still sparse.
Consumer surveys have revealed a number of ways in which the next Kindle Fire could be improved, including increased battery life, a camera, and a physical volume button. If Amazon pays attention to consumer's wants and implement these into their next release, they could most certainly gain ground in the tablet marketplace. Just these small changes can change the landscape and expand the market for the Kindle Fire.
Costing only a third of the price of higher-end tablet models, the original Kindle Fire was a modern day marvel that outsold much of its competition, blowing past Samsung's Android-powered tablets and climbing up the sales ladder thanks to early adopters. If the newest release offers all the incredible features and improvements that one expects from the likes of Amazon, then the company could easily solidify its place as a powerful market leader in the tablet sector.
Due to the affordability of the original Kindle Fire, Amazon sold millions of the tablet, especially during the busy holiday season. With an amazing price tag of $200 it is a fraction of the price of the iPad, making it the perfect option for consumers with a limited budget.
Though Apple has always been the clear leader in the tablet market due to their record breaking innovation and design, Amazon has a great change of grabbing second place if affordability and strategic improvements are their primary focus for the new Kindle Fire.
The final question is: Would you buy a tablet, and if yes, what would the Next Kindle Fire need for you to be sold on this budget device?
The concept and demand of the mobile phone market is changing more rapidly than before: A recent study has revealed that consumers prefer smartphones and mobile devices with screen sizes of around 4.5 inches, whittling down the market to only a few notable devices from Samsung's Galaxy range of phones, specifically the Galaxy Note with its whopping 5.3 inch screen and the Galaxy S II series.
Larger screen sizes are emerging within the marketplace as speedier network connections become available and customers are increasingly using their smartphones to act as their primary web & media browsing device, sharing platform and social networking dashboard.
Paul Brown the director of "Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice" stated that, "Almost 90 percent of existing smartphone owners surveyed chose a prototype smartphone with a display larger than [that on] their current device."
The study's results show that consumers are crying out for larger screen sizes, and it is not hard to see why. Larger screens allow users to efficiently perform tasks and provide a better overall user experience.
All of this may just be a case of consumers wanting what they don't have, according to the study devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note would theoretically be flying of the shelves, but in reality the iPhone with its punier 3.5 inch screen is seeing stronger sales overall. Though we wonder if this is simply an issue of weak marketing efforts.
It is true that larger screen sizes have a certain novelty to them, but when it comes to everyday use people assume that they can quickly lose their initial appeal. Another factor that may be going against the large screen preference can be a certain large demographic: Those with smaller hands may find using large-screened devices as impractical, making simple tasks such as text messaging and web browsing extremely difficult for our smaller-fingered friends especially when attempting to use one hand.
Does size matter? Or is this another case of the grass being greener on the other side? Only time will tell.
The New iPad 3 was released to stores on Friday March 16th, and as expected, there were huge lines of consumers waiting to get their hands on Apple's latest innovation. The massive crowds hinting at strong sales for the newest device in the iPad, line, making another successful launch by Apple given the impressive features. on their newest tablet.
A cutting-edge retina display, pixel-perfect performance, 4G LTE capabilities, and superb battery life are just some of the iPad 3's revolutionary features.
The influx of pre-orders saw Apple delaying their shipments, to ensure that demand could be met, and sales records would be broken yet again.
Prices for the iPad 2 were dropped, making the tablet more affordable for schools and those in the education sector, a marketplace that Apple has been planning to break into.
The company is currently teaming up with publishers to create an extensive and expansive library of e-textbooks, but with the current price still around $400, there is still plenty of room for competitors to wedge their way through the door.
Apple's biggest rival Google is meanwhile delaying the release of the Android 4.0 software which has been dubbed ‘Ice Cream Sandwich'. This delay is hurting Google's ability to keep up with Apple software updates and could seriously hit the company hard if they do not get their act together soon.
The Android 4.0 software is suffering from fragmentation issues, and due to the open platform that Android offers, the software must be tested across multiple devices as customized versions of Android is installed by different manufacturers.
However, that issue is only the tip of the iceberg for the search giant: Oracle's direct attack on Google's Android is the company's most pressing matter, causing a prolonged two year patent battle that could hinder the growth of the Android platform. 2012 has a lot at stake for Google, making the prospects of things to come even more interesting.
In a move to compete with the success of Google Maps, Apple has revealed news on its acquisition of C3 Technologies known for its forays into 3D mapping. C3 Technologies was added to Apple's 3D mapping portfolio along with their purchase of Poly9 last year, putting speculation to rest as to who actually bought C3 within the industry.
Now eyes are on Apple as to how the company will use 3D mapping technologies as current iOS devices use Google Maps for one's navigational needs. According to 9to5 Mac, C3's CEO, CFO, and lead product manager are working with Apple's iOS team to bring its realistic 3D mapping technologies to consumers. Ultra-realistic 3D renderings of maps are re-rendered on a 2D plane in order to give the user a very realistic map experience even more so than street or satellite views currently in use.
'C3 Technologies creates incredibly high-quality and detailed 3D maps with virtually no input from humans. The 3D mapping is camera based and the technology picks up buildings, homes, and even smaller objects like trees. C3′s solution comes from declassified missile targeting methods,' says the 9to5 Mac report.
The move by Apple is yet another maneuver to set itself apart from the competition. Acquisition of companies that can bolster iOS offerings has been the name of the game for Apple. Siri is a prime example as Apple purchased the start up last year as well to embark on natural voice recognition technology in the iPhone 4S.
Apple is known for taking the best aspects from startups such as C3 in order to release services that coincide with the company's vision. Hence, acquiring C3 (and Poly9) for their 3D mapping technologies makes Apple in a prime position to oust Google Maps out of its native iOS devices.
At the recent London Nokia World conference, the company unveiled the new Lumia Nokia smartphones that are said to pack a punch despite their low-cost marketing. Unlike the powerhouses touted by the likes of Samsung, Motorola, and Apple, a couple of the new Nokia smartphones are beautifully crafted devices that come shipped with the equally aesthetically pleasing Windows Phone 'Mango' operating system.
While four of the six unveiled Nokia smartphones are meant for worldwide emerging markets like the Middle East and parts of Asia, two of them come packed with features essential to the smartphone experience, at a reduced price.
The Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 Nokia smartphones feature not only the latest 'Mango' updates, but have three exclusive features. Nokia Drive is a turn-by-turn navigation app that provides all the fixings that we've seen with smartphone GPS technology, but will also feature offline maps so that you can save and access directions without network or WiFi connection. Nokia music has a feature called Mix Radio that plays pre-set mixes. And for those whose fancy does not lie with cell phone covers or cell phone charms, there's ESPN Sports Hub, exclusive to the Nokia smartphones.
However, there are downsides to the phones such as a lack of a front-facing camera. Kevin Tofel of GigaOM notes that 'while this trio of software features adds appeal to Nokia's new smartphones, I had expected a greater level of Nokia feature integration in Windows Phone. That impression came from the Nokia-Microsoft deal as both companies alluded to deeper software collaboration. Perhaps this will change in time, but from a software perspective, other Windows Phone makers should still compete well with the new Lumias, even without the Nokia software exclusives.'
Tofel does commend Nokia's consistency with hardware design and durability, noting the elegance seen with five available colors and a sleek yet tight design. Keep an eye out for their release date, as Nokia smartphones may prove to the wireless market that high-end ultra-smartphones with their steep price points are not the only way to be mobile.
Next Generation 911 has been in the works under the FCC, Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation in an attempt to make 911 emergency calls more efficient than the current iteration. However, health policy analyst John S. Wilson feels that Siri and other voice services could usher in Next Generation 911 with emergency calls that encompass almost everything except the rescue itself.
Emergency calls made to 911 at present can only be done via phone call and emergency operators and respondents have no way to find the caller without an address. Next Generation 911 is an overhaul to our current emergency response system, allowing GPS locations to be attached to not only phone calls, but texts and video messages as well. John S. Wilson of Policy Diary penned an article at GigaOM recommending development of Siri and other natural voice recognition software to aid in emergency calls.
Siri's popularity with new iPhone 4S owners has gotten them excited over new ways to bend the personal assistant to their will. Unfortunately, Siri cannot make emergency calls as Apple has not instituted a method to authenticate the call and ensure it is not a prank, as many Siri inquiries have been since launch.
As a health policy analyst, John S. Wilson believes 'Siri's particular ability to understand natural language and its deep, contextual search capabilities may change how people contact and communicate with first responders.' He also adds the three following steps Siri could take, if allowed to make emergency calls, when someone requires help but may not necessarily know where they are or what exactly happened due to trauma or otherwise.
'First, the phone could video call 911 utilizing Skype or a similar VoIP video service. This would allow first responders to have a much better context of the emergency at hand. Armed with a live video and audio feed of the event, visual cues could assist the first responders as they deconstruct the problem.
'Second, Siri could send the GPS location of the caller.'
Not only this, Siri could be prompted to notify next-of-kin when and where the caller initiated the emergency call and inform them as to which hospital the caller will be located.
'Capabilities like these may shave precious minutes off first-response times and get victims to critical care faster.'
In addition to the fun and convenience smartphones bring to our lives, those concerned with health policy and technology find essential emergency aids in the form of Siri. Imagine your Apple iPhone 4S accessories as well as cell phone covers and phone cases for Android devices that may have natural voice recognition software in the future all the apps and accessories on our trusted devices may help us in a way we take for granted. Imagine Siri, perfectly nested in stylish iPhone 4S leather cases or iPhone 4S covers, responding not only to one's appointments, questions, and whims but also assisting with emergency calls in a dire moments of need.
The last couple years have been rough and tumble for Nokia: slumping sales, cancelled projects, and constantly swapping decision-makers had put them in the spotlight as... not-so-stable.
To keep afloat, the European phone maker has been stirring quite a bit of controversy in its recent restructuring decisions, especially with a change in focus from Maemo to Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, but it seems that nothing can stop them. Nokia is all-in, and they proved it this Monday in London, with a sky-lighting, heavy-handed promotion of their newest smartphone: The Nokia Lumia 800
Featuring popular Electro DJ Deadmaus, the video showcases cutting-edge projection technology, switching a normal office building into a richly-dynamic canvas.
T-Mobile launched a mobile version of its Internet calling app 'Bobsled' which will allow free calling options on iOS and Android devices alike. Being the only major US wireless carrier that is not offering any of Apple's devices, T-Mobile makes a bold move by offering its mobile app allowing users to make phone calls, leave voicemail messages, and send messages for free.
Bobsled works on the iPhone, iPad, and any Android-based smartphone or tablet. Cross-compatibility, in addition to using Facebook credentials for service allows a relatively seamless free calling experience for customers. Anyone using Bobsled will be able to make a free phone call to anyone in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico even if calling from outside of these regions. People receiving the calls initiated by T-Mobile's downloadable app can do so via phone or computer with their normal telephony choices; no special programs or updates needed.
Bobsled allows customers to log in with Facebook credentials, as is the modern trend, to access a variety of free messaging services. The only downside towards Bobsled being a complete replacement of one's landline is that it cannot make emergency 911 calls. Bobsled does serve as an alternative free calling solution, allowing T-Mobile to gain a customer base from other carriers as it competes with the likes of Apple's iMessage and longtime contender BlackBerry Messenger.
Bobsled was released earlier this year as a web-based free calling service that was used with Facebook's integrated chat window; however, the project was canned as Facebook found Bobsled too redundant to the social network's offerings. T-Mobile's release of the mobile app for cross-platform use between Android and iOS adopters is a move outside of the carrier's core services, but one that T-Mobile currently finds lucrative. As people begin adding iPhone 4S covers, iPhone 4s leather cases, and other iPhone 4S accessories to their shopping carts, T-Mobile is banking on Bobsled to rake in some of the customers Apple is bringing to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.
In addition to carrying Apple's now top-of-the-line smartphone, anyone opting for a Sprint iPhone 4S will be pleased to hear that unlimited data packages are available, as opposed to data plans offered by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
According to AllThingsD, a Sprint spokesperson says they will be offering unlimited plans that start at $69.99 a month, with 450 voice minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Unlimited voice minutes and data, if one wishes, would then be $99.99 a month. However, Sprint in 'reading between the fine-print' fashion, also tacks on a $10 surcharge for all smartphones.
The top-tier wireless carrier hopes to bolster its fourth place position as AT&T and Verizon recently discontinued their unlimited data options. The Sprint iPhone 4S is of major importance to the carrier's future as it reportedly committed to an order of 30 million iPhones over the next four years; in total, a $20 billion investment.
When the Verizon iPhone launched earlier this year, it too was paired with the carrier's $30-a-month unlimited data plan 'but preorders had hardly begun when a policy change started throttling heavy iPhone users' bandwidth,' according to online tech news site Mashable.
AT&T and Verizon will still be selling the iPhone 4, and AT&T plans to offer the older 3GS for free with a two-year contract. The Sprint iPhone 4S is expected to bring revenue to a company dealing with a possible post-merger giant between AT&T and T-Mobile. If the merger is successful, Sprint could be catapulted backwards into a position where it may not be able to compete with the more popular carriers.
Thinking of getting a Sprint iPhone 4s? Look to Wireless Emporium for iPhone 4S accessories as we continue to be the trusted source in cell phone accessories. Even if you do not plan on upgrading to the 4S, we carry the latest unlocked cell phones to pique your interest.
There is still time before the iPhone 4s is released across the three carriers, but the Sprint iPhone 4S may pull unexpected customers who were already on board for switching to a smartphone or even an Apple product.
As RIM struggles to rectify one of its most disruptive BlackBerry outages, the company may see more losses as Apple's iPhone 4S becomes available to customers looking to switch.
Not only that, older iPhone models with reduced prices and Google's upcoming Android 'Ice Cream Sandwich' update may tempt those increasingly dissatisfied with RIM's services to try out other company's offerings in light of the BlackBerry outages. Matt Thornton, an analyst at Avian Securities LLC in Boston said that the Blackberry outages are awful timing for RIM, as investors demand more from the once-leader in smartphones.
'RIM is doing some of Apple's work for them.'
As Apple prepared for its launch week, prompting a record one million pre-orders for its new iPhone 4S, RIM was in the midst of dealing with BlackBerry outages that strike at the core of the company's once heralded services. A network failure in RIM's U.K. data center prevented messaging and normal Web browsing on BlackBerries around the world. The service has since been restored prompting apologies by the company's co-CEOs, saying that RIM has let many customers down.
RIM customers dissatisfied by the BlackBerry outages may look to other companies such as Apple, prompting them to trade off their BlackBerries, cell phone covers and cell phone cases for iPhone 4S accessories. Those looking beyond Apple may await for high-end phones like Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, touting Google's latest iteration of Android.
Besides failing stock and investor demands for BlackBerry products fit for the competition, RIM deals with how to compensate for the disruption of service and its continual push for its entire lineup to a new operating system. Patrick Spence, RIM's head of global sales and regional marketing said, 'We know we'll have to work to do to build back that credibility,' understading customer frustration towards the BlackBerry outages and recognizing RIM's need to improve on how to deal with such issues.
As many make the switch and look to protect the 'Apple of their eye' with iPhone 4S covers and iPhone 4S leather cases, RIM scrambles to keep customers in lieu of BlackBerry outages, ramped up competition, and a line of products that once touted superior cellular service.
Coupled with the highly-anticipated release of its latest iPhone (and all subsequent iPhone 4S accessories), Apple iCloud is bringing the ease of file syncing and backup to iOS users.
Compared to its previous iterations through iTools, .Mac, and MobileMe, Apple iCloud is a free service for all iOS users allowing synchronization of calendars, contacts, and documents synced on all devices you may have. Not only does it allow cross-syncing through Macs, iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches, but even allows functionality via PCs for those of us with feet on both sides of the PC/Mac divide.
Anything purchased via App Store on said devices are automatically backed up into your five gigabytes of free space on Apple iCloud. If one wishes to beef up their storage capacity, they may do so with an annual rates for tiered storage an extra $20, $40, or $100 for 10, 20, or 50GB.
MobileMe was available to Apple enthusaists for $100 a year; however Apple iCloud allows some of the same functionality as its predecessor for free. Find My iPhone, the service previously free on MobileMe, has been included again to help you find whatever iGadget of yours is lost or, knock on wood, stolen. You are able to remotely trigger your misplaced device with a loud pinging sound (even if previously set to vibrate). The phone can be spotted remotely on a map based on its GPS triangulation and like before, you are able to remotely wipe your device should it fall into the wrong hands.
Automatic backup is perhaps one of the key features that Apple fans hold true to the company WiFi connections allow you to back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch automatically via Apple iCloud. It is quick as it only backs up data changed from the last backup.
There are some features that did not make the cut, which some Apple users previously on MobileMe are missing, according to some reports. Regardless, the service is completely up to the user to sign up with as you are able to prevent certain, or all services, from syncing your devices onto Apple iCloud.
For those dreaming about the iPhone 4S, you would not want to forget about backing up and syncing your device. As you plan on purchasing some of the coolest iPhone 4S covers or classier iPhone 4S leather cases, consider Wireless Emporium's supply of the best cell phone covers and cheap phone cases to protect your investment, as Apple iCloud does with your precious data.
AT&T and Verizon are butting heads on a new battleground in the form of business phone services, each scrambling to establish a perfect enterprise solution using employees existing devices or company-wide roll outs.
As made popular by virtualization technologies, 'dual-persona' systems are being touted by companies such as VMware to offer business phone services to the office setting. Such technologies allow IT administrators roll out business-related software and apps to phones used by employees without getting in the way of everyday use of said phones.
As more and more people obtain smartphones that are capable of surpassing work done by lower-end desktop setups, enterprises may cut corners by implementing company-wide software using virtualization or apps that separate your phone's business and personal aspects. AT&T has just released their brand of business phone services with an app called Toggle, allowing employees to switch between work and play (and hopefully more of the former).
Personal mode allows one to call, text, play games, and anything else usually done on a smartphone during one's personal time. However, when the boss is behind your back, Toggle allows access to company email, apps, and calendars in a way previously reserved for company workstations or virtual private networking.
However, Toggle comes with a huge downside in the form of availability limited to select Android devices. While smartphone virtualization being developed by companies such as VMware, Open Kernel Labs, and Red Bend aims to streamline business phone services, Verizon looks to make the push beyond the Android market by offering its Private Applications Store for Business to all users regardless of make and carrier.
Where AT&T falls short of pleasing non-Android users, Verizon follows through allowing 'businesses [to] create app stores with just the devices their employees or partners need, tuned for the privileges and needs of specific departments and users. They can include both internally and externally developed apps, and IT administrators can pull apps from the store or make them inaccessible on a user's device when necessary,' according to Verizon's Business Solutions Group VP, Janet Schijn.
Both wireless giants tout different approaches to a problem in the enterprise realm as business evolves to meet the needs of employer and employee. Unlocked cell phones and cellphone plans taking advantage of virtualization can be the investment (as long as productivity remains unhindered by Solitaire) which your company can utilize for its business phone services.
Smartphones are here to stay with almost half of American cell phone users taking advantage of Internet access and apps that improve quality of life quite significantly. If used with care, a smartphone is a multitool with almost no comparison to the average consumer, as its power and mobility are called upon daily.
However, there is a technological divide as seen with the other half of cell phone users using feature phones. In contrast to smartphones, feature phones are 'dumb' and increasingly obsolete. Those who opt for feature phones, with incomes insufficient towards adopting smartphone technologies, often lack basic Internet access to enjoy the same functionality that a smartphone user would have. Those buying low-end smartphones have to deal with outdated operating systems and non-optimized apps, often times with little customer support or care on the cellular carrier's end.
The International Data Corporation 'more U.S. Internet users will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wireline devices.'
Unfortunately, lack of reliable Internet access puts numerous limitations on people trying to enjoy the same services, opportunities, engagement and otherwise enjoyed by those with smartphones or other mobile Internet-ready devices. Wireless carriers tend to rollout services in major metropolitan areas where coverage is based on the markets that bring the companies the most income, totally disregarding the wireless spectrum that is being sat upon.
Rural or less sparsely populated communities are often last to receive the latest technologies offered by carriers, which results in the technological divide that we see today. There is no question that the price and availability of Internet access causes the disparity between metro and rural, wealthy and poor.
For example, those who do not wish to subscribe to wireless carriers' flavors of Internet access have options in the form of WiFi and WiMAX yet these services are not fully supported across the US outside of major cities and are increasingly beaten out by carrier's 3G and 4G LTE networks. These networks come at a premium, with forced data cell phone plans and smartphones that have been priced higher and higher as mobile technology advances.
Wireless carriers and manufacturers continue to contribute to a technological gap between lower income individuals and those with padded pockets. City slickers are at a clear advantage with constant Internet access, leaving those in areas with sparse network coverage to fend to their own devices.
Looking for a reasonable 4G wireless plan with no annual contract committments? Walmart and T-Mobile have joined forces to offer unlimited 4G data plans at $30 per month with added perks to keep you in the loop with your wireless device.
Using T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ network, Walmart customers can benefit from 5GB of data, unlimited text, and 100 minutes of talk free with no annual contract to keep you chained to one carrier. According to the Walmart press release, the plan will be sold at more than 2200 Walmarts and online via Walmart.com and T-Mobile.com later this month.
As compared by PC World, Virgin Mobile (owned by Sprint) 'whose plans start at $35 per month, throttles users after 2.5GB and only offers 3G speeds.' Walmart and T-Mobile aim their prepaid plan to those who are more apt to use wireless data over the network. Walmart and T-Mobile gives prepaid customers a taste of 4G network speeds; however, their 100 voice minutes with no additional package fees pale in comparison to Virgin's offering of 300 voice minutes and 900 more for $10 per month.
For those new to the prepaid cellphone plans, be wary that your choice in handsets do not compare to the power and speed from the likes of AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Unlocked cell phones are available for those with a specific tech palate, but Walmart customers will be pleased to hear that an exclusive 4G handset and T-Mobile phones will be made available in conjunction with the 4G plan release.
Many smartphone owners use their device for almost everything except voice calls. For when there is an app for everything, such as Skype for VOIP, Walmart and T-Mobile's offer of 100 voice minutes per month is of less concern. 4G is becoming adopted by more and more manufacturers in order to keep up with the amount of data pushed by our beloved apps and wireless services.
AT&T's Smart Wi-Fi is a breath of fresh air for those who have a distaste for carrier-provided apps. Available for free on the Android Market, Smart Wi-Fi allows you to locate and connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots not easily found by standard wireless searching apps. The app allows you to manage Wi-Fi connections often used and even allows your phone to switch to Wi-Fi automatically to save cellular data usage (and some change on your phone bill).
As highlighted in AT&T's press release, Smart Wi-Fi takes wireless management to the next level as it is able to switch from cellular to Wi-Fi connections automatically. The app displays nearby hotspots with a 'Missed Opportunities' list displaying hotspots you missed but can access next time around. Using 'View Data Plan,' customers can easily check up on their Wi-Fi and cellular data percentages for their monthly alotted data.
Smart Wi-Fi not only manages connections, but also cell phone batteries as switching between Wi-Fi and cellular data is automatically managed by the app. By enabling automatic handling, the app will conserve batteries by turning your Wi-Fi or cellular radios off according to the connection established by Smart Wi-Fi.
AT&T built in additional features such as 'My Spots,' which automatically connects you to previously accessed networks. 'Popular Hotspots' finds any Wi-Fi hotspot with good connection ratings based on previous users' experiences. 'Public Hotspots' does background scanning of any other available public hotspot and its signal strength.
CNET's review of Smart Wi-Fi claims that AT&T's new app is not necessarily a generous contribution to customers frustrated with shoddy cellular and Wi-Fi connections.
'Wi-Fi has played a particularly important role with AT&T since the company acquired Wi-Fi operator WayPort three years ago. The company has signed deals to create Wi-Fi hot spots in major chains such as McDonald's, Starbucks, and FedEx locations.'
Smart Wi-Fi is a solution that networks are increasingly pushing on the customer: lay off the 3G and 4G and hop onto Wi-Fi to alleviate the wireless spectrum 'shortage.' Need a new Android phone to take advantage of this app? Wi-Fi can be at your fingertips with a purchase of an unlocked cell phone from Wireless Emporium.
Taking mobile gaming to a whole new level, LEGO has developed an iPhone app that integrates physical bricks into virtual fun.
LEGO's 'Life of George' is not only an app available for iPhone and iPod Touch (with possible plans for Android devices in the future) as it includes 144 LEGO bricks and a Playmat. The game follows George and his brand of adventures and hobbies. Playing through George's storyline allows you to experience levels that prompt you to mimic shapes in-game with the provided Playmat and bricks.
The app and physical components to 'Life of George' work together like actors in front of green screens. LEGO uses 'brick recognition' technology developed by EyeCue detected anything placed on the Playmat and transmit it to the iPhone or iPod Touch.
The faster you build, the more points you get. Not only do you build objects to advance through Life of George, you can play against another 'hot-potato' style as you take turns beating each others building times. The game's Creation Mode allows you to design and capture your own bricktopias to upload on a virtual scrapbook. Already, further cross-marketing has occurred in the form of a Facebook page allowing players to further interact in the Life of George.
The game itself is being sold for $29, which is pretty steep for a game with Angry Birds levels of difficulty and re-playability. LEGO's foray into augmented reality gaming is yet another push into the lucrative mobile gaming market. LEGO has already seen much success with video games as seen with the LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones series, as well as a LEGO massively-multiplayer online game called LEGO Universe. Life of George is especially ideal for those with a fixation for brick building and not wanting to bring along the mess of thousands of loose LEGO bricks.
Many with an iPhone 4 or relatively new smartphone released within a years time are wondering whether or not its worth the switch to the latest iPhone 4S model unveiled by Apple. As with all new releases, this year's presentation was the same formula of companies trying to one-up each others' features and specifications, in order to grab any new customer that they might not have had in their grasp, but Apple is 'different' (for early adopters, you can get ready with our line of iPhone 4S Accessories)
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The Cupertino company takes it a bit further within their marketing ecosystem, and poses this question to its own customers every time a new device is released: should I upgrade my perfectly functional one or two-year-old device for the latest and greatest? Many articles are quick to say yes, citing technologies like the personal voice assistant, Siri, which uses cutting-edge voice recognition technology to assist your every smartphone-fueled desire.
The iPhone 4S does put a couple things under its belt that make even the least tech-savvy customers drool. For one, the 4S has increased speeds (downloading, processing, and improved graphics performance) compared to its predecessors. It is also the first Apple device to have 1080p video recording and has a bonus for shutterbugs with its aperture of f/2.4.
Awesome perks aside, you may want to take the following into consideration before dropping a few hundred dollars on a phone you might not really need at the moment.
iPhone 4 owners should definitely think twice before upgrading to a 4S. You will already be able to experience most of what the new iOS 5 has to offer without needing a new phone.
The iPhone 4S will be offered on a new network, Sprint, in addition to AT&T and Verizon; however, the increased download speeds will only be experienced on the AT&T network, with no support for higher-end 4G LTE alreayd utilized by an array of top-shelf Android devices. The only feature you will really miss out on is Siri and the obvious hardware changes. Do improved voice commands justify a loss of a few Benjamins?
On the other hand, iPhone 3GS and prior owners may definitely want to consider an upgrade. Though the 3GS is compatible with the iOS 5 update, it will most definitely be pushing its processing capabilities to keep up with updates native to the raw power of an iPhone 4S. Think of it as a full jump in generation of iPhone technologies, as A) your two-year contract is most likely up for devices this 'old', and B) why sport an iPhone if you can't keep up with the latest technologies? In that case, there are plenty of lower or mid-range Android, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry devices that are more powerful, if you really want to find a balance between power and cost.
Current Sprint customers may well benefit from an upgrade to an iPhone 4S, as it will be available on the network upon release. The 4S will serve as an additional option to the current flagship phones Samsung 4G Epic Touch or HTC Evo 3D. As there's no guarantee whether or not future iPhones released on Sprint will be compatible with its WiMAX 4G network, you may want to consider the 4S if you have wanted an Apple phone (like the rumored iPhone 5) or you do not want to make a carrier switch.
For those with Android 'super-smart' phones such as the Motorola Droid Bionic or Samsung Galaxy S II, you already have that phone for a reason. Raw power and fast 4G network connections are already at your fingertips. Upgrading to an iPhone 4S would be purely for the perks Apple has to offer over Google.
Still satisfied with your 'feature phone'? It's up to you whether or not you want to make the upgrade. Chances are if you've held off this long in the wireless device spectrum, you are only in it for the pure telephony and no bells and whistles. If your main concern is text and voice calls, the options you should weigh are carrier and plan-based.
Keep in mind that Apple has a release date slated, with preorders available on their website with the obvious influx of iPhone 4S accessories abound. Though some are disappointed in the fact that the "Let's Talk iPhone" event did not entail the highly-anticipated and rumored iPhone 5, the 4S brings Apple closer to the current reign of Android super-smartphones. Apple, with all the hype that it and media generates with any iProduct, is bound to continue this cycle that was started with the 3G and 3GS models.
Be smart with your purchase as an iPhone 4S Leather Case would be a worthwhile purchase for protecting your device, think of how you typically use your phone and ask yourself if an upgrade is due. iPhone 4S accessories and the 4S itself may or may not be cost-effective investment for some, but may improve the current smartphone experience for others.
Analysts at Citigroup released a report suggesting that the current wireless spectrum is sufficient for demand. The problem, is that current wireless operators that control large amounts of unused spectrum, are lacking the funds to build networks to use the spectrum available. Top-tier operators however, are using their spectrum holdings for existing services.
This comes in light due to lobbying on behalf of the FCC and CTIA, who have identified the need for additional wireless spectrums be made available for auction to keep up with demand for wireless data.
Citgroup's writers for the report, Jason Bazinet and Michael Rollins, believe that the US does not face a spectrum shortage. "Too much spectrum is controlled by companies that are not planning on rolling out services or face business and financial challenges. And, larger carriers cannot readily convert a substantial portion of their spectrum to 4G services, because most existing spectrum provides 2G-3.5G services to current users."
Companies such as Clearwire, LightSquared, and Dish Network are slow to establish networks, ultimately holding up much of the unused wireless spectrum. Citigroup also noted that true 4G would offer a more enriched wireless experience for the consumer, allowing "robust mobile use and limited home use"limited due to the current lack of replacements for large screen HD video streaming.
Citigroup offers the above companies a sort of cheer-leading by noting incumbent wireless carriers' reluctance to accelerate the 4G experience. As LightSquared claims to "dramatically lower prices on the retail level and give consumers a brand-new option for wireless broadband,"up-and-coming carriers can properly distribute wireless spectrum to consumers and businesses.
Comcast recently announced its venture into the wireless industry with its nationwide, 800 cell tower strong network, furthering the claim that there is plenty of of spectrum left over.
As the wireless landscape continues to evolve, Wireless Emporium provides its customers with competitive offerings, from unlocked cell phones to cell phone plans. We hope carriers remain competitive in allowing customers access to an unhindered wireless landscape.
The National Security Agency is looking to use smartphones to access their network of classified data from mobile devices, but are having problems developing a truly secure device.
As with any new technological advancement that the government must keep up with, there are challenges that have to be addressed in a way that keeps current systems running in a secure and accessible manner. Such challenges are met by people such as NSA's mobility mission manager, Troy Lange, who is currently working on a way to get smartphones into the hands of every governmental employee for increased efficiency.
Smartphones in the civilian sector offer obvious benefits towards increased efficiency. Lange and others in charge of closing the technological gap within our governmental services, face not only ridicule from employees who experience more efficiency in their 'civvies' rather than uniform, but also the constant threat of hackers. Mobiledia reports further by exemplifying 'hacktivist group' Anonymous, whose latest exploits "hit a FBI cyber-security contractor just last month, posting nearly 400 megabytes of files from ManTech, an online security contractor for the FBI, NATO, and U.S. Defense, State and Justice Departments. U.S. Army personnel files and e-mails were among the items publicized."
Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), or buildings designated by the NSA which house many restrictions to ensure secure handling of classified information, currently disallow any outside phone from use. The U.S. government already implements secure cell phones with access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network for top-tier communications; however, it has been found that the network cannot handle the wireless data usage of smartphones. As there is no wireless network within SCIFs, agents like Lange must access work-specific data from hard-lined terminals.
"It's moving away from this whole concept between a classified device and an unclassified device. It's the information that is classified. So the intent is how can I gain access to that classified information in a mobile way," stated Lange, in preparation for a pilot project using smartphones specifically developed with governmental security concerns in mind. The pilot will begin using consumer-grade smartphones with NSA-developed security features protecting said classified information.
While the many consumers are plagued by choice over which cell phone covers or cell phone cases should cover their prized devices, security concerns must be addressed in order to allow smartphones a governmental role.
Phone calls from a fake lover have never been high on my list of methods to escaping awkward situations, but over 1400 people on Facebook and Twitter alone have admitted to using the services of FakeGirlfriend.co to do just that. Before you get that adult filter ready, let me tell you something about this obscure product.
FakeGirlfriend is not an 'adult' website per se, but a service that allows you to summon a fake girlfriend with a phone call or text. Developers of this Twilio-based app propose the following for whatever situation you may find yourself needing a false significant other:
"Are you tired of being embarrassed by the fact that you don't have a girlfriend? Do you wish that you could get interrupted by a loving phone-call during man time? Let me introduce you to FakeGirlfriend."
The steps to falsified freedom are easy:
Save their Twilio-based phone number to your phone under your "girlfriend's" name
Send a text to "her"
FakeGirlfriend will respond with a "girlfriend-esque" message and then call you with a pre-recorded message.
After hanging up, gloat to your friends or escape from the situation as permitted.
These steps may be your saving grace, but what if you need to cover your fake-girlfriend bases on Facebook? David Fuhriman's Cloud Girlfriend allows you to maintain a relationship via Facebook to give you peace of mind, one loving, robotic Wall Post at a time.
...Uh, just what the market needed?
The difference between FakeGirlfriend and Cloud Girlfriend is that the former service is solely on your phone with preset messages. If you want a bit more personalization to your pseudo-relationship, Cloud Girlfriend may be of service to you, since "the easiest way to get a girlfriend is to already have one."
Wise words.
As the world throws more hurdles your way against meeting the right person, technology looks to ease the burden with services that electronically bless users with dating prowess. Having a brand-new, fake girlfriend is as easy as A few clicks on your phone or keyboard.
Cellular contracts have become something dreaded like signing away one's soul. Is it worth the two-year commitment, with fees tacked on like a game of pin the tail on the donkey? Or is it worth it to pay the full cost of the cellphone upfront, no strings attached?
Anders Bylund reports via Daily Finance on the pros and cons regarding cellular contracts. Seemingly a lose-lose situation for consumers, Mr. Bylund breaks down the numbers and analyzes the whether to sign away or to immediately swipe $600 or so from your bank account.
Smartphones(Verizon's iPhone 4 16GB was given as the example) are usually discounted by carriers at $199 with agreement to the their two year contracts. This is in contrast to a $649 price tag for the phone and no commitment, leaving you with the prepaid option. If you chose the two-year relationship with say, AT&T or Verizon, you will be forced into purchasing a data plan which is $30. This is on top of your basic calling and texting plan, ranging from $39.99 to $89.99 based on various 'perks.'
For those who could do without a two-year handshake, the prepaid cost for 3G and 4G networks is the same as those who go with a contract. "In this case, you're paying $5 extra per month and you give up the $450 initial discount; you don't gain much by going your own way," says Mr. Bylund.
What 'makes it or breaks it' for those indecisive with their cellular plans is the steep termination fees. If you tend to move from network to network for whatever reason, the initially appealing discounts offered by cellular contracts will bite back at your wallet in the end.
Looking to rough it without 3G and 4G network speeds? You would save an estimated $150 by using a smart little feature called WiFi. Sticking to a neighborhood coffeehouse or library and having Skype or Google Voice on the ready is what some smartphone users consider to cut the costs.
Consumer Reports also put out a guide a while back about how to cut unnecessary costs from cell phone bills. Something to consider when shopping for that new smartphone and wondering whether or not the instant gratification of a $199 'shotgun marriage' is worth it in the long run. However you decide to deal with your cellular provider, Wireless Emporium has unlocked cell phones and cell phone plans for you to compare and save.
Prior to this week, Nvidia touted its latest Tegra 3 mobile processor codenamed 'Kal-El' as the latest quad-core powerhouse to launch the world of smartphones and tablets into new dimensions. However, Nvidia released a document addressing their new technology as "a multi-core CPU architecture for low power and high performance." This means four cores for central processing and a dedicated fifth core that takes over during periods of low battery consumption.
Hopefully that was not too much technobabble as further description of Kal-El's specs suggests a revolution in increased processing speeds versus power-consumption issues
Early demos of Kal-El previewed what you would expect from the renowned chipset manufacturer: graphics processing rivaling that of today's gaming-centric devices and multi-core processing speeds for seamless flow between apps. Nvidia's super-chip delivers a solution to the 'kryptonite' that is cell phone batteries by making use of a fifth, supplementary core that functions during a device's standby mode. The 'companion' core, as Nvidia calls it, is the answer to drained mobile device batteries requiring less thought about cell phone chargers and USB cables. Nvidia's blog elaborated on the power-saving capabilities for the powerhouse of a processor.
"During less power-hungry tasks like web reading, music playback and video playback, Kal-El completely powers down its four performance-tuned cores and instead uses its fifth companion core. For higher performance tasks, Kal-El disables its companion core and turns on its four performance cores, one at a time, as the work load increases."
Nvidia adds that Kal-El's technology is compatible with all operating systems, negating the need to rewrite any coding to make use of the companion core.
lower power consumption, higher performance per watt
faster web page load times
higher performance for demanding applications
faster multitasking
higher quality gaming
As major chipset competitors such as Qualcomm move towards quad-core processing on future mobile devices, Nvidia looks towards technologies that address user issues while boasting speed and power worthy of the super-moniker.
Though the modern cell phone allows technology beyond the wildest dreams of rotary phones, text messaging continues to be a mainstay of mobile communication.
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project released survey results on phone call or text messaging preferences, finding that the average number of texts or calls made by US adult cell phone users has remained the same since their 2010 survey results.
"Text messaging users send or receive an average of 41.5 messages on a typical day, with the median user sending or receiving 10 texts daily – both figures are largely unchanged from what we reported in 2010. Similarly, cell owners make or receive an average of 12 calls on their cells per day, which is unchanged from 2010," stated Pew Research in their current 2011 survey analysis.
The results were found by Pew when they surveyed the 83% of American adults who currently own a cell phone (also consistent from the 2010 survey) who also analyzed that about three-quarters of said group engage in sending and receiving texts. Pew continued further by asking whether or not these adults prefer contact via traditional voice calls (53%) or text messaging (31%).
Young adults are still the most inclined to text messaging; those aged 18-24 sending and receiving a average of 110 messages a day. Though the number of texts and calls sent by adults starts to stagnate, one may want to consider the ramifications the growing teen cell phone user-base may have on mobile communication. Last year, Nielsen analysts found that teens in the US are another group adept with text messaging. When said teens move into the 18-24 year old demographic, we may see completely different results as technology or usage patterns may change.
Unfortunately this is also coupled with the fact that teens and young adults are most at risk for driving while texting, all the more reason to purchase a Bluetooth headset.
Coupled with all-encompassing communications released by the likes of Facebook and Skype, these findings are an indication as to adult cell phone users being comfortable with their current means of communications. There is still a significant amount of people who do not own smartphones or even purchase data plans (looking for no-hassle unlocked cell phones?) for more involved methods of communication like video conferencing, VOIP, or messaging through social networking apps.
Old technology or not, text messaging is here to stay as it still provides one of the quickest means to communicate.
It may be a while before smartphones will be able to hold a charge for longer than 24 hours; however, a professor and student team at University of Michigan have found a way to significantly increase battery life.
Science Daily interviewed inventors Kang Shin, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang. Their technology, named E-MiLi (Energy-Minimizing Idle Listening), solves the excess battery drain caused by active sending and receiving of data over a Wi-Fi network.
"My phone isn't sending or receiving anything right now, but it's listening to see if data is coming in so I can receive it right away. This idle listening often consumes as much power as actively sending and receiving messages all day."
Many who own smartphones opt to manage batteries with third party battery management apps or simply disabling WiFi when not in use. E-MiLi has been tried and tested on smartphones by Prof. Shin and Mr. Zhang, whose findings promise a 54% increase in overall battery life.
E-MiLi sets one's smartphone into a 'subconscious' state, using up a mere sixteenth of the Wi-Fi's frequency. When the user sends or receives data via WiFi, E-MiLi kicks the phone back into gear, transmitting the normal amount of frequency.
Prof. Shin ensures that E-MiLi technology will have no adverse effect on smartphones or other mobile devices not using the technology. The inventors of E-MiLi have created firmware that allows devices to receive messages encoded in a new way, detectable by the new technology. Concerns addressed by the Science Daily report are the fact that WiFi chipset manufacturers would have to adopt the new firmware. In turn, manufacturers of smartphones and other mobile devices will need to implement the chips into their new models.
E-MiLi will be presented by its inventors on September 21st at the ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking in Las Vegas. The University of Michigan already filed a patent for this potential savior of smartphones, but hold on to your cell phone batteries and cell phone chargers as there has yet to be a time frame for commercialization.
Cheap and casual Mobile gaming, especially on smartphones and tablets, continues to surge in popularity as the cost of apps and software development remains low. And with the availability of smartphones, it's no surprise that proprietary handhelds such as Nintendo's 3DS or Sony's PlayStation Portable are losing their once-coveted markets.
Wireless Emporium recently reported on the growth of mobile gaming due to the developers affinity for the low investment and high returns, as well as an overall push by companies such as GameStop to bolster revenue from mobile gaming sales. The average cost of an iOS or Android game is no more than a dollar or two on average compared to the half Benjamin cost of the latest Mario or Metal Gear title.
Despite less-than-expected sales and a forty percent markdown on all 3DS devices, Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata stands firm on the company's decision to steer clear from entering the mobile gaming niche.
"If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. . . It's probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we'd make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo's mid and long term competitive strength."
Nintendo's history of hardware releases have spawned not only home consoles and portable gaming devices, but peripherals and features that add new dimensions to the gaming experience. The 3DS was the world's first portable gaming device touting a 3D display without having to use glasses. However, lackluster sales have left investors unimpressed, leaving Nintendo's firm stance against developing outside of their flagship devices to speculation as mobile gaming on smartphones and the like continue to grow.
Hiroshi Kawano, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, stated in a translated interview with Reuters Japan that Sony does not consider the 3DS or smartphones as direct competition with their portable devices. The PlayStation Vita, Sony's up-and-coming portable gaming device, will introduce a higher-end experience with hardware and software outperforming much of the current mobile gaming market.
"With smartphones, gaming is like a bonus on top of the main usage as a smartphone."
Proprietary gaming handhelds have batteries that outlast the longevity of most cell phone batteries, as our daily companions dedicate their processing to more than gaming. Other than buying a cheap, unlocked cell phone, smartphones or tablets without contract benefits can cost hundreds of dollars more than the sub-$300 price tag of a Nintendo or Sony device.
As gaming-first handhelds from Nintendo and Sony hold ground against a growing smartphone and tablet-based mobile gaming niche, we may see increased competition from developers as they race to create a perfect mobile gaming experience.
Many apps and features on smartphones use GPS to report on your exact whereabouts: Whether you're "checking in" or looking for that late night meal, location-based services are being incorporated with practically every social medium.
But how many people actually use it?
As part of their Internet and American Life Project, Pew Research has released statistics suggesting that a less-than-expected 28% of all American adults use GPS or location-based services for recommendations or directions. 7% of all adults set up their social media services to automatically report on their location whenever they post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or otherwise, and a mere 4% of all adults use 'geosocial services' such as FourSquare to report on their own current location.
Kathryn Zickuhr, co-author of the Pew report, attributes these low percentages to our unwillingness to adopt location based services to lay bare our whereabouts, due to increased concern over privacy. In fact, Facebook recently did away with its 'Places' featurewhich allowed those on smartphones to report their current location via the social network's recent news feed with links to the place of interest.
According to a PC World article on the Pew findings, "the number of people using check-in services worldwide appears to be growing. Foursquare, launched in March 2009, now claims more than 10 million users worldwide. The service also appears to have the confidence of investors after recently securing another $50 million in venture capital funding. Gowalla had about 600,000 users as of late 2010, according to a number of reports."
Obviously conflicts in interpretation of the study exist.
A CNN report concerning the Pew findings assumes that many smartphone users simply neglect location-based features due to the GPS' ability to sap one's cell phone battery relatively quickly. Obviously remedied with one of our fantastic cell phone chargers.
For the most part as to why location-based adoption is so low, it could simply be a matter of not knowing how to participate in the services offered, or a matter of priorities: More savvy smartphone users may decide to shut off such services until they truly need it. After all, a smartphone isn't the most energy-efficient device.
Starting from their humble handheld roots to their modern elaborate incarnations, mobile games have been a mainstay in gaming for decades. With the ever-increasing power of cellular networks, mobile operating systems and devices, a new market has emerged as one of opportunity for big and small developers alike: The Cell Phone App Store.
Gamestop has recently announced two bits of news on its latest strategy to maintain relevance within the video game industry: Starting with a trade-in program for Apple iOS devices, while also planning to sell those same iOS devices, brand new. More than a testament to Apple's app store boom and the proliferation of iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices, is the growth of the cell phone gamer marketall of which Wireless Emporium has the phone accessories and cell phone batteries you'll need to have keep device running smooth for those late-night mobile game marathons.
Mobile platform developers Sony and Nintendo currently have the market cornered in the high-end portable experience, with luxurious graphics and features on their flagship devices made solely for playing entertaining software. However, in the era of convergence, the smartphone market is increasingly getting a taste for high definition gaming due to increased developer participation on low cost publishing platforms at much more competitive prices: Most mobile apps and games range from $0.99 to $15 compared to over triple those prices for Sony and Nintendo products.
Another benefit to the mobile gaming market is the ability to preview most games for free with many 'light' releases available in conjunction with full-version games on different app markets, allowing sample downloads for the user with scattered tastes.
Android games benefit from the fact that recent developments allow USB devices (namely Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 controllers) to be useable on devices with the latest Android 3.1 update. Excellent news for users not switching to mobile devices for gaming due to clumsy touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard controls.
As with all gaming markets, mobile games port classic hits that keep diehard and casual gamers purchasing their brand of entertainment. Mobile games have the benefit of cheaper production, point of sale cost to customer, and now the mobility and ease of use with today's tablets, the giant-sized competitor to the smartphone. Whatever your preference, Wireless Emporium has tablet and cell phone batteries and accessories in stock, and on lock.
Last year, Nielsen analysts released a survey that showed 'smartphones to overtake feature phones in U.S. by 2011', ultimately predicting an end to your favorite candy bar or flip phone to the hand of their bigger, faster, and smarter competitors.
Their findings a year ago?
"The percentage of people who use their phone for only voice communications drops from 14% among new feature phone owners to 3% of smartphone owners. The use of the built-in camera and video capability jumps by almost 20% for both categories, due to the generally better quality and user friendliness of the features. Smartphones also often have a better speaker which translates into more frequent usage from about half of feature phone owners to about two-thirds of smartphone owners. Not surprisingly the use of Wi-Fi increases 10-fold from 5% for feature phone owners to 50% for smartphone users to satisfy the need for fast downloads."
Nielsen's analysis of the smartphone market was indeed correct, but alas, the feature phone still exists as of this fine day in 2011. While there is definitely a population wholly satisfied with basic telephony, smartphones are the perfect companion to the person traversing the modern technological landscape.
The roots of modern smartphone technology started in a competition between Palm, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry devices and has resulted in today's current market: where none of the above currently dominate. Apple and Google's mobile operating systems have dominated the market and changed the landscape for present and future mobile marketing and development.
Wireless carriers and mobile manufacturers have picked up on the lucrative smartphone market and continue to push the fact that people should adapt to the brand of telephony that is available today by releasing phones packed with top rated apps ranging from productivity to gaming, lifestyle aids to nearly laptop-levels of mobile functionality.
Though data plans, steep up-front handset prices, and an overwhelming array of mobile phone options and features may await you at your entry into the world of smartphone, allow Wireless Emporium to be that guiding hand for your alternatives in the form of cheap unlocked cell phones as well as cell phone covers.
Microsoft is on the move again with Mango, its latest iteration of the Windows Phone 7 operating system, boasting technologies and updates that may give the iOS and Android competition a run for its money.
Bloomberg released an article regarding Microsoft's bold moves stating "its Windows Phone operating system may capture more than 20 percent of the smartphone market over the next two to three years with the help of hardware manufacturers and increased marketing efforts."
Microsoft has made several press releases and marketing moves over the past few months backing a similar claim. Mango's initial releases are to be through HTC handsets, dubbed 'Titan' and 'Radar' set to go on sale in Europe as the first Mango-enabled phones.
Early reviewers such as Engadget are hailing the higher-end Titan as a stalwart Windows Phone 7 defender.
Microsoft recently announced the front-facing cameras on their initial Windows Phone 7 releases will ensure smooth Skype integration following the forthcoming Mango update this Fall.
The company has also made moves on Apple territory by updating its Connector app for Mac owners, allowing for easier integration with Windows Phone 7 devices.
When considering the competition, Achim Berg, head of Windows Phone Marketing, stated that "it took time with Android, it took time with Apple. We have to show that we're very capable and that we have the fastest and easiest phone."
According to Gartner Research, Google's Android operating system has been this year's best seller due to continued support by open-source developers. Apple on the other hand, has its share on its popular marketing campaign and firm grasp on its high quality app market.
Both platforms have shown cracks in their armor with news as of late: Steve Jobs' retirement from Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice filing violation of antitrust laws in regards to the pending AT&T and T-Mobile USA merger has left the future open for change.
Whether your phone runs iOS, Android, or Windows Phone 7, you can count on Wireless Emporium to keep your cell phone batteries charged and your preferred Bluetooth headsets in stock & ready for any Mango, Apple, or Ice Cream Sandwich coming your way.
Kno's Textbooks was originally a digital textbook that found its more fortunate way via iPad app. It is a free-to-download app that serves as a Library of Alexandria to not only published, digital copies of textbooks used in current college courses, but also as a rich multimedia experience that has never been seen before in the realm of print and text.
Kno's Textbooks is a perfect back to school tool mainly for the fact that it integrates the easy user accessibility and functionality of the iOS; allowing all the swipe, tilt, tap, and touch functionalities for zooming, orientation, highlighting, and annotating. Textbooks also complements iOS with intuitive features such as a finely-tuned search engine as well as a Course Manager, allowing social networking integration (think global study buddies) and coursework organization as to relieve the load that books, notes, laptops, and backpacks could not already handle.
TechCrunch also released a video with Kno's founder Osman Rashid demoing the 3D capabilities of Textbook, which at the moment can only generate 3D models of molecules in chemistry notebooks.
Another significant feature of Textbook is the fact that video notes can be recorded via the iPad camera for future reference. And for further audio-visual aids for the back to school crowd, Textbook takes advantage of linking users to one of 2,400 and counting videos from the Khan Academy, who boasts "a mission to help you learn whatever you want, whenever you want, at your own pace."
Even more, Wireless Emporium has all your iPad and iPad 2 accessories at prices fitting for your back to school budget. iPad, iPad 2, and other cell phone covers & faceplates. Keep your mind focused and your iPad and cell phone batteries charged and good luck with your journeys back to school.
Social networking, as of late, has been heralded as the blessing and/or bane of the youth, allowing one to gain hosts of friends with some strategic clicks of the keypad or taps of the touch screen. But what about adult usage of social networking sites?
Sure, professionals connect through sites such as LinkedIn to bolster their portfolios and widen their circles in a digital sense. Sites like Classmates.com aim to reconnect you with your high school sweet thing which makes it totally marketable to However, Facebook, Myspace, Google+ and online dating sites such as OKCupid and PlentyofFish are the cool kids on the block and everyone who is anyone drops in to contribute their bits of digital ego.
Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and co-author of the Pew Research Center's findings on adult usage of social networking. "The graying of social networking sites continues, but the oldest users are still far less likely to be making regular use of these tools. While seniors are testing the waters, many baby boomers are beginning to make a trip to the social media pool part of their daily routine."
The Pew Research Center's survey targets the "power users" of social networking websites as those in the 18-29 age range. For example, 90 percent of females in this age range actually use social networking and other online community settings; 70 percent of the prior reportedly using these types of websites daily.
What about our elderly half?
Many organizations and companies are working to help establish a telepresence for the elderly population. Intel and GE are reportedly creating a tablet device specifically catering to the elderly, disabled, or in need of monitoring. The joint venture entails a tablet with an embedded webcam and Care Innovations' 'Connect' which aims to solve problems such as patient monitoring and even keeping loneliness at bay with various brain-training games built into the device and easier methods of connecting socially via an optimized user interface. For those trying to catch up with today's technological capabilities, such devices are essential to business looking to expand markets beyond the normal tech-savvy, blog-reading omni-technology-surfer.
For better or worse, social networking has been here to stay. The online community that we continue to build in the form of social networking must try to establish virtual environments and telepresence for all members of society, old and young. And for all of those needing to stay connected, WE always has your cell phone chargers and unlocked cell phones ready for your social networking needs.
Cell phones are indeed a godsend to those entwined with their web of contacts and connections, and when emergencies arise, the cell phone becomes the lifeline when they work. Preparedness for emergency situations can be quite an amazing feat, but with the extra juice a spare cell phone battery can provide in a pinch, it may be the difference between fifty dollars or "priceless." Emergencies happen at any moment and being prepared is better than not. Recent natural disasters have claimed their unfortunate toll of land, life, and resources and with changing times come a change in the way we must prepare for such events.
The aftermath of Hurricane Irene brings upon wireless providers old and new challenges needing to be addressed with preventative measures to ensure that communication is upheld during emergency situations. Cellular towers are vulnerable to high-speed wind as well as power outages due to relying on commercial power; both situations resulting in damaged infrastructure and severely limited communications.
The Federal Communications Commission released Tips for Communicating in an Emergency in a recent blog regarding recommended practices for all types of users of cellular and mobile communication. Some highlights include:
Use text messages to relay information. Nearly all mobile phones make use of short messaging service (SMS) technology and are able to communicate using minimal cellular network data compared to phone calls or other options.
In an emergency situation, keep calls short. If a phone call is necessary, wait at least 10 seconds before redialing. This allows the phone to clear the data before it is resent, allowing relief to the already overloaded cellular towers.
Fortunately, there are many options from which technology grants us. In addition to carrying extra cell phone batteries, you may consider buying a cheap, pre-paidunlocked cell phone specifically for emergency contacts. This may come in handy especially concerning those with disabilities or perhaps if you tend to be a commuter; situations when you are away from your car may occur and having a backup cell phone is preferable to a backup brick.
Does everyone remember the era of the SUV? Big, bold and beefy, these triple-B machines were masters of the road, taking over precious interstate space, and blocking the view of punier cars left and right.
Sure they were packed-full of great features, but nothing in them were new, they just had... more: More speakers, bigger wheels, larger seats, wider spaces and shinier knobs and consoles.
Have we reached the same with phones? Every maker heralds a new product, but it seems they're all just movie sequals (look at the naming: Droid 2, Galaxy S II, etc.), and the phones themselves barely bring anything new to the table, they just have minor tweaks and maybe an extra something or other. Even the seemingly future-based iPhone feels to be the same way.
What are we doing here?
New innovations mean nothing in the phone world anymore, instead what we're getting is like the SUV: Just more of the old tech packaged into a giant machine.
We've moved from a single camera to two, from a normal sized screen to a bigger one, from a single processor to dual and etc. Battery life has barely improved and the way we work with our phones has not changed much either. Sure the app's are bringing about a completely new layer to phone use and augmented reality is an idea more innovative programmers are playing around with, but when have we seen anything NEW that wasn't simply more?
It's been a while, hasn't it?
In 2010, ailing phonemaker, Nokia, managed to impress us with a concept phone that was powered by cola, using the sugar-water poured into the back tube of the phone to give it the juice it needed to operate.
A year before, sudden Android behemoth, Samsung, began selling a fantastic working concept: The Samsung Blue Earth. Made of corn-based plastic and hosting a back that was actually a full-on solar panel, the phone worked better than advertised, barely losing steam throughout a day, and taking us away from our dependence on wall outlets to plug in our cell phone chargers and extra cell phone batteries.
Though both these examples are more on the Green side, when we talk innovation, it's supposed to be a multi-faceted improvement: Convenience and greater benefit.
We've seen the how the "more stuff" model has worked with SUV's, and now the large cars are much fewer in number, and that was due to growth of oil prices.
Will we have to do the same with phonemakers dealing with a sort of industry-monopoly mentality that forces us to wait for new phone models that only have more of the sameuntil disaster strikes?
We hope not, tech companies are always on the R&D lot for innovative products that allow them to pull the patent game, but three years of the same thing doesn't bode well either.
Not too long ago, every phone seemed to have its own basic, nameless OS. Simple in design, our phones managed to do little more than call, text and play that occasional puzzle game.
Thank goodness for progress.
Now with the era of Smartphones, we've seen two main players rise above the rest with one honorable mention: iOS for the iPhone, Android and little old Windows Phone 7 working hard to play catch-up.
Outside of the Big Three, systems like webOS, Samsung's Bada and Nokia's Symbian have become no more than modern throwbacks, falling to the wayside and becoming more obsolete with the release of every new phone.
Such is the fate of the tech world. I mean, do you remember the pager?
In the end, the competition just turned out to be too big - or so we thought.
Despite all the turmoil in the markets today, and the daunting size of Google, Apple and Microsoft; it seems innovation knows no fear: New and extremely small (in comparison) companies have entered the foray to challenge the Big Three.
Alibaba, a Chinese import/export company no one knows, and Mozilla, a group famous for their Firefox web browser have both announced their intentions on releasing new smartphone operating systems to take on Android, iOS and Windows Phone.
Utilizing a model very similar to the Chromebook concept, both companies are focusing on the one place where content is unlimited: the web (aka the cloud). Utilizing a mixture of Linux and cloud-based services, both phones aim to focus on applications and services that are more web-based than the standard click-and-install interface we're used to.
Alibaba's Aliyun OS is already on its way to release. Able to run Android apps and integrate multiple cloud services, the system is likely to have excellent content out of the gate and take over the Chinese smartphone market, allowing the company to possibly leverage it into other developing-world markets as a cheap, efficient and robust alternative for both OEM's and consumers from the more expensive Android and Windows Phone licensing fees.
Mozilla's Boot to Gecko (B2G) has very few details up, but the aim seems to be integrating parts of Android to build hardware compatibility on top of an open platform aimed at online and cloud services. Based off the company's previous efforts, we can assume account integration will be one of the biggest focuses of B2G, since… naming obviously isn't.
Whether either of these OS's are able to lift-off or not, it'll be interesting to see what kinds lawsuits may result in the future.
If you watch television for even a few minutes a day you will inevitably see a commercial from one of the major cell phone companies pushing their super fast 4G network. It is a four sided ongoing battle with one clear winner…marketing departments.
A recent survey done by Retrevo has revealed that a shocking number of smartphone users in the U.S. have no freaking clue what 4G really is. iPhone owners are by far the most in the dark.
The survey asked one simple question: Do you plan on buying a 4G phone in the next year? That fairly straightforward question produced some shocking results.
35% of iPhone users said there was no need to buy a new 4G phone because they already had one. Apparently iPhone users aren't aware that the number 4 in the iPhone 4 stands for the 4th generation iPhone and has nothing at all to do with the number of G with which is travels the airwaves.
RIM caters to the business crowd, so you would think that they would be much more savvy. However, 24% of respondents with Blackberry phones also think that they already own a 4G phone. Considering there are no 4G capable Blackberry phones available anywhere in the world, that too shows a disturbing level of misunderstanding.
As it stands, Android is the only operating system that has produced 4G phones. There is at least one 4G capable Android phone on each of the major carriers. Still, 29% of Android users polled in the survey claim to already be rocking that extra G. While it is entirely possible that Retrevo randomly asked people who purchased their phones in the last few months, but that seems highly unlikely.
What's only slightly more depressing is that what the major carriers are calling 4G isn't even necessarily 4G. There are some pretty loose guidelines that a network needs to meet in order to be classified as 4G right now, and there is no one standard either. The major U.S. carriers are either using LTE or HSPA networks. Neither one of which has officially been approved as 4G, merely submitted as a candidate.
When push comes to shove, unless you are downloading the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy at once, you aren't likely to see too noticeable of a difference between your crummy 3G phone and most 4G capable phones. The real difference is only now really becoming apparent as more phones are equipped with more powerful processors.
And if you're really that confused as to whether or not your phone is 3G or 4G just turn it on. Right next to where you phone tells you how many bars it has, it also tells you if you are on the 3G or 4G network.
The shocking number of people who clearly aren't using a 4G phone but think they are shows that marketing departments are doing a great job of being extremely ambiguous while getting people really excited. That, or salespeople in the retail stores are extremely dishonest or equally clueless when selling phones to customers.
Every now and again, Pew research comes out with some pretty interesting surveys. Today they released their most recent survey on cell phone use in the United States. The numbers are rather revealing.
First off, the survey says that 83% of adults in the US own a cell phone. For me, that seems like a pretty small number to be honest. You have to figure there weren't any inmates involved in the survey, and they seem to have no trouble getting cell phones anyway. I can understand if someone over 80 doesn't have a cell phone. But I can't imagine octogenarians make up 17% of the population. So who are these people who don't own a cell phone? It's a mystery too deep for me to try and solve in this blog.
Moving on to some of the other numbers. Of those 83% with a cell phone, 35% own a smartphone. More than a quarter of smartphone owners use their phone as their primary source for internet access. That's actually a huge percentage, and it likely will grow as 4G becomes more widespread.
In rural America, 4G data speeds on mobile devices may become the only way to get high speed internet access.
As expected, the numbers skew towards the younger generation. About a month ago, it was reported that less than half of all 20 somethings have landlines. Not surprisingly, more that 50% of people in their 20's own a smartphone. I personally haven't had a landline for 10 years. People under 30 were the respondents most likely to ditch their internet service provider in favor of their cell phones.
This is great news for the cellular providers. Verizon became the third major carrier to ditch unlimited data plans last Thursday. Both Verizon and AT&T will charge overage fees should a customer surpass their allotted data for the month. With more people using the internet on their phones, data usage will go up, either forcing people into more expensive data plans, or resulting in some pretty unexpectedly high bills each month.
People rocking T-Mobile phones will have their data speeds throttled if the go over their monthly data limit en lieu of being charged overage fees. Sprint is the only remaining major carrier that still offers true unlimited data.
In fairness to Verizon, they plan on sending text messages to customers as the approach their data limit in an effort to alleviate sticker shock.
How about you? Do you use your phone to browse the internet?
There is no device on earth that conjures more rumor mongering and rampant speculation than the Apple iPhone. The latest rumors suggest that we could be getting the iPhone 5 in September. Not too long before that, we were hearing that there will be no iPhone 5 this year, rather an upgraded version of the iPhone 4 called the 4S.
But those aren't the only rumors. Apple executives themselves suggested that the Cupertino based company was looking into the prepaid market and budget phones.
Digesting all these rumors and trying to translate them, some are now speculating that we will see two different new iPhones this year.
So let's examine the possibilities. First off, we aren't even going to entertain the idea that there will only be one iPhone, because speculation is fun.
It is becoming pretty clear that there will indeed be an iPhone 5 coming out this year. That device could end up on Verizon and AT&T, at which point, the cost of the iPhone 4 would drop. At that point, Apple could add the iPhone 4 to Sprint and T-Mobile, giving them a presence on all four carriers, thus improving their chances of keeping pace with Android.
While this isn't exactly the same thing as two new iPhones, the fact that it would be the first time either Sprint or T-Mobile have carried the iPhone is technically new. The problem is, it would be very hard for Apple to drop the price of the iPhone 4 to the point where it reaches the "budget" phone pricing. The iPhone 3G still sells for $50 with a 2 year contract from AT&T. There is no way that the iPhone 4 could hit that price point.
Another possibility is that the iPhone 4S that has been rumored will be some sort of stripped down version of the iPhone 4. Cut down the specs considerably, from memory to the camera and everything in between. A small cosmetic change from a glass back to a metal one, or God Forbid plastic, could cut production costs enough for this phone to enter the market as a "budget" phone.
At that point, the iPhone 5, which is rumored to be equipped to run on all 4 major US networks already, would be launched on the big 4 simultaniously. The budget version of the iPhone would find its way to Virgin, Boost, Metro PCS and other carriers in that same category. Regional carriers like US Cellular would even be able to get their hands on the iPhone.
One thing is for certain. Apple has been losing ground to Android for the better part of the last year. In order to even keep pace, let alone close the gap, Apple needs to make itself more available. At the very least, the next iPhone will very likely be available on all four major networks. Even then, the iPhone is one of the most expensive smartphones out there, limiting the market. A second, stripped down iPhone definitely makes sense. It just flies in the face of what Apple typically does.
What do you think? Is Apple planning to put out a budget phone?
Not too long ago we wrote up a blog on the best antivirus apps for the various mobile platforms. Unsurprisingly, Android has the most options as their open source policy has opened the door for several malware attacks in the app store.
Also unsurprisingly, Apple had no antivirus applications available to their users. The belief has always been that Apple is invulnerable to viruses and cyber attacks.
That belief has been turned on its head. Apple has acknowledged that there is indeed a hole in their iOS software that allows hackers to steal personal information from people's phones. This could include anything from a user's location via GPS, passwords and mobile banking accounts, to simply intercepting e-mail, phone calls and text messages.
In other words, it's a massive security concern.
The security breach was discovered by JailbreakMe.com, a site that offers tutorials for users to jailbreak their phones. In addition to other "enhanced" features, a jailbroken iPhone gives users access to third party apps not approved by the App Store.
Ironically, the only way to patch the security breach is by downloading a third party app on a jailbroken phone. The app is called PDF Patcher 2
Apple has confirmed that they are working on a fix themselves which will be available in a future iOS update, but that serves as little solace to customers who have been convinced by Apple marketing that their Apple devices are impenetrable.
It isn't in dispute whether or not Apple devices are more secure than their Android counterparts. They are. But recent attacks against Apple by the hacker group Anti-Sec and this security flaw illustrate that Apple users need to be more careful. For Apple, switching to a more proactive philosophy, rather than a reactive philosophy might be in their best interests as well. That would mean developing an antivirus app of some sort for the App Store that would detect malicious software before someone downloads it to their device.
The simple fact of the matter is that as Apple products become increasingly popular, and the use of smartphones for everyday activities, like banking, becomes more commonplace, Apple products will become a more juicy target for hackers.
While it's true that we sell cell phone accessories here, it's safe to say that everyone here is a bit of a gadget junkie. It's interesting how we've got from massive phones, to super small phones and now we're heading back in the other direction. While smartphones aren't likely to get much smaller simply because of the display sizes, what manufacturers stuff inside them could be getting a lot cooler.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new type of radio antenna about the size of a quarter. The antenna is the biggest component in your phone, followed closely by the battery. By massively shrinking down the size of the antenna, it opens up the possibilities to stuff more cool stuff inside.
The new antennas are 10 times smaller than current antennas being used in cell phones. With that extra space, improvements on current features or new features all together could be implemented.
Cameras and flashes could improve to the point where point and shoot cameras become completely obsolete. Optical zoom could easily rival those of the best point and shoot cameras on the market if there was enough real estate available.
Improved chips and graphic support cards could completely revolutionize the gaming industry, which is already beginning to be taken over by mobile devices.
A margarita machine could be incorporated that dispenses deliciousness from a spout on the side of your phone.
OK, maybe that last one is a little over the top. But really a phone manufacturers imagination would be the only limit should this new antenna make it to mass market electronics.
Gartner is one of the leading research firms in the world, so when they make projections about a given industry, people tend to listen. Today, Gartner released their forecast for the video game industry and it is pretty rosy. They project a 10% growth in sales this year, and predict the industry will grow by nearly 50% in the next four years.
While the picture painted is colorful, it isn't necessarily good news for traditional video game manufacturers like Nintendo and Sony. That new growth will primarily be driven by mobile and social gaming platforms.
A couple months back, the iPhone earned a Guinness World Record as the fastest selling portable gaming device in history. The fact that Guinness recognizes the iPhone as a gaming device speaks volumes to how things are changing.
Sony, the maker of the popular PlayStation line of gaming devices, was the first company to create a smartphone designed specifically for gaming. Officially known as the Xperia Play, the phone was nicknamed the PlayStation phone for months before its release. It's not hard to see where the nickname comes from, as the Xperia play comes with a slide out game pad that features the PlayStation's iconic circle, square, triangle and x buttons.
As cell phone manufacturers continue to take gaming into account when designing cell phones, game developers are also rethinking things. Companies like Rovio (Angry Birds) were made possible strictly because of smartphones. But some of the bigger names in video games are also developing Smartphone specific games.
Electronic Arts might be the biggest name in traditional video games that have started developing games specifically for phones. Namco, who's first major hit dates all the way back to the original Pac Man is adapting games for mobile as well.
What this means for the gaming industry as a whole remains to be seen. Nintendo has already said that they have no immediate plans to enter the cell phone market. Microsoft, which makes the X-box, has a version of X-Box live available on their Windows Phone 7 platform. And as we mentioned, Sony has already entered the mobile space from a hardware perspective because of their history as a cell phone manufacturer as well.
Clearly we are entering a transition phase in the video game market, and those who are best equipped to adapt will thrive. Those that are stuck in their old way will likely be replaced by upstart companies like Rovio.
It's Friday, and before we head off to enjoy our 3 day weekend, we thought we'd leave you guys with a roundup of the week's biggest mobile stories. We have everything from a potential shake up at RIM to the potential of an Apple device free US marketplace. What? Check out the roundup to peep the details.
Windows Phone Marketplace Reaches 25,000 Apps
This might not seem like a big deal on the surface, especially considering the fact that Apple and Android boast hundreds of thousands of apps, but this really is news. It's no secret at this point that apps are the dominant force in determining what mobile OS will be popular amongst the masses. And developers are going to focus on what makes them the most money. So the fact that the pace at which new apps are coming to the WP7 platform has nearly tripled in the past few months is a strong indicator that there are some signs of life for Microsoft in the smartphone world. WP7 still hold less than a 1% share of the total US smartphone market, but there have been more and more positive developments lately, which is polar opposite of how Microsoft came out of the starting blocks.
Smartphone Sales Eclipse Feature Phones Sales According to Nielsen
Nielsen surveys US cell phone users every quarter and compiles a bunch of statistics. This past quarter, for the first time ever, smartphone sales outpaced feature phone sales 55% to 45%. In addition to that, it broke down the various smartphone platforms. Android remains the dominant force with 38% of the market. Apple comes in second with 27% of the market, a two percent increase. Blackberry's remains in 3rd with 21%, but has shown consistent losses in that area for a year now. The remaining 14% is split between Windows Mobile, Symbian and Web OS, and Windows Phone 7. To date, only 38% of Americans are using a smartphone, so there is plenty of room for Blackberry to turn things around, Microsoft to become a major player, or for Android and Apple to completely runaway with smartphone marketshare.
Samsung Files Injuction Against iOS Devices with the ITC
Samsung and Apple are in a major patent war, tied up in multiple courts in multiple countries. The most recent salvo was fired by Samsung as the filed an injunction against Apple with the International Trade Commission asking for a stop to the import of Apple devices into the US. Samsung cites four patent infringements in the case that if awarded, would halt the importing of iPhones, iPods and iPads into the US. While it is highly unlikely that Samsung will win this fight, it is interesting to note that Samsung also happens to be the supplier of chips for Apple devices. It's pretty safe to say that at this point, both companies are content to walk away from each other as business partners and fight each other to the bitter end in court.
RIM Looks Into Restructuring Management
Faced with mounting pressure from investors, and what appears to be the early stages of a company revolt, the RIM board of directors has agreed to look into restructuring from the top down. That includes replacing co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. This week a letter supposedly written by a high ranking executive in RIM absolutely ripped the company's current structure, philosophy and products. The agreement gives the board until the end of the year to essentially provide evidence that the current structure is the best way to go about things. RIM's shares have been plummeting on the stock market and profits and revenues have been steadily declining for several quarters now. The prevailing fear is that RIM has lost touch with the mass consumer market at exactly the same time that the business world is starting to become more receptive to other options.
HP Looking to License WebOS to Third Party Manufacturers
HP, which purchased Palm last year, is faced with the hard reality that they can't survive on their own in the competitive smartphone market. As such, they are looking for third party manufacturers that are interested in licensing their proprietary mobile OS and created devices. Samsung has been the name most mentioned, though HP says they are in conversations with several potential licensees. This would be the first time that a company cell phone manufacturer has licensed its proprietary OS to another manufacturer. Microsoft and Google don't actually manufacturer their handsets. Should HP find some success in this area, it could signal possible avenue for RIM to follow. It's no surprise that the Android competitors in the business space have more or less copied the Blackberry design. If they could offer up the Blackberry OS in addition, it could be a potential win/win for all parties involved.
A new app has found its way to the Android Market and Apple's App Store. It is a background check app called….wait for it…Background Check. F for creativity there. It is from a company called Been Verified, and it had previously been in the Android market but got pulled due to privacy concerns. Maybe Apple isn't as concerned with privacy these days.
Guys around the world are letting out a collective groan as women will quickly be able to find out pretty much everything about them before the bartender finishes making the mojito they bought for her. The app can find out everything from property ownership records to criminal records, social media profiles, relatives and even what you ate for dinner last Thursday.
People will get 1 free background check per month. Each subsequent background check is a buck. You can even buy bulk background checks for a discount. That option would be for overly paranoid girls, or girls who make really really poor decisions when it comes to men.
I realize that this app isn't strictly for women, but it's kind of hard to picture a guy running a background check on a girl he just met without coming off as a stalker. Besides, there are plenty of stalker apps out there already. And based on this video, it's pretty clear who this is being marketed towards.
I completely understand the need to be careful when you meet a stranger. I personally am not dishonest when I meet someone. At the same time, I wouldn't want to meet a girl at the grocery store and have her find my Match.com dating profile before we get to the checkout line. That's just uncomfortable.
We do live in an information age. And quite frankly, a Google search would reveal a lot of the information this app provides. But a Google search requires a bit of work and know how to track down the info that Background Check can grab in a relatively short amount of time.
To say that this app is getting mixed reviews would be an understatement. It has as many 1 star reviews as it does 5 star reviews. And I would imagine that if someone has a relatively common name, that this app would basically be worthless.
Ladies, background check responsibly. Guys, don't background check at all. It just makes you look creepy.
I think it's pretty safe to say that things are pretty messed up over in China in general. But when it comes the Apple, the country seems to have more than just a few screws loose. The iPhone is easily the hottest phone in China, and people are willing to do just about anything to get one.
Recently, a teenage girl took to the Chinese version of Twitter, offering up her virginity for an iPhone 4. Thankfully, it doesn't seem as though she had any takers. Most respondents offered her moral encouragement, discouraging her from going through with her proposal. Others, whose moral compasses aren't exactly in tune with magnetic north, suggested that she hold out for the iPhone 5.
What's sad is that this isn't even the craziest stunt pulled by a Chinese teen in an attempt to get their hands on an Apple device. Not too long ago we blogged about a teen who sold his kidney on the black market to get an iPad 2 and a MacBook.
Apple has been producing scandal like headlines in China for a long time now. Foxcon, the company that manufactures the iPhone has had multiple issues with workers. Apple settled a lawsuit with a group of employees who argued that fumes in the plant were poisoning them. And recently, Foxcon has reportedly forced employees to sign an anti-suicide pledge. This has also been a problem for the company.
High demand and low supply of Apple devices like the iPhone have opened the doors for black market and back alley deals. Sadly, there really isn't very much that Apple can do to prevent people from entering into shady practices to acquire their devices, aside from becoming really bad at marketing overnight. Seeing how that isn't likely to happen anytime soon, we're sure that we'll see stories like this pop onto our radar from time to time.
We posed a question to our Facebook community earlier today, asking how old people were when they got their first cell phone. Aside from making me feel a bit like a member of the Geritol generation, it actually opened my eyes a bit.
I was shocked at how young some people were when they picked up their first phone. The youngest was 8. That would be the second grade. I can't think of a single reason why an 8 year old would ever need a cell phone, but again, maybe that's just me showing how out of touch I am with today's world? I'm only in my early 30's.
There have been numerous reports of teachers and professors encouraging students to interact with lectures via Twitter, rather than raise their hands to answer questions. The right app can definitely be an educational tool. Apps can help parents keep track of their kid's whereabouts. There is definitely a place for apps in an everyday teenage life.
But it has got me thinking. With the number of teenagers rocking cell phones these days, and more specifically smartphones, should there be a ratings system for apps? We already have ratings for movies and video games, though they are more or less window dressing, and don't actually prevent kids from getting into R rated movies or buying ultra violent video games.
The difference here would be that smartphones could prevent a user from downloading an app that was "prohibited" via a ratings system. Our phones already know everything about us, from our age, gender, to home address. It's in our phone. If an app was given a 21+ rating, then nobody under 21 would be able to download the app to their phone.
Without sounding too much like a fuddy duddy, does a 15-year-old really need a bartending app? There could be other applications as well. A habitual speeder could be forced by court order to download safe driver apps similar to those created by various insurance companies. It could track the driver's habits and report them back to local law enforcement agencies.
I'm not necessarily advocating one side or the other. But it definitely is a topic worth looking into. Unlike other ratings systems, this one would be programmable, and actually be somewhat enforceable.
What do you think? Should apps come with ratings? Leave us your comments.
It's Friday, which serves as a cruel reminder that Melissa Black's viral video has been removed from YouTube. It's also a day where we will go ahead and recap the biggest stories to hit the cellular world here in the US. So without any further delay, here are the biggest headlines from this week.
Cell phone bills might start to shrink.
The FCC is apparently a little perturbed by all the hidden fees that seem to creep into our wireless bill each month. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is spearheading the charge. The issue revolves around cramming, a practice used by telecom companies to hide confusing, or in some cases fees for services never rendered, in billing statements. The FCC is also looking into ways to help prevent bill shock, a problem that will probably see a sharp increase beginning next month due to the next story on this list.
Verizon Killing off Unlimited Data
It has been something everyone knew was an inevitability. Starting on July 7th, new Verizon customers, or existing customers upgrading to a data plan will no longer have an unlimited option. Verizon is switching to a tiered system. When a user goes over their allotted data, they will be hit with overage chargers, similar to when customer exceed their monthly minutes or text message allotments. AT&T already does this, while T-Mobile will begin throttling data speeds to 2G levels when customers go over their minutes. Sprint is the last of the 4 major carriers to still offer truly unlimited data plans.
RIM Begins Massive Layoffs
Research in Motion, the Canadian company that manufacturers the Blackberry has been struggling lately. Their stock has plunged by nearly 66% in the last three months and investors are heading for the hills. On top of that, they haven't released a new phone since 2010, and their Playbook tablet has faced poor sales and at least one major recall due to hardware and software issues. As a result, RIM has begun a series of layoffs. No word on how many people will get pink slips, but given the financials, it's likely to be a very large number.
After 3 Year Wait, Apple Granted Touch Screen Patent
Apple files hundreds of patents, including a patent they filed three years ago regarding how users navigate a capacitive touch screen. Capacitive touch screens comprise pretty much every phone and tablet on the market today. Basically, it covers multi-touch navigation, i.e. using two fingers to zoom in on a particular web page or photo. If Apple wants, it can basically prevent any other manufacturer from using this technology moving forward. More likely, they will charge manufacturers a truckload of money to license the technology, and that cost will likely be passed down to the rest of us.
AT&T Confident Merger Will Be Completed Q1 2012
They've faced steep opposition from both houses of congress and the FCC, yet AT&T remains confident that their pending merger with T-Mobile will be approved and completed by the first quarter of 2012. While AT&T insists this means better coverage for everyone, not everyone is thrilled. T-Mobile store franchisees are trying to sell their stores before being forced out of business. It was reported this week that nearly half of all T-Mobile stores are located within 1 mile AT&T stores, and they will be among the first thing that AT&T cuts should the merger go through.
The iPhone 5 is Coming in September
iPhone rumors are dubious at best. First we heard that the iPhone 5 was coming in August. Then we heard that there wasn't going to be an iPhone 5 this year, it was going to a revamped iPhone 4, dubbed the iPhone 4S, which would run on all four major networks. Now we are again hearing that the iPhone 5 will arrive in 2011, more specifically, September. One thing we do know for certain. When the iPhone 5 does eventually arrive, it will be radically different from a design standpoint than any other previous version of Apple's iconic phone.
I'm not much of a gamer. While I do fire up the PlayStation from time to time to play a little FIFA, I don't go so far as to hop online and talk smak to a 8-year-old in Germany while I'm doing it. But the above image has me a little fired up (no pun intended).
First off, it is indeed a real item, and it is currently available for pre-order for $32. It will officially be available for retail on July 7th, which also happens to be my birthday…hint hint.
It is meant as a cell phone accessory to accompany the Aliens Attack iPhone App. What's really cool is that the pulling the trigger actually activates to capacitive buttons that interact with the touch screen so you can play the game.
This thing is beyond cool, and is one of many iPhone specific gaming accessories to make their way to the market.
Some might remember this pinball machine dock.
And of course there are little sticky pads that serve as game controllers and work on virtually any touch screen phone.
When push comes to shove, our phones are quickly replacing portable gaming devices like the PSP and 3DS. That should come as no surprise either. Cell phones have more or less replaces several handheld electronic devices already.
GPS units are quickly becoming surplus to needs as Android already offers several free GSP apps, and the iPhone also has a subscription GPS service. MP3 players are going out of style, especially considering the growing popularity of streaming radio apps like Pandora and Slacker. And as cameras in cell phones have improved, fewer and fewer point and click cameras are making it out the door when we go out for the evening.
It seems hard to imagine personal gaming devices outpacing cell phones for too much longer. Consolidation of devices has been all the rage, and certainly frees up space in our pockets and purses. And with sweet toy guns to accompany our phones, I'm sold.
Touch screens on mobile devices aren't nearly as fascinating today as they were 4 years ago. They've pretty much become ubiquitous in our daily lives. So for me to sit here and say that there is some major news breaking today regarding touch screens would be a pretty bold claim. But it is a claim that I intend to fully back up.
I'll start with the biggest news of all. Today, Apple was granted a patent that they filed three years ago regarding how a user navigates a capacitive touch screen. Capacitive touch screens comprise pretty much every touch screen in every mobile device on the market right now.
The patent covers multi-touch functionality and is written with enough broad language so that it can be interpreted to cover virtually any mobile device from phones to tablets to mp3 players.
This is very good news for Apple and very bad news for everyone else. Should apple choose to flex their muscle (and there is no reason to think that they won't), they can basically use this patent to force other manufacturers to develop a new touch screen technology or pay Apple a boatload of money for the right to include capacitive touch screens in their devices.
Those costs would most likely be passed along to you and me, the consumers.
As great as capacitive touch screens are, they do have one drawback. They use your skin as a conductor to tell your display what to do. But put gloves on or get a little moisture on your fingers, and the responsiveness degrades dramatically, if not completely.
Sony many have come up with a solution for that. They unveiled two yet to be released phones, the second of which is a smartphone designed specifically for active individuals. Amongst the specs was something Sony referred to as "Wet Finger Tracking."
The press release doesn't go into more detail than that, but it seems pretty obvious what they are talking about here. The phone is also water resistant. It will be interesting to see if the touch screen actually works underwater. That would definitely be a leap forward in touch screen technology.
Everyone knows JellyBelly. They make jelly beans in virtually every flavor imaginable. Personally, I think their slogan should be "Feeling Lucky?!" - as the thought of a popcorn flavored jelly bean still makes me want to vomit a little in my mouth right now. Don't get me wrong, most of the flavors are absolutely delightful. But if you're not careful, you need to wash your mouth out with acid to get the taste out.
That being said, I'm not 100% sure why anyone would want their phone to smell like jelly beans all day. That would just make me mad that I didn't have any actual jellybeans. But the folks over at JellyBelly have come out with a line of cell phone cases that do just that. In total, 53 different flavors are available in silicone case form.
They have also come out with hands free headsets shaped like jelly beans. How cute.
For those looking for something a bit more practical, some Android phones are finally getting some battery pack cases designed for them. The iPhone has a bunch of these already, Mophie being the most recognizable.
A company called PowerSkin has come out with a case for the HTC Inspire 4G and the HTC Desire 4G that claims to pack 1500 mAH of power. For those doing the math at home, that is up to an additional 8 hours of battery life. That smells like an Angry Birds marathon session to me, which beats a chili mango jelly bean any day of the week.
Considering how quickly both of these phones tend to drain battery life on their own, these should sell like hotcakes. And if they do, hopefully PowerSkin will start making these bad boys for other devices as well.
Science is awesome. At least that is what my 8th grade chemistry teacher tried to tell me. While there is no empirical proof that I've found to back up that hypothesis, according to experts, science is responsible for things like cell phones.
I know, hard to believe, but apparently it's true. And as if science hadn't done enough already, a bunch of guys in white coats have developed something called nanogenerators that could revolutionize the way we power up small electronic devices.
Without getting into too much technical jargon, they are self-powered chips that could replace batteries in the near future. They can use anything from the blowing wind to a person's heartbeat to gather up electric charge. They then hold that charge in a capacitor until it is ready to be used.
To look at it from an everyday perspective, imagine putting a Bluetooth headset in your ear. While it's in place it is charging up thanks to the blood being pumped through the tiny veins in your ears. You'll never have to plug your headset into a wall again to charge up. It would be ready to go simply by placing it in your ear.
We're still probably a long way off before the technology is strong enough to actually power up a cell phone, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. Cell phone battery technology is also continually improving, and perhaps some sort of hybrid combination with nanogenerators could improve battery life, or shrink down battery sizes to accommodate for better cameras or other gadgets on our phones.
Reports of malware invading the Android market seem to be getting more and more commonplace. With that in mind, we decided it would be prudent to let you all know about the best antivirus apps on the major OS platforms.
It is important to note that as of right now, there are no antivirus apps available in the Apple App Store. Apple is extremely vigilant regarding apps that they allow in their marketplace. And seeing how there aren't any credible threats to Macs online, they feel that they are perfectly safe without any protection. Given the popularity of iOS and the iPhone specifically, it seems as though its only a matter of time before some hacker targets the iPhone if they haven't already.
Microsoft has also yet to release any antivirus apps for its platform, which is both surprising and not at the same time. WP7 is severely lagging behind other platforms in terms of apps, so it isn't too surprising that developers have yet to dedicate much time to this platform.
That being said, here are the best for Android and Blackberry.
Android –
Anti-Virus: The best thing about this app is that it is 100% free. It was the first app I downloaded when I bought my phone (I'm currently rocking the Samsung Vibrant). It works great. It scans all app downloads, media downloads, and even protects you from following malicious links while browsing and in e-mail.
Lookout: This is a new app, and it comes as both a free option and paid version. The free version works just fine, providing the same security as Anti-Virus minus browser security, plus it includes a Find my Phone functionality should you misplace your phone. The paid version adds in the browser security and also lets you remotely wipe your phone's memory if you should lose it. The paid version costs $30/year.
Blackberry –
NetQin – This is a completely free app and provides real time protection from viruses and malware. It has a virus database that is constantly updated for added security from new threats. It also provides data backup and a remote phone locating if you should misplace your phone. Like Lookout, you can also remotely wipe your phones memory if it is misplaced and contains sensitive information.
Lookout – Lookout only offers a free version for Blackberry. It is the same as the free version for Android.
Somewhere in New York City, some guy is likely already camped out on the sidewalk waiting for the iPhone 5 to hit Apple stores. Hopefully that guy is ready for the long haul, as it may be a year before the iPhone 5 is released. That hasn't stopped rumors for flying around regarding the newest iPhone. Here are some of the biggest ones.
The iPhone 5 will be 4G – This would seem logical considering the glut of 4G Android phones hitting the market. There have even been ads running in the Middle East claiming 4G speeds for the next iPhone. The problem is, Apple themselves have suggested that the next iPhone will still plod along at the same old 3G speeds; which shouldn't really deter Apple fanatics from swooping these up in droves.
The iPhone 5 will with have a curved edge to edge display – This one is probably true. Not that long ago it was found that Apple had purchased several hundred machines designed specifically for cutting curved displays. And there really is no reason why the next iPhone won't have an edge to edge display. This one is probably true.
The iPhone 5 will support both CDMA and GSM networks – This one is almost certainly true. Every industry expert and insider tipster has suggested that Apple will make one phone with both a CDMA and GSM radio inside, rather than make separate models for the different carriers. This wouldn't be the first phone to do this either, so we can't think of a reason why this wouldn't be true.
The iPhone 5 will support NFC payments – This is a bandwagon that Android has just started to jump on, and back in the early days of the rumor mill, images emerged of an iPhone with an NFC logo on it. But the rumors never gained much traction from there and it doesn't seem likely that Apple will feature NFC in their next phone.
There will be no iPhone 5 in 2011 – This one is almost certainly true. Insiders are saying that Apple plans on tweaking the guts of the current iPhone 4 and releasing a version called the iPhone 4S. This falls in line with the last generation iPhone, which went from the iPhone 3 to the iPhone 3GS. Rumor has it that the iPhone 4GS will work with T-Mobile and Sprint too, meaning Apple with be on all four major carriers. With the impending merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, coupled with more and more validity to the rumors that Sprint is about to get their hands on the iPhone, this seems to be an almost certainty.
From a design perspective, the iPhone 5 will probably look, feel and perform completely differently than any other iPhone that came before it. We're most likely going to have to wait until 2012 sometime to see it.
Any rumors you've heard swirling that you want confirmation on? Leave us a comment and we'll see what we can do.
If you are anything like me, listening to music during the day is a huge part of getting through the work day with sanity intact. If you happen to work at a place that is cool with you listening to music but has a relatively extensive list of blocked websites on your work computer, your phone is really your only option.
There are several apps that you can choose from. But for streaming music, Pandora and Slacker are the two apps that are the most popular. But which one is better? I personally use both extensively, and will try and give a completely unbiased side by side comparison so you can decide which is best for you.
What does it cost?
The good news is both have a free option.
Pandora Free
- Create an unlimited number of stations
- Plays advertisements
- Limit to 6 skips per station per hour
- Can choose songs as "favorites"
- Can "ban" songs from being played again on that station
- Limited to 40 hours of free listening per month.
Slacker Free
- Create an unlimited number of stations
- Unlimited hours of free listening per month
- Plays advertisements
- Limit to 6 skips per station(skips reload as you listen to songs)
- Can "ban" songs from being played again on that station
Can choose songs as "favorites"
For $3/Mo. you can upgrade to Pandora One. What this gets you is
- Unlimited Listening
- No Advertisements
- No Daily Skip limit (hourly limits still apply)
Slacker has two upgrade options; Slacker Plus ($4.99/mo) and Slacker Premium ($9.99/mo)
Slacker Plus
- No advertisements
- Stores Stations on memory card requiring no data connection to play stations
- Unlimited Song Skips
Slacker Premium
- Listen to songs/albums on demand
- Create custom playlists
EDGE: SLACKER
Functionality
Pandora's algorithm seems a bit more refined in a number of ways. Most notably their ability to really dial in when looking for related artists. It has a much better success rate when delineating between different subsets of the same genre of music. For example, if you type in Common, Pandora is much more likely to find other Hip Hop artists similar to Common, where as Slacker tends to just throw together a hodge podge of hip hop artists. It takes a lot more customization on the part of the user to get as refined of a listening experience on Slacker.
EDGE: PANDORA
Customization
Where Slacker lags behind in refinement, they more than make up for in customization. Slacker allows you to determine the frequency with which your favorite songs play, if you want it to find new music or if you prefer more top 40 familiar artists. While Pandora allows for you to choose favorite songs, they seem to not make their way onto your stations as often as they do on Slacker.
EDGE: SLACKER
I personally find myself using Pandora more as a music discovery engine, as they seem to sprinkle in smaller more unknown artists into the mix than Slacker. This is especially true when it comes to Hip Hop.
But once I've found these new artists, I simply add them to existing stations on my Slacker account and use that app as my main music listening app.
Feel free to leave us your thoughts and comments. And if there is an internet radio app out there that deserves some attention, feel free to let us know about that too.
It's Monday and if you're anything like me, you spent a good portion of your Friday and Saturday nights hopping from one bar to the next trying to figure out where the spot to be was. It really is an inexact science trying to find a bar with that perfect combination of not too crowded but not dead with a good ratio of potential "targets."
That is, until science got involved.
A new app called SceneTap is set to hit the App Store and Android Market in the next month or so. The startup company behind the app will be rolling it out in 50 bars in the Chicago area. What they've done is install cameras in the 50 participating bars. The app then takes the images from those cameras, and using facial recognition technology figures out how many people are at the bar, the male to female ration, and even tries to guess the average age of patrons.
In addition to tricky camera work, it will also use date from Check-In apps like FourSquare to get a more dialed in demographic picture.
The app will even provide special deals to folks using the app and will feature the menus of participating bars and clubs.
The app should be ready to go by July in Chicago, and is expected to roll out nationwide in the coming months thereafter.
If you live in a small town or you have lived in the same area for awhile, the app isn't likely to let you in on anything you don't already know. But if you are new to town or on vacation, this app would definitely come in handy, so keep your eyes peeled.
These days, the only phones we are exposed to through mainstream media outlets are the super fast, incredibly capable smartphones of the future. Its sometimes hard to remember that smartphones still make up far less than 50% of the total number of smartphones in circulation here in the US. That number is growing each and every quarter, and in a recent speaking engagement, Sprint VP of product development Farid Adib, suggested that the number is growing at a much faster clip on his network.
Hess claims that more than half of all Sprint phones being sold are smartphones. Of that figure, 70% are running Android. The other 30% are running Blackberry. Sprint has yet to be able to cash in on the Apple craze due to their exclusivity with AT&T, and more recently Verizon.
However, if rumors prove to be true, that will all change by the end of the year. It is sounding more and more likely that Apple will be releasing a phone dubbed the iPhone 4S, which will be a quad band phone with both a GSM and CDMA radio. In layman's terms, this phone will work on all four networks and will likely be released as such.
That would be welcome news for Sprint, as they already are dwarfed by AT&T and Verizon. Should the AT&T merger with T-Mobile manage to navigate its way through federal approval, Sprint would be just one of three national carriers, and would be a distant third at that. Without an iPhone to compete, they most likely would be doomed.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has suggested as much himself in pleas to the FCC and US Government to block the merger.
But that is still close to a year away from happening. Before then, Sprint could land Apple's groundbreaking device, which would probably push those smartphone sales well north of 50%.
This morning Apple finally capitulated to pressure from Capitol Hill and has removed several DUI checkpoint apps from their App Store. The move came after pressure from Senator Harry Reid a few months ago. The Senate Majority leader requested the RIM, Google and Apple all remove apps that promote drinking and driving from their various app marketplaces.
RIM immediate removed all offending apps. Google declined the request and still has DUI checkpoint apps in the Android Market.
Apple initially claimed that the offending apps didn't violate any of their guidelines; hence they had no recourse to remove the apps. Apple closed that loophole by amending their guidelines. Section 22.8 states that any DUI checkpoint apps that publish information not released by law enforcement agencies are in violation.
Law Enforcement agencies have long made DUI checkpoints public information. It is intended to be a deterrent to drunk drivers. The thinking behind it is that if motorists know that police are out in force, they will think twice about getting behind the wheel.
While the actual effects of that strategy are debatable, the developers of these apps argue that their apps perform the same function. That really is beside the point though.
Lawmakers and activist groups contend that the apps promote drunk driving by helping people avoid the checkpoints on their way home. However, if a person owns a phone where they can access apps, they own a phone that can access the internet and find the checkpoints via law enforcement anyway.
With this move by Apple, Google is now the only mobile OS provider on the latter side of the debate. Public pressure will likely force them to remove DUI apps in the near future as well.
Most people are familiar with Jawbone. They make high end Bluetooth headsets with some of the best noise cancelation technology out there. I actually had a co-worker that rode a Harley to work every morning and would use a Jawbone on his commute, and you could never tell that we was on a Bluetooth, much less cruising down the freeway at 70 mph on a motorcycle.
Not too long ago, Jawbone expanded their product line, introducing a device called the Jambox. It is a wireless, portable Bluetooth speaker that pumps out sound at a whopping 85 decibels. That puts it somewhere between a motorcycle and a rock concert.
Today Jawbone is introducing a new product called the Jamchain. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is a cheap plastic chain that attaches to the Jambox so you can wear it around your neck like Run DMC.
Here is the promotional video they put together for it.
The Jamchain won't be sold. It will be given away to anyone who buys a Jambox. All you have to do is enter a promo code on the Jawbone website to get one. And for those you already own a Jambox, you can get your free Jamchain as well through their account dashboard.
To say that this is beyond awesome would be the understatement of the century. For a company that is typically associated with high end business/professional clientele, to move this far outside of their comfort zone is both refreshing and hilarious.
I think by now most people have heard the story of the woman who was thrown off of an Amtrak train for refusing to get off of her cell phone in a quiet car where other passengers were trying to sleep. The woman apparently was on the phone for 16 straight hours, which seems impossible unless someone was narrating the entire Harry Potter series of movies to her over the phone.
That being said, cell phone etiquette has more or less gone out the window. And it isn't just teenagers that are to blame either. Here is a video of the White House press secretary taking away a journalists cell phone because it went off in the middle of a press conference.
Here is a list of the top 5 places to keep your phone on silent and in your pocket.
5 – In line at the grocery store: I'll admit that I've used my phone while roaming the aisles to check with my girlfriend or roommate on the milk status or if we are fully stocked up on chips and salsa. But once you get to that checkout line, there's no turning back. The people in line don't need to hear your phone conversation, and despite what you think, you are actually slowing things down. Unless your wife/girlfriend is going into labor, there is no conversation important enough that can't wait a few minutes.
4 – At the movies: Neither myself, or the dozens of other people in the theater paid $15-$20 on tickets and snacks to listen to you talk about how hot Brad Pitt looks in this movie ladies. And guys, your friends don't need a play by play of all the jokes bantered back and forth in the Hangover 2. Texting isn't any better. The light from the LED display IS distracting. And the clickity clackity of those slide out keyboards are equally annoying. If you don't have an attention span that last longer than 90 minutes, wait until the movie comes out on DVD and watch it at home.
3 – Church: This one really shouldn't even have to be brought up, but unfortunately it does. This more goes for parents who think letting their children play with their iPhone to keep them quiet is a great alternative to actually parenting. I realize that raising kids is an extremely difficult job. But if there is any place more appropriate to put the fear of God into your children regarding punishment for acting up, church is the place. So unless Jesus himself is calling or texting you, leave the phone in the car.
2 – On a First Date: Far be it from me to post as a relationship expert, but if the person sitting across the table from you isn't interesting enough to deserve your undivided attention, then a second date probably isn't in the cards for you. And if the person is that interesting, and you want a second date, picking up your phone to send a text or answer a call sure will send the wrong message.
1 – While Driving: We've all done it before. But aside from the fact that States are cracking down and handing out some hefty tickets and fines, it's also dangerous. Studies have been done that suggest texting while driving is just as impairing as drinking and driving. There are Bluetooth devices out there that not only allow you to make calls hands free, but offer speech to text technology. Be safe people, and be courteous to those around you.
We try not to shamelessly sell products here on the Wireless Emporium blog. That isn't why we created it. Frankly, we try to listen to the market and blog about current topics. As smartpones continue to grow in popularity, one thing that consumers are complaining about the most is battery life. We know, we asked on our Facebook page.
There are several iPhone cases out there that boast an external battery pack. Most add a significant amount of bulk to phones. A company called PhoneSuit has come out with an option that is only 17mm thick but also boasts a 2100 mah battery pack that can add up to double the battery life to the iPhone 4. Not too shabby.
For those not rocking an iPhone 4, a startup company called SuVolta has just unveiled a technology that will reduce processor power consumption by up to half. Considering that processors are getting more beast like in cell phones, and as such are draining tons of battery life, this is a technology that is arriving right on time. Ironically (not so much, it was actually a planned pun) SuVolta in Italian roughly translates to On Time.
How exactly SuVolta's tech can promise such power saving is kind of technical, but you can read about it here.
SuVolta claims to have been working with Fujitsu for two years now and claims that their technology can be applied to current chip manufacturers. If everything they are claiming is true, we could be seeing super fast and super efficient cell phones sooner rather than later.
If you're like me, or any other smarthpone owner out there, you invariably have wanted to throw your phone through a brick wall because it was taking forever (translated into longer than a nano-second) to open a video or run an app. And by the time the apps starts to run, you're battery is dead.
Sluggish phones and poor battery life tend to be the marketing talking points for most every new phone that hits the market these days. It's also the main reason why consumers return their phones or claim that they are defective.
At least one executive at a major phone manufacturer is saying ‘Don't blame us.'
Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola, claims that about 70% of Motorola smartphones that get returned as defective are actually perfectly fine, and are experiencing problems because of poorly written apps that are draining power and trying up valuable processing speed.
Considering most cell phone users aren't savvy enough to notice which apps are sucking power, an extended life battery or a spare cell phone charger is probably a good start to avoiding such problems.
Motorola is working on a software update to their proprietary MotoBlur user interface that will measure power consumption of apps and warn users if they are about to download an "offending" app.
The problem is, because of Android's open source and the lax screening process to get an app into the Android Market, there really is very little phone manufacturers can do to control the functionality of the apps their customers are downloading.
I think at some point in time everyone has said something to the effect of "I would give my left arm for (fill in the blank)." It's obviously just an expression to indicate just how much you want something.
In China, the phrase apparently goes something along the lines of "I would give one of my kidneys for (fill in the blank)." But over there, they take it seriously.
A 17-year-old student in China sold his kidney to black market organ dealers and used the money to go out and buy the iPad 2. If the iPad 2 runs you a kidney, I'd be curious to find out what body part an iPad 2 cover would cost you?
When the boy showed up at home with a new iPad and laptop his mom got suspicious and got the story out of her son and immediately reported it to the police. Details are still pretty sketchy. All that's been reported is that a broker contacted the boy online and offered him approximately $3,400 US in exchange for his kidney.
How the broker got his contact information isn't known.
The surgery was done at a hospital. The hospital of course claims complete ignorance in the matter and even says they don't even have the facilities required to perform such a surgery.
Sadly, the boy's health is deteriorating, which really shouldn't be all that surprising considering he volunteered himself for back ally kidney harvesting surgery. Also not surprising, he is beginning to express regret for his decision.
In one of the more unusual patent filings we've come across from Apple, the one they recently filed for non-exploding cell phone batteries has to be one of the strangest. You'd think that would be something that was a given and wouldn't need a patent, but hey, its Apple.
This is news to me, but apparently if Apple's batteries are exposed to extreme heat, they have a tendency to generate a gas build up and explode: Which is bad news for anyone who doesn't want things exploding next to their face.
Thankfully a group of researchers are working on a natural way to charge cell phones. They are studying a microbe that expels electricity though "wires" that stick out from their cells. The microbes live in oxygen free environments, making them a viable candidate to live out their lives inside of a cell phone.
The scientists are trying to develop conductors that would collect the electricity produced by these organisms and in turn act as cell phone chargers for mobile devices.
Don't go throwing out that battery just yet though. Researchers say they are probably a decade away from coming up with the technology to actually harvest enough electricity from these organisms to make it a practical application in cell phones and other portable electronics.
Until then, keep your phone out of extreme heat and don't leave your battery baking on the sidewalk just before you put it into your phone to make a call. We don't want to have to say we told you so.
Does everyone remember the high school kid from New York named Fei Lam that was selling white iPhone 4 conversion kits online? Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was actually one of his customers. Details surrounding how he actually got his hands on the parts are shady at best. The teen said he kind of knew someone who knew someone at Foxconn, and he ordered the parts through that connection.
The kit basically consisted of a few cell phone accessories like replacement backs and a few screws, and instructions on how to swap out the parts.
Well, Apple got wind of it after a short while, and hired a private investigator to intimidate the kid into shutting down his website, claiming he was trafficking stolen property.
The kid decided he wasn't going to be intimidated and kept the website, pocketing a boatload of cash. Most assumed that was that and life moved on. But Apple decided that the kid made a little too much cash selling what they deemed to be unlicensed iPhone parts and recently filed a lawsuit against him demanding an injunction against him selling any more conversion kits.
The lawsuit has already been settled out of court, but a few details have been revealed. Anyone who visited the website knows that Lam was selling the kits for about $300. Apparently he sold enough kits to pocket $130,000.
The lawsuit also named Lam's parents, saying the willfully encouraged him to set up the website and profit from deceptive advertising. Most likely, they were named on the suit because Lam was a minor when he set up the website.
With the suit settled out of court, the saga is most likely over and done with. We'll probably never know what the final terms are, but after legal fees and the terms of the suit it seems unlikely that the Lams kept too much of the $130 grand. Too bad too.
Two of the most powerful and most impressive Verizon phones currently available are both from HTC. The Thunderbolt and the Droid Incredible 2 have racking up huge sales figures. They also have been chewing up battery life and spitting it out like the beasts they are.
Giant displays and superfast processors make these devices prime candidates for streaming videos and music, both of which are huge power suckers.
That translates into about double the time between charges, which should make customers happy.
All that power does come at a bit of a compromise. The extended batteries are a bit bulkier than the regular batteries, and require a special door for them to fit.
That added bulk means that most snap on covers and silicone cases won't fit a phone with an extended battery.
For those who insist upon an extra layer of protection, face in holsters and some leather cases are likely to still get the job done.
Distracted driving is a hot button issue that we've blogged about here before on the Wireless Emporium blog. While we don't want to beat a dead horse, all the distracted driving laws might be preventing Charles Darwin from doing his job.
Reports coming out of England are saying that a man was busted for holding one phone to his ear while talking and using his other hand to send a text message. I'm imagining that a knee was used for the steering wheel. While I wish no harm on anyone, perhaps waking up in a ditch with a tree in the passenger seat, the steering wheel in the glove compartment and the back tire on the windshield is the only way that some people will actually invest in a Bluetooth headset.
Not to say that Bluetooth headsets are the ultimate answer. Some studies even suggest that using a Bluetooth device isn't any less distracting than holding onto a phone. I'm curious if there have been any studies done to see how talking to a passenger or singing along to the radio affects a drivers ability to focus on the road.
Sadly, even as cars begin to directly integrate things like GPS, Bluetooth, and even speech to text functionality into cars, distractions to drivers are increasing. Until someone comes out with a car that will actually drive itself from point A to point B, thus allowing the "driver" to do whatever the heck they want, we're going to struggle with what to do about technologies role in auto travel.
It's no secret that Nokia isn't exactly dominating the cell phone market like they used to. Their Symbian OS pales in comparison to Android and Apple OS. And when it comes to feature phones, they barely register as a blip on the radar on the four major carriers.
They do have a deal with Microsoft to start producing Windows Phone 7 devices, but those aren't expected to come out until closer to the Holidays. In the interim, you can buy this gold plated phone.
Yes, that is actually 18-carat gold with a genuine leather back. And it will only cost you a little north of $1,100. I'm not exactly sure if that is the way to bounce back in the US market.
To be fair, this phone is being marketed mainly in Europe. More specifically, to Russia, where being a pretentious douche with a gold plated cell phone is apparently how you get taken seriously according to Nokia's GM of operations in Russia.
"In some areas, possession of such premium products is the passport to being taken seriously."
Far be it from me to tell a multi-billion dollar company how to run their business, but perhaps focusing on putting out phones that will be universally adopted by the masses my help to quell the nearly 2,000 jobs cut in the past 6 months, and may put a band aid on the millions of dollars the Finnish company is hemorrhaging each quarter.
But what do I know? I'm just a blogger who is about $1,000 short of being able to afford an $1,100 cell phone.
When it comes to a mobile phone operating system, popularity really boils down to one thing. Forget the size of the display or the speed of the processor inside. An intuitive user interface really doesn't amount to squat either.
Nope. None of that matter a bit. It all boils down to whether or not a mobile OS has Angry Birds or not. Yes, I'm being completely serious.
Angry Birds is the measuring stick for the greater picture, apps. Because when push comes to shove, every phone does exactly the same thing from a hardware perspective. You can get a great camera on an Android phone that matches competitively with the iPhone. A Nokia Symbian based phone is going to send text messages and take calls, just like an HP phone running Web OS. And Blackberry can still check your e-mail.
But when push comes to shove, what separates the contenders from the pretenders is how many apps you can download and play with. The numbers back it up. Apple just recently announced that they have surpassed 500,000 apps in their App Store. Android is closing the gap every day, now eclipsing 300,000 apps.
By comparison, Microsoft today announced that they have just surpassed 17,000 total apps for the WP7 platform. Granted, WP7 hit shelves 6 months ago, while Android and Apple have been around for a few years now. That disparity runs parallel to the total market share that Microsoft is conceding to the two kingpins of the smartphone world.
It is also a big reason why Nokia's Symbian and HP/Palm's WebOS never managed to carve out a significant niche for themselves either. And it's a major reason why Blackberry has been plummeting in popularity.
As the gap widens, it will be that much harder for Microsoft to gain any sort of ground, and if they are smart, app development should be just as high of a priority, if not higher, than hardware development.
There is a lot of news floating around about the screens on the iPhone 5, and a potential patent that could be a real game changer when it comes to LED displays in general.
First off, rumors are floating around that the iPhone 5 will have a curved glass display. It wouldn't be the first time an Apple device used a curved screen. The iPod nano has used similar technology in their displays before.
Bolstering the rumors is the fact that Apple has purchased several hundred glass cutting machines specifically designed to cut curved glass displays.
Needless to say, it seems pretty safe to say that this rumor is likely to be true.
What is far more interesting however is a recent patent filed by Apple regarding screens. The patent refers to a privacy screen that would only be viewable when the user is looking at their display straight on.
There are already privacy screen protectors designed to serve this exact same function, preventing lookie loos from spying on your Facebook page or the latest cat video you downloaded from YouTube. While this technology is completely functional, it does require a thicker film, which can hinder the responsiveness of the touch screen.
The patent filed by Apple describes a new light refracting technology that severely limits the viewing angle. In addition to personal electronic devices, Apple hopes to see this technology expanded into other areas like medical equipment and car instruments. That means no more watching kids DVD's in from the minivan in the lane next you to.
A long time ago, I used to have a freelance writing gig where I got paid through PayPal. My editor was based halfway across the country, and getting paid for my invoices happened in a matter of hours rather than a matter of days.
As time has gone by, PayPal has evolved into what amounts to an online bank in and of itself. As such, it only makes sense that they jump on the mobile banking bandwagon. And Android users are spared the fate of having to actually go to a bank to deposit funds into their accounts.
Since October, iPhone users have been able to utilize a cool feature called Mobile Check Catcher, which allows you to take a picture of the front and back of a check and have those funds deposited straight into your PayPal account.
Since its introduction, PayPal claims that it sees approximately $1 million deposited per month through their app.
Finally, and no real word on why it took so long, the same feature has come available for Android phones as well.
It is possible that PayPal has been hesitant to include the app due to Android's security concerns. But that hasn't stopped others from developing mobile deposit features.
PayPal is hardly the first financial institution to develop this sort of app. Chase has a similar app available to their customers.
Like all things when it comes to mobile banking or online banking. The app you use is only as safe as you are careful.
Random speculation is always a blast. Making up rumors backed by paper thin "evidence" is really what gets people's juices flowing. In the mobile world, no company is the subject of more rumors than Apple. But one rumor to emerge this past week is starting to look more and more legit.
Let's start with the rumor. According to one analyst, Apple is working on an upgraded version of the iPhone 4, to be called the iPhone 4S, that will land on shelves at T-Mobile and Sprint. Given how AT&T just lost their exclusivity a couple months ago when Verizon joined the party, it would appear as though Apple is looking to turn that party into a full on rager.
There are reasons why this move makes sense for Apple. The most obvious one is the fact that Android is kicking its butt in terms of smartphone market share in the US. Android officially overtook the top spot last quarter, while Apple sits in third behind Blackberry. And Apple's numbers were relatively flat, only showing a .5% increase from the previous quarter.
By launching on the remaining two national carriers, Apple increases their potential customer base by nearly 80 million subscribers.
But how much credence can one put into this rumor?
Apple did recently post a job listing for a "carrier engineer." The position was initially listed for Overland Park, KS. In case you didn't know, that is where Sprint is located. And with the impending merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, an iPhone on that network seems like more of an inevitability than anything.
So what does that mean for the iPhone 5? It could mean nothing. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that Apple could release two phones in September. However it isn't likely given their history. Right now, we're leaning towards believing the iPhone 4S is coming this year, and the iPhone 5 is going to have to wait until next year.
Leave it to the Germans to rain on everyone's parade. According to a study out of the University of Ulm, 99% of all Android smartphones are vulnerable to password theft.
The vulnerability stems from a weakness in the Android source code for versions 2.3.3 and earlier. For those into clever desert names, that would be one of the latest updates to the Gingerbread version. The hole in security has been noticed and a patch has been worked up, but that patch is only good on phones running version 2.3.4 or running Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb).
Needless to say, those versions of the Android OS are running on an extremely limited number of Android devices.
Smartphone security is actually becoming more of a hot button issue these days. More and more people are using their phones to do everything from updating their Facebook status to doing their banking. As such, they are juicy targets for hackers.
AT&T is one of the first carriers to tackle the issue head on. The national carrier is going to start offering security plans starting in 2012. AT&T already offers a similar service to businesses through a partnership with McAfee.
Android phones are a popular target for hackers due in large part to their growing popularity, and Google's lax policies in their app store. Earlier this year, more than 50 apps were pulled from the Android Market after they were found to be hosting malware. Those apps infected as many as 400,000 different phones.
Google also allows users to download apps from third party sites, which Google has no control over, meaning there could be countless more malicious apps floating around.
There are several free antivirus apps available for Android that I would recommend you download immediately. Better safe than sorry.
It isn't the first time this has happened, and it definitely won't be the last, but it appears as though a rogue image of a cell phone accessory has revealed the design of a yet to be released phone. The phone in question is Apple's iPhone 5, and the accessory doing the talking is an iPhone case.
If ever there was a phone to generate some buzz, it would be this one. Most insiders are expecting the iPhone 5 to come out sometime around September. However, if these rumors, are to be believed, there will be no iPhone 5. Instead, we'll be getting an upgraded iPhone 4 that will land with T-Mobile and Sprint.
If you are to believe the rumors, then the leaked image of the iPhone 5 is easy to dismiss. However, the site that leaked the images has a bit of a history of being correct on these things. Here's the picture.
The obvious differences between this version of the iPhone and previous ones are the edge-to-edge screen. You'll also notice that the flash for the camera has been moved to the opposite corner on the back of the phone rather than its current position right next to the camera.
It isn't uncommon for third party accessory manufacturers to get their hands on schematics (legally or illegally) several months in advance to begin designing and manufacturing products to be released in sync with new phone releases. Keeping that in mind, it isn't too far outside the realm of possibility that this case is legit, and this is a first look at the next iPhone.
Oh. It is a folded up tablet in your pocket. But how is that possible?
Bendable and foldable OLED displays are nothing new. We've seen examples of the technology at numerous tech conventions and expos. But the one prevailing flaw with these types of displays is that after folding them, you inevitably would get a crease in your display, much like if you fold a piece of paper in half. That crease leads to a less than desirable viewing experience.
But Samsung has come up with a solution to this problem and has placed it in a tablet. By design, this would make tablets far more portable. Depending on the size, you could slip a tablet into your pocket or purse.
Granted the bulk of something like that would make this a bit uncomfortable. But the fact that this is even possible is pretty amazing.
If you want to read more about how the technology is possible you can follow this link. What you really need to know is that this technology was created by readily available and relatively cheap materials, meaning it could go from prototype to market relatively quickly.
The prototype has already undergone several tests, and in one, was folded 100,000 times without developing a noticeable crease. In fact, after being folded and unfolded 100,000 times, there was only a 6% loss of brightness along the fold.
Considering that even if you opened and closed your tablet 10 times a day, every single day, it would take you close to three years to hit 100,000 folds, odds are that you'd be on to your next device before you could possibly wear out the screen.
I have a feeling we'll be seeing a foldable tablet very soon.
I was going to try and come up with some clever pun relating Android Honeycomb and headline, but my brain is already celebrating the weekend and I have too much respect for you to scribble out some half hearted attempt at humor.
Rather, let's just get down to the nitty gritty.
Scientists in Switzerland conducted 83 separate experiments involving cell phones and bees and came to a chilling conclusion. If you are talking on your phone near a bee hive, the bees will swarm, fly around aimlessly and then die.
Having the phone in standby mode or turned off didn't seem to have any effect. Out of those 83 experiments, nothing was mentioned about texting or surfing the web on your phone having any sort of murderous effect on bees. So updating your Facebook status to "Being killed by an angry swarm of killer bees," may or may not save your life. However, calling a friend and screaming frantically very well could.
There has been an epidemic of bee colony deaths around the world, which has been blamed on something called the Israeli acute paralysis virus. But these studies may suggest that technology is playing a role as well.
While most may take a casual stance to these findings, bees play an important role in the circle of life on planet earth by pollinating flowers. In conclusion, if you are a beekeeper, or know a beekeeper, keep the phone conversations to a minimum while on the clock.
Summer is pretty much right around the corner. People are starting to emerge from their hibernation caves and start enjoying the nice weather. So as you start to grease that bike chain and pump up your tires a company called Ozaki has developed a cell phone case that attaches to your handlebars and amplifies the sound from your dedicated music player of choice. It's called the iCarry, and it is specifically designed for the iPhone and iPod (sorry Android folks).
It's actually a great idea and it's infinitely safer. I can't speak for anyone else, but music certainly makes my workout go a lot faster and not seem like a workout. But riding around with earphones plugging your ear holes is a great way to not hear oncoming traffic.
The amplifier isn't really anything new. We've seen plenty of speaker cases that amplify sound without using electricity. It's a simple matter of physics and acoustics that make it work. This model also apparently amplifies the sound coming into the phone, so conceivably, it should make it easier for the person on the other end of the line to hear what you're saying when you're in speakerphone mode.
I know what you're thinking. What if a wreck my bike? I've pretty much just thrashed my phone as well. Not so my friend. This case is extremely well put together. It's made in Germany after all.
Check out the video below to see how sturdy and stable this sucker is during a live test.
Probably the only real downer here is the price tag. At $50 bucks, it's a steep price to pay if you are just a casual bike rider. But if you are really active, it is probably a worthwhile investment.
Apple enthusiasts have long debated with PC enthusiasts over the pros and cons of each. And while Google, and by extension Android, aren't PC, they certainly have captured that audience. One of the biggest cons that continually gets slapped on Apple is cost. Whether it's fair or not, Apple is considered to be "elitist".
The iPhone has been yoked with that same label, and Android fans can point the numerous devices at various price points that fit virtually any budget. By contrast, when a new iPhone comes out, it is typically prices at the high end of the cell phone spectrum (not that that has stopped people from buying it in droves despite the economy).
But when the Verizon iPhone 4 came out, AT&T did something it hadn't done before. In an attempt to attract more customers, and fight an exodus to Verizon, the carrier offered the previous iPhone 3GS at $49.99.
The move worked, as the discounted iPhones flew off the shelves. Which begs the question – could Apple create budget iPhone to be released alongside its flagship phones?
According to insiders, the Cupertino, CA based company has been working on a lower end iPhone to try and break into emerging markets abroad. Apple execs have even stated that they are exploring prepaid cell phone options. But there are quite a few steps between the drawing board and actual implementation.
A smaller screen with a slightly slower processor could be two ways to cut costs. A less impressive camera in terms of megapixels could also be doable. But what is doable and what sorts of compromises Apple would be willing to make remain to be seen.
Whether a budget iPhone every makes it to store shelves remains to be seen, but it definitely is worth a long look by the folks at Apple.
Scientists are a clever and creative bunch. That's kind of a prerequisite for being a scientist though. All the creativity and brain smarts can lead to some pretty crazy cool inventions, especially when it comes to the world of cell phones.
A group of scientists in Korea have invented a cell phone battery that charges using the sound waves from your voice. That's right, simply using your phone for what it was designed to be used for will keep your battery juiced up.
As far as the technology is concerned, the battery uses two pieces of zinc oxide placed between electrodes. The zinc oxide reacts to sound waves, creating an electrical current, which charges the batter.
Now the next trick is to figure out how to get people to actually use their cell phones to talk to people rather than just text and surf the internet.
I'm also curious as to whether or not the volume a person speaks at affects the speed with which the battery charges. People already scream into their Bluetooth headsets and speaker phones as it is. I can only imagine how obnoxious it will be to listen to people shouting their conversation for the entire world to hear because they are low on battery life.
Even better, I can't wait to see people yelling random gibberish at their phone to keep it charged while they update their Facebook status.
All joking aside, this would be a huge step forward in cell phone technology - an electrical device that charges by being used.
In the race to sport the biggest screens on the thinnest phones, one Canadian research group has beaten everyone to the punch. And no, we aren't talking about Research in Motion.
What you see above is a working prototype of a paper thin phone, aptly named the "PaperPhone". It's about as thick as a laminated name badge. It uses e-Ink, similar to what is used in E-Readers like the Kindle. Sensors can detect various bends and flicks on the screen to interpret what the user is trying to do. Curl the page to make a phone call, or use a pen to write notes.
The working phone runs on the Android operating system and requires no hand assembly. It is essentially printed, meaning that manufacturing costs would be minimal and the phone would retail for much less than today's high end smartphones.
Roel Vertegaal, who is the director of the research group suggests that the technology is about 5 years away from actually being ready to go to market, but will be demonstrating the PaperPhone at a conference later this week.
While the typical wear and tear that affects today's smartphones, scratches and damage from drops, wouldn't be an issue with PaperPhones, a whole slew of other potential problems would exists. For example, the phone could get folded in half and creased, causing potential permanent damage.
The entire phone isn't paper thin though. There is a casing attached to the phone where the cell phone battery, processor and memory card go. But researches have 5 years to figure out a way to make those a little less unwieldy.
There are times when we need to really just sit back and appreciate the cell phones that we carry around. Not just because they allow us to text our friends the mundane details of our lives, or update our Facebook pages, or even read the news. We need to be thankful that we live in a country that even allows us to own a cell phone.
In North Korea, the government is seizing cell phones from citizens. They fear that cell phones will be used as a tool to organize protest rallies. And in a country where news is highly regulated by the government, the thought of a smartphone accessing outside information that might conflict with government sanctioned news is a terrifying prospect for the powers that be.
Considering how cell phones have been a key tool in organizing uprisings throughout the Middle East, Kim Jong Il and his cronies should be scared. North Korea has their own cellular network, but it is heavily monitored by the government to prevent outside information from getting into the country.
In the northern border regions, people are smuggling phones in from China and Russia and tapping into networks from those countries to place "illegal" phone calls. Those calls are limited to 5 minutes so police can't trace the calls and seize the contraband phones.
Fear has spread to the point where foreigners who visit the country must turn over their cell phones upon entering the country and aren't allowed access to rental cell phones while in North Korea.
North Korea is one of the poorest countries on earth, so cell phone proliferation isn't a huge problem yet. There are still only 450,000 registered cell phone users in the country of more than 24 million people (less than 2%). But the number of registered cell phone users has doubled in the last year, meaning the government will have a harder and harder time trying to control information moving forward.
Raise your hand if you like backseat drivers. To anyone who raised their hand, you have some real self esteem issues, and this new iPhone app from State Farm is right up your alley.
They are calling it State Farm Driver Feedback. It uses the various sensors in your phone, specifically the accelerometer and GPS capabilities. The app can sense how fast you drive, how hard you corner, and how hard you brake. The app will then score your driving. No bonus points for successfully drifting through a crowded crosswalk ala Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift.
The folks at State Farm think people will look at their score and make a game out of it by trying to drive safer and in turn beat their score. Beating your score is akin to pulling a Morgan Freeman from Driving Miss Daisy every time you get behind the wheel rather than pulling a Jason Statham from the Transporter. What's the fun in that?
It will be interesting to see how many people download the app just to see who amongst their group of friends can get the lowest score without running anything over. I suppose concerned parents could use the app, forcing their kids to drive with it on to earn car privileges. But that is about the only practical use for this app we can come up with off the top of our heads.
Supposedly the app doesn't send any of the data back to State Farm, but with all the privacy and data collection issues that have cropped up recently, don't be surprised if your insurance rates go up the next time you have to renew.
Not that long ago we wrote a blog about a designer that was making high end suits specifically designed with a giant pocket to carry around an iPad. We scoffed. We mocked. We laughed that this sort of fashion could ever catch on.
We were wrong. We were oh so horribly, shamefully, woefully wrong. Apparently your pants are now an iPad accessory, provided you buy your clothes based on the recommendations of the Tactical Pants Blog. Yes. That is a real blog. No. We're not kidding. It really is a real blog.
Tactical Pants reviewed several pairs of pants with enormously oversized pockets to test which ones were best for sauntering around with a tablet in them. Their conclusion: the best pair of iPad pants is made by a company called Warrior Wear Pants called Blackhawks. In addition to their ginormous back pocket, there is a second cargo pocket also big enough to carry an iPad. But this pocket is an "in-emergencies-only" scenarios kind of pocket. Sadly, the Blackhawk has been discontinued. I'm sure someone with an entrepreneurial spirit can scoop a bunch of these up on e-bay and make a fortune on the tactical pants black market.
The great thing about iPad pants is that those gigantic pockets can hold so much more than just an iPad. If your girlfriend ever asks you to hold her purse, just stick it in your giant iPad pocket. Small dogs and kittens: yup, iPad pocket. Or transport an entire set of encyclopedias one volume at a time. The possibilities really are endless.
I would never recommend going on a first date and calling your date a fatter. And never mention to your girlfriend/wife that it looks like she's put on a few pounds unless you are hoping to spend a month sleeping on the couch.
However when a phone starts to pack it on, it's important to point out the extra bulk. That's exactly what we are dealing with when it comes to the iPhone 4. With the phone now out and in the hands of happy customers for the past 24 hours or so, it has come to light that the Moby iPhone is a full 2mm thicker than its black counterpart.
While that may not seem like much, it is enough to drive 3rd party iPhone accessories manufacturers crazy. That extra 2mm is going to make quite a few snap on and slider iPhone 4 cases too snug to fit on the white version.
Apple has been less than forthcoming about the size difference. On their official website, there is a disclaimer explaining how the final specs may or may not be altered by the manufacturing process. It appears that alterations are exactly what happened.
Executive with the Cupertino, CA based company revealed that the reason for the 10 month delay was due to manufacturing problems and extra layer of UV protection needed to be added to the phone to ensure that all sensors functioned properly. That extra layer of UV protection appears to be about 2mm thick, and is likely to create a lot of frustration from customers looking to protect a phone that they had to wait nearly a year for.
I bought my phone right before Halloween. At the time, the Vibrant was the flagship phone at T-Mobile, and one of the better phones available on any network. About a week later, the myTouch 4G came out and out-speced my phone by some distance. Six months later, and several new phone releases later, my phone is more or less a dinosaur. I can only imagine what my phone will seem like in 18 months when I'm eligible for an upgrade. And I'm not the only person who feels that way. Apparently 62% of cell phone customers either feel that their cell phone is obsolete or will be obsolete before their contract expires.
New cell phones are coming out at breakneck speeds. To clarify, new Android phones are coming out at breakneck speeds, each with small performance tweaks that cause almost instant buyer's remorse.
Apple customers don't seem to have the same problem, as the Cupertino based electronics giant releases a new phone once per year.
An obvious solution to the overwhelming sense of obsolescence would be for carriers to offer 1 year contracts. That's a double edged sword.
Carriers prefer to lock up customers for as long a period as possible, so they would be reluctant to completely shift their business strategy. And if all the major carriers offered 1 year contracts they wouldn't be able to subsidize new phone prices as deeply while maintaining their margins. That extra expense would obviously get passed onto the consumer, which never goes over well.
As it stands, we are likely stuck with the current system for the foreseeable future. One of the things that makes Android so great is its ever expanding selection of phones. It's also one of the most frustrating. At the rate cell phone technology is advancing, by the time I'm eligible for an upgrade phones will be able to teleport you around town. Until then, I'll just have to settle for my 3G paperweight. Sigh.
When it comes to tech, there really isn't anything more polarizing that the debate between Apple and PC. One side of the debate argues that you can get equivalent computing power for half the price. The other side touts security, citing the thousands upon thousands of viruses and malware programs designed specifically to attack the other.
That debate has extended to the mobile world as well, with Google's Android OS taking on the roll of PC and Apple staying Apple. The arguments are slightly similar as to why one is better than the other, but it would appear as though Google is going to have to start dealing with the fact that malware is starting to attack Android phones with increasing frequency.
Kaspersky Labs, the computer antivirus software giant, has identified 70 different malware programs written specifically to attack the Android platform. That is a 3500% increase just since September.
What makes Android so attractive to hackers is the same thing that makes it so attractive to customers. Freedom. Users can upload apps to their phones from just about anywhere, and there is a much more lenient screening process for new apps within the Android market, making developers quite fond of the platform as well.
But that leniency allows for hackers to slip past security. And it isn't just from third party app sites that malicious software is making its way onto devices. The Android Market itself was hit by 50 apps with Malware embedded in them a few months ago that infected approximately 400,000 phones.
The most obvious solution would be for Android to begin policing its own market far more strictly, making it a buyer beware situation for customer choosing to upload apps from third party app sites. Its something that Google should seriously look into as mobile payment technology is on the cusp of going mainstream, and would be an extremely juicy target for hackers to go after.
If you're a Star Wars fan and also happen to be a bit of an Apple fanatic, you may want to sit down before you see what I'm about to show you. And if you are already sitting down, you may want to strap yourself in so as not to injure yourself should you pass out and fall out of your chair.
That's right folks. What you are looking at is an iPhone decal skin designed to make Steve Jobs look like Han Solo frozen in carbonite. For those of you not into Star Wars, you just wouldn't understand how cheesetacularly awesome this is.
For those looking for a bit more functionality rather than kitsch in their cell phone accessories, you might want to consider this concept iPhone case from Leica. It's an iPhone case that actually turns your phone into a very real, and rather awesome, digital camera. The projected price – $900 to $1,200 – will limit the appeal of this case to serious photographers only, but man alive it looks good. The only real downer is that the iPhone 5 is less than 6 months away, and it's hard to imagine that the Leica i9 case will be universally compatible with all future iPhones. Even a small tweak would render this case obsolete should you decide to upgrade your phone, which is a shame.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of third party accessories for the iPhone. Very few are as cool as these two. While both certainly have their own mass appeal, and serve completely different purposes, there is definitely a market for both.
For all the Ahab-centric Apple enthusiasts that have been anxiously searching for their white whale (AKA the White iPhone 4) your search will come to an end on Wednesday. Hopefully the white iPhone 4 won't kill you like Moby Dick killed Captain Ahab.
According to leaked documents from the Best Buy inventory system the phone is finally coming after months and months of delays. This is good news for Apple, as the release of the iPhone 5 has likely been pushed back to September rather than the usual June release date. This should give Apple a "new" product to lean on for a few extra months.
The delays have been attributed to manufacturing difficulties. Apple co-Founder Steve Wozniak shed a little more light on the subject, suggesting that the white paint allowed too much light in when taking a picture, creating poor photo quality.
That didn't stop one industrious high school student in New York City from ordering white iPhone 4 parts from Foxconn in China and selling them as iPhone conversion kits. He made an insane amount of money before Apple's lawyers threatened a lawsuit if he didn't take down the site.
Given the recent supply shortages of Apple products, it would be surprising to see very many of these elusive white iPhones in stockrooms. Inevitably that means some lines will be forming in front of retail stores around the country. And as soon as folks pick up that white iPhone, the first thing they'll do is slap an iPhone case on it, making it impossible for anyone other than them to tell that they have a white iPhone 4.
If you always feel like somebody's watching you, then you have a lot in common with Rockwell, and with good reason if you own a smartphone. That someone watching you is named Steve Jobs and he is fascinated at how many trips to Starbucks you are taking each and every day.
It was recently revealed that devices equipped with iOS 4 have been using the GPS feature on your phone to keep a log of everywhere you've been. The data can go back months and months, and is stored in a "consolidated.db" file. The translation to that basically goes a little something like this. Every time you sync your phone with a computer, the stop by stop tracking your phone has been doing of your whereabouts is backed up on that computer.
The same group that figured out that Apple devices were tracking people's movements have also found a similar feature in Android. They have determined that this data is being collected intentionally.
Why this data is being tracked is unclear, but has caught the interested of the Government. Sen. Al Franken (MN) has already sent a letter to Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, to inquire about the privacy breach.
Consumer privacy has been a hot button issue on Capitol Hill as both houses of congress are trying to pass consumer protection legislation that would give cell phone users the option to opt out of ad targeting campaigns. Ad targeting tracks a users web browsing habits as well as their age, race, sex and location. That information is then sent to advertising agencies who can then send advertisements specifically targeted to the user.
So yes, the next time you feel that big brother is watching you just watch Rockewell's video and know that you aren't alone. Somebody is tracking your every move.
My sister would love this if it managed to permeate to her local farmers market. And I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would love to see the proliferation of Square's cute little cell phone accessory that turns any iPhone into a credit card readers.
Square has been around for awhile. But now it has made its way into Apple stores across the country. And at just $9.95, it's hard to imagine any small merchant not wanting to take advantage of the ability to take credit cards with a very portable device.
The device plugs into the 3.5 mm audio jack, just like a hands free headset would. And with a subscription to Square's service, even the 7-year-old down the street with her own lemonade stand can take your credit card as payment.
Square also sells an Android compatible device. They charge a flat fee per transaction. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of ways this will help small business and independent contractors.
Winter is winding down, but there are still plenty of areas of the country that are bitterly cold. And if you spend your Spring and Summers in the southern hemisphere, then this is the update for you. It has to do with touch screens, gloves, and how to turn any pair of gloves into a touch screen friendly pair of gloves. We know this update is a little bit past due, but we just came across this trick and thought we'd share.
First off, for those that don't know, wearing a pair of gloves more or less makes your touch screen useless. So for people living in colder climates, they are often faced with the tough decision between frostbite or tweeting about how cold they are waiting for the bus. It's tragic. But Lifehacker has been kind enough to share a little secret with us.
Just put a little CPU thermal compound on the fingers of any pair of gloves and they work like a charm. CPU thermal compound can be found in just about any computer or electronics store, and it's pretty cheap too – about $7 a tube.
So long as you have a screen protector on your phone there is no need to worry about scratching up your display.
So avoid finger amputation from frostbite people. It's cheap and easy to do.
The iPad 2 is a phenomenal device. There's no need to pretend otherwise. However, if there was a shortcoming, it is that it is nearly impossible to type on the touch screen keyboard with anything that even approaches speed or efficiency.
Several Bluetooth keyboards have come out, but those are only a marginal step up. For individuals who actually care about being efficient while performing business or educational tasks rather than just being the "cool" guy with the iPad, Logitech has come up with a solution.
It is an iPad 2 case with a built in keyboard, which is nothing special. However, this keyboard looks and feels like a regular laptop keyboard. And the iPad can mount on the case in landscape or portrait mode, making it feel like an actual laptop.
When push comes to shove, this is definitely the most practical keyboard case we've seen, and the cold metal industrial look when the device is secured in the case is pretty nice looking too.
There are a handful of things that help me get through my day at the office. Coffee, a steady stream of snacks and some sort of music player blasting through my headphones. And if you're anything like me, your phone is typically the source of said music. A good cell phone stand can come in handy when you're cycling through your favorite tunes or videos.
That's where 3feet comes in. It's a patent pending device with three different mounting positions designed to work with every model smartphone and tablet on the market. It is even compatible to work with any cell phone charger, even ones that have the charging port on the bottom of the phone.
3feet's cell phone stands are made in the good ole US of A from extremely durable plastic that will long outlive the life of your phone. There are a handful accessories designed to make life a bit more convenient. This is definitely one of them.
I may never have business cards made out of herringbone printed with ink sourced from the blood of aliens that crashed at Area 51 like American Psycho lead character Patrick Bateman, but at least I can have a phone that looks like his but is way cooler.
While it succeeds in making you look like Zack Morris the next time you order a pizza from Mrs. Bliss' English class, it does have a few drawbacks. Once you've popped your phone into it, only the touch screen is accessible. No ports or volume control button functionality with this guy.
But really, if anyone is buying this expecting functionality, well, they clearly need to reassess their expectations from life.
For most, a cell phone faceplate is just a means to protect their phone from every day damage. Sure, you might get a pink or purple one to add a little flair, but very rarely can you call your phone's first line of defense art. That's were Izozzi comes in.
Izozzi has managed to collaborate with a team of pop artists and graphic artist to create a full line of iPhone cases unlike anything available on the market. Designs range from dark Alice in Wonderland like scenes to tribal like designs and patterns.
'Simply put - we're in this because we love it. We love the art, the creative process behind it, and artists that have the stamina and balls to dare make a living at it,' says John Petzinger, founder of Izozzi. 'We love building the art into the product and get a thrill each time an izozzi case goes out the door. A lot of love here...and that's a very cool place to be.'
You can see a few examples of the types of cases on offer below.
We've written a few blogs in the past about how smarthphones, with a few clever cell phone accessories and a well designed app, are revolutionizing medical diagnostics. We've already seen an iPhone app that can diagnose cancer. And now we have an app that can diagnose malaria by simply taking a picture of a blood sample.
This prototype for this device is a Samsung Focus and it uses a microscopic lens that attaches to the phone's camera. Once a picture of a blood sample has been taken, it processes the photo and looks for the malaria parasites. It can then determine the number of parasites present and even isolate them in the picture by drawing a box around them.
Instead of bringing the patient to a lab, this will allow doctors to bring the lab to the patients, helping to prevent outbreaks of the disease. This has a drastic effect on diagnostic costs, which is a huge factor considering that the areas most affected by malaria are remote and poor regions of Africa.
As it stands right now, a child in Africa dies every 30 seconds from Malaria.
It's not like Bluetooth headsets are intensely cumbersome devices. I've never seen someone with an ear that hangs halfway down their neck because of the weight of their hands free headset. That still doesn't mean that this carbon fiber headset from Bluetrek isn't cool as heck.
It weighs a whopping .25 ounces and is the world's first carbon fiber Bluetooth device. The carbon fiber construction should make this particular Bluetooth darn near indestructible despite its petite size. It also boasts 4 hours of talk time and 5 days of standby time.
Maybe the most impressive spec though is the price tag. It will only cost $70, which is pretty reasonable for a high end Bluetooth device. Bluetrek is claiming noise cancelation technology for crystal clear sound quality, but what headset doesn't claim that these days?
I'm not an outdoorsy person. I can't even remember the last time I went camping. But there are plenty of people out there reading this that are cut from the 'Survivorman' mold. But just in case being dropped from a helicopter into the middle of the Amazon jungle with nothing but a toothpick and shoelace is too extreme for you Ralph Lauren has come up with a happy medium.
What you see below is a solar powered backback that can act as a cell phone charger for when you're out in the woods and not next to an electrical outlet. According the Ralph's peeps, the backpack can charge up your cell phone battery in about 3 hours.
Being green comes at a price though. The solar powered backpack will set you back $800, so if you're looking to save the planet one cell phone recharge at a time you better start collecting more cans to take to the recycling center.
We have another Kickstarter creation for everyone to take a gander at. It's called the GoPano, and it is a 360° video camera attachment for the iPhone 4. My first reaction when I saw this was, ‘Why would I ever need a cell phone accessory to take panoramic videos of anything ever.' And then I really started to think about it.
Imagine the cool videos you can capture at a party or get together. Or how about taking it to a sporting event and not only capturing the winning touchdown or goal, but also simultaneously capturing the crowd reaction. All this can be captured and then when you are re-watching the video, all you need to do is swipe your finger across the screen to view the different vantage points. You literally would be taking multiple videos of the exact same moment in time from one device.
How cool is that?
Cool enough that people have donated nearly $63,000 to make this a reality, blowing away the $20,000 goal they inventors set for themselves.
While Leonardo DiCaprio tried his hardest to make conflict diamonds sexy, the fact remains that civil wars in central Africa are largely funded by the sale of minerals. And it isn't just limited to blood diamonds. Several minerals used in the manufacturing of small electronics, like cell phones, are also produced in these conflict regions.
Next year, the federal government is forcing US companies to list where they get their materials and identify any purchases which might be linked to armed conflicts in Africa.
Some of the more commonly used materials that can be found in these regions are tin, tungsten, tantalum and titanium. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces nearly 14% of the world's tantalum supply and 5% of the world's tin supply.
In reaction to the impending federal regulation, Apple and Intel have already agreed to stop purchasing materials that can be linked back to conflict regions. While it's unclear why they may have been knowingly purchasing materials from these regions in the first place, at least it is a step in the right direction.
While there isn't any definitive proof that cell phones cause health problems, it sure hasn't stopped the AMA from looking for that smoking gun. What we do know is that cell phones emit radiation. And radiation is bad for you.
But how bad is it? The AMA did a recent study where they had people hold one phone up to one ear that was on, and a second one up to their other ear that was turned off. The side of the brain where the phone was on saw an increased build up of glucose. Studies have suggested that glucose can develop into cancer cells.
Again, this isn't definitive proof, but it does beg an interesting question regarding potential cell phone accessories for hypochondriacs. For example, a lead cell phone helmet. Or maybe a cell phone case with a built in Geiger counter. When the Geiger counter reaches a certain level it automatically terminates the call. AT&T already randomly terminates calls, and they don't even have Geiger counters on their phones.
Let's face facts. Not all phones are created equal. Take my sister's phone for example. She hasn't upgraded her phone in close to 6 years, despite the fact that at this point, she would have been eligible for 3 separate upgrades in that time period. Not only does her phone not have any internet capabilities of any kind, it doesn't even have the capability to hook up to a Bluetooth headset.
But if a company called Gemalto has its way, her stupid phone will be equal to my super cool 4G smartphone in one area of new technology –NFC.
For those not familiar with NFC, it stands for Near Field Communications, and will allow us to pay for goods and services by simply swiping our phones over a receiver of some sort. The technology is already starting to seep into everyday life, and should be ubiquitous by 2012.
That's where Gemalto comes in. They are a SIM card manufacturer, and have developed a SIM card with an NFC chip. Those SIM cards won't just work on the latest and greatest phones either. The will work on any phone that requires a SIM card. That would be every GSM phone on planet earth.
Pretty cool, even though it gives my sister yet another reason to cling to an antique.
What if instead of needing a cell phone charger to keep your phone powered up you could eliminate the cell phone battery altogether and use the wind, or even your heartbeat to keep your phone powered up?
According to people a lot smarter than me, that is going to be entirely possible within the next 5 years. Researchers have developed a new technology called nanogenerators (really teeny tiny generators) that can generate electricity from very small movements – like a heartbeat.
The technology can already produce enough energy to power a LCD screen or send out a radio signal but not both at the same time. But those same researchers are confident that they will be able to augment the power of these nanogenerators fairly easily, and expect the technology to find its way to store shelves within the next 5 years.
I can only imagine how fast your phone will charge up if you are out jogging on a windy day.
Cell phone manufacturers are facing a very real shortage of cell phone batteries in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami. While this is clearly a footnote in the grand scheme of things, the importance of Japan has globally in the electronics market can't be ignored.
A Japanese company called the Kureha Corp. produces a polymer used in lithium ion batteries. In fact, they control a 70% market share of this polymer. Their manufacturing plant hasn't been open since the earthquake, and officials don't have a timetable for when they expect to get things back online.
Apparently Apple has been the first major manufacturer hit by the Kureha shutdown, as they have traced their recent device shortages to a lack of iPhone batteries. But the longer that the plant remains out of commission, the more likely it will be that more manufacturers start to see shortages that will effect shipment of new devices.
I'm not sure why anyone would want an old timey pocket watch embedded in the alligator leather cell phone case designed specifically for their iPhone (which has a clock already). But just in case you do, De Bethune, who makes watches way more expensive than anything I could ever afford, has made the perfect iPhone case for you.
Pricing and availability haven't been released to the public. But judging by how garish and completely unnecessary this item is, it has to be several thousand dollars. And why not?
'Even though its use is questionable, the hand-guilloché dial with flame-blued steel hands definitely is an aesthetically enhancement while the used mechanical DB 1024 calibre with up to 6 days of power reserve provides the technical pillars for the serious collector'
That is part of the description pulled from the Gentleman's Gadgets webpage. I especially like the Blued Steel part, and how it conjures images of Zoolander.
As bad as distracted driving has gotten, there are several apps out there for our phones that are actually designed to help prevent accidents. T-Mobile has an app called DriveSmart that can detect when the phone is in a moving vehicle and block all incoming calls and texts. Sprint also just recently unveiled a similar app called Drive First which will be preinstalled on all new Android devices.
The apps are perfect though. They can't tell if the phone belongs to a passenger or the driver, so they will shut off everyone's phone. And in the case of Sprint, they are charging $2 a month for the service, which might be enough to get people to pass on activating it.
I would also contend that the various speed trap alert apps promote safe driving. I can personally attest to the fact that if I know that a particular area is crawling with cops with radar guns, I tend to drive a lot more cautiously in those stretches of road.
A group of Senators are trying to get these apps pulled though. It's not so much because of the speed trap alerts, as it is that these apps are also being used to alert people to where DUI checkpoints are. In this instance, the alerts really don't promote safer driving, they just encourage drunk drivers to take a different route home.
These Senators, in a letter to the major OS manufacturers, are asking that these apps be removed completely or be tweaked to remove the DUI checkpoint alerts.
For once, the government may actually have gotten something right.
A few months ago we recorded a video where we dropped a Blackberry off the roof of our warehouse in various cell phone cases to test just how much protection you actually get when you wrap your phone in one of these items. The results were actually quite impressive.
We'd never even think of doing the same test with an iPhone 4. Even with an iPhone case, the glass backing that has been known to crack extremely easily, just didn't inspire a lot of confidence.
We may have underestimated the strength of a good case. If this story is to be believed a Staff Seargent in the Air Force dropped his iPhone out of a plane while scouting parachute jump sites. The iPone 4 plummeted 1,000 feet to the ground.
When he got back to base, he activated his Find My Phone app on his computer and tracked down the device. Not only did he find his phone, it was in perfect working condition. Here is a picture of the alleged phone.
We all know that you can stream Netflix to your iPhone or iPod. But watching a movie on a 3.5' screen isn't exactly replicating the movie going experience. If only there was some sort of iPhone accessory that would charge your iPhone and stream Netflix on a larger screen.
Well how about that. This is the Chinon Avi Stylix. It is an iPod/iPhone docking station with a 7' LCD screen, speakers and a remote control. It also comes with a micro SD card slot and a USB port.
If I were bidding on this on the Price is Right, I would so overbid. This bad boy is only $99, which when you compare it to other docking stations that don't have 7' LCD screens that allow you to stream Netflix, is a total bargain.
I guess the only drawback is that it doesn't have Wi-Fi, so you'll need an internet connection for it to stream those movies. So if you are on a limited data plan and rely on Wi-Fi to surf the web, bummer for you.
It is well documented that world regulatory commissions want a bit more standardization in the cellular world. Their biggest target is cell phone chargers. More specifically, they want the port which cell phone manufacturers use to plug in those chargers to be standardized.
Apple is probably the most distinctly different 'offender' using a proprietary 30 pin port for their charging needs. But that is all going to change, really soon.
Micro USB is the standard that has been chosen for cell phone chargers and that standard will be adopted by January of 2012 according to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. The question is, will the iPhone 5 be the last Apple phone to use the 30 pin port, or the first to make the switch to Micro USB? We'll find out in June.
Another company, LG, already uses micro USB ports to charge their phones. But they have just introduced a new inductive wireless charging system that will make USB obsolete. Using technology similar to the popular PowerMat, LG is building their new phones with inductive charging coils built right into the battery doors, meaning you won't need to buy a special battery or case to make inductive charging possible.
For those not tapped into the cellular world, a major shakeup happened over the weekend. AT&T is buying T-Mobile. Sprint was rumored to be the potential buyer, so the AT&T move really is coming out of nowhere.
First the details. AT&T is purchasing T-Mobile for $39 billion. Of that $25 billion is in cash and the rest will be paid in AT&T stock. The deal still needs to get FCC approval, and Sprint is already claiming that this deal violates anti-trust laws. It is expected that it will take at least a year for this deal to be finalized. In the interim, T-Mobile customers won't be affected in any way shape or form. T-Mobile will still operate as an independent company.
Once the deal does go through, and it almost inevitably will, expect a lot of changes, almost none for the best.
First off, by eliminating one of the 4 major national carriers, you will eliminate nearly 25% of the new handsets hitting the market. Less selection is never good. Couple that with the fact that AT&T tends to be late to the party when it comes to new handsets (last carrier to offer Android) and the outlook is even more bleak.
On top of that, AT&T and Verizon will combine to control more than 80% of the wireless customers in the US. Less competition will inevitably lead to higher prices. And that's not just for T-Mobile customers, but for everyone. Making things even worse is that AT&T will be the only national GSM carrier in the US.
AT&T customers might actually see a slight improvement in their network as T-Mobile's cell sites get converted and some of the 2G bandwidth can be funneled immediately reducing strain on AT&T's network. But that serves as little consolation to T-Mobile's current 34 million subscribers who will need to change to an AT&T phone within the next two years or change networks altogether.
Not long after the iPad came out, Sprint started selling iPad cases. It seemed like a strange decision to sell iPad accessories considering Sprint didn't actually sell the iPad. It turned out it was as pretty brilliant piece of piggyback marketing.
At the time, Sprint was rolling out a mobile hotspot device called the Overdrive, and they were using the popularity of the iPad to push it. Wouldn't you know it, the iPad cases they were selling came with the Overdrive, including a special compartment designed specifically for the hotspot device.
Now that the iPad 2 is out, Sprint coincidently is releasing an upgraded mobile hotspot called the Overdrive Pro. Available next month, the Overdrive Pro will cost $50 after rebates with a two year contracts. Rate plans will run you an additional $50.
It doesn't seem like that great of a deal until you compare it to what AT&T and Verizon are offering. It will cost you about $130 to run the iPad on their networks.
The Overdrive Pro can connect up to 8 devices and includes a micro SD card slot that can be used to share files between connected devices.
Some people say the Pope has a direct line to God, and now thanks to AT&T, God has a direct line to your cell phone.
It's no big secret that AT&T has some of the worst call quality and data connection speeds in the country. So in a move to add more cell sites in areas with bad coverage without actually building more cell sites, AT&T is partnering with churches to retrofit church steeples into cell towers.
So far only two churches have signed on, both in Baltimore. Should the experiment work out it could be rolled out in other markets as well.
So the next time you're sitting in church and you think you are hearing voices in the rafters, it's probably just some sort of crossed wires that is causing you to overhear the guy down the street ordering a pizza.
If you aren't already familiar with the fine products offered by Cobra you are either an extremely safe driver or you have racked up thousands of dollars in unnecessary speeding tickets. Cobra specializes in radar detectors and recently started using mobile technology to expand its product line.
Since the end of 2010, iPhone users have been able to download an app called iRadar and buy a cell phone accessory that is actually a radar detector. In addition to identifying speed traps, the app utilizes your phone's GPS to find those annoying red light cameras. Eventually, you'll also be able to share speed trap locations with other iRadar users through the app.
Cobra will be coming out with a similar set up for Android phones next month, so all you lead foots should be keeping an eye out in the Android Market.
While we don't advocate unsafe driving, perhaps being aware of a speed trap is more of an incentive to slow down than getting spanked with a $100 ticket after the fact. Just a thought.
I recently read a blog about how people's phones are going to make wallets extinct. The only thing they could figure out was how to cart around your ID and cash. They make cell phone cases for that.
The truth is Near Field Communication (NFC) is going to pretty much make credit cards an unnecessary thing. For those not familiar with NFC, basically your phone can send out a signal to a receiver. In order for the communication to occur the signal sender and signal receiver need to be very close. Like 3cm close. Hence the Near in NFC.
The next generation of smartphones are going to be equipped with NFC. The technology is already gaining traction in Asia, where people can swipe their cell phones at Subway turnstiles. You'll be able to pay for groceries, gas, magic sets, and other essentials with your phone.
About a year ago we got reports that people who used their iPhone as their alarm overslept for work because their alarms didn't adjust for daylight savings. Then we heard the same reports when the clocks were moved again. Alarms were going off at random times. And today, we again are hearing the same stories about people being late for work because the iPhone can't figure out daylight savings.
You would think that people who use their iPhones as an alarm clock would have figured out the glitch by now and have a backup plan. Or perhaps they figured that to folks over at Apple, who clearly are aware of the bug would have sorting things out inside of a calendar year.
It's not just that the iPhone failed to set their clocks forward an hour. They actually set their clocks backwards an hour, putting the Apple Army two hours behind the rest of the world.
Between various apps and cell phone accessories, the iPhone can replace quite a few household items. Unless you're like my roommate, who never seems to have to wake up at any specific time, I wouldn't recommend using it as an alarm clock – even if it does work for 363 days out of the year.
Based on Kim Kardashian's single, I sound like Luther Vandross. But if I wanted to sound like Kim Kardashian I could thank to this new iPhone app from 1K Multimedia. Yay.
With a simple free download and a cell phone accessory – any mic with a 3.5 mm jack – you can autotune yourself to a Frampton like parallel universe.
I have a hard time imagining that any grown adult or serious singer would actually find this to be in any way shape or form useful, or entertaining for more than 20 minutes at a time. But then again, somebody out there voted for Sanjaya and somebody bought Heidi Montag's single. Or maybe Spencer Pratt bought them all?
I'm not narcissistic enough to think that recording my day – which consists of sitting in front of a computer screen writing blogs, followed by a healthy dose of Arizona Basketball and reruns of Futurama with the occasional foray to the gym – is something that anyone would want to watch in a time lapse video.
However, there is an outside chance that someone out there actually has a more interesting life than mine. And for those people, there is a new app called LifeLapse. The app is still in the testing phase, and they are taking applications from people wanting to test it out. If your daily routine consists of a recliner, Maury Povich, Judge Judy and a crippling decision between Cheetos and Doritos, you're likely not going to get picked.
But if you are one of the lucky ones, the developers of LifeLapse will send you a cell phone pouch that you wear around your neck that allows you to log your entire day for posterity. You can apply here if you're interested in being a guinea pig.
How great would it be if that traveling taco truck that parks out in front of your office took credit cards. Or the hotdog concessions guy at the ballpark. Or the organic vegetable guy at the farmer's market. Thanks to two companies, and a handy dandy cell phone accessory, they all can.
With a simple little dongle that plugs into the 3.5 mm jack on your smartphone and an app, you can take credit card payments through your phone. All you need to do is swipe the card through the dongle and you're set.
The problem is, the two companies are in a cut throat battle for market share and one company (VeriFone) figured out how to hack the other company's (Square) software to steal credit card information and published the hack in a letter to consumers.
The move was a malicious effort to inform credit card companies and consumers just how unsafe their financial data was if they used one of Square's products. And while the hack is apparently legit, and it is possible for a shady vendor to steal credit card information from customers and sell it on the black market, to publish exactly how to do it is really irresponsible.
The moral of the story here, be careful who you entrust your credit card to. And if you didn't already know that, well, feel free to ignore this post.
For those not in the know, Kickstarter.com is a website dedicated to helping small businesses, inventors and entrepreneurs raise funding for various projects they are working on. We've featured more than one such cell phone accessory right here in this blog.
Above is a picture of an iPad accessory that has managed to raisemore than $100k through Kickstarter. Considering the inventors goals was to raise $10k, I'd say there is a bit of a demand for this particular item. In total, nearly 3,000 people pledged money, and the PadPivot will go into production this spring.
The inventor is also claiming that the PadPivot will be compatible with numerous tablets and e-readers, and we don't see why it wouldn't be based on the very simple and straight forward design.
Simple designs typically are the most ingenious, and this one is no exception. The video below offers up several examples of practical uses for the PadPivot, and we expect it to make its inventors a few bucks.
Rumors are swirling that the iPhone 5 will come with an aluminum back – and the town's people rejoiced. Perhaps Apple thinks that an aluminum back is more aesthetically pleasing than the glass backing on the iPhone 4. Or perhaps they are tired of hearing how the glass backing on the iPhone 4 holds up to a grain of sand about as well as I can hold up to a right cross from Mike Tyson.
It's true, it was reported and confirmed that something as small as a grain of sand could crack the back of the iPhone 4 if it got trapped between the casing and certain slider cell phone cases. That crack eventually would cause the phone to shatter. Ironic that Apple accessories designed to protect the phone were contributing to its destruction.
Another major flaw in the iPhone 4 was the antenna, which when held a certain way caused calls to be dropped. This widely became known as the 'death grip.' This issue is rumored to have been resolved as well, as the iPhone 5 is expected to use an internal antenna.
Obviously these are all rumors, and the iPhone 5 isn't expected to be released until June/July, so lots can change. But if the rumors are true, Apple might actually be listening to critics and making changes rather than just do whatever the heck they want to do.
Cell phones come in all different shapes and sizes. Now, thanks to a manufacturer in Japan, they come in a shape that will not only creep you out, but will creep out everyone within eyeshot of you.
Yes, that doll is actually a cell phone. And when you break down what part of the body you have to talk into and the fact that it looks as though the doll is licking your ear when you hold it to your head, well it's disturbing to say the least.
But to take the creep factor to even greater levels, the Elphoid (that's what it's called), apparently feels like real human skin and tickles you when it rings. That's one way to save people from their phones.
Not creeped out enough yet? The doll also moves around when you're talking on it to 'impersonate' the person on the other end of the line. It does kind of make you wonder how phone sex would work on one of these phones though.
One advantage is that you really can accessorize the phone in a way that is a true reflection of your personal style. You can dress your phone up in a matching outfit. I just shudder to think of where you plug your cell phone charger or headset into.
Smartphones still make up the minority of cell phones in use in the United States. The fact that there are still so many cell phone users out there using feature phones demonstrates just how big of an untapped market there is for Google (Android), RIM (Blackberry), Apple and Microsoft (WP7).
As you can see by the graph above, Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the US, and has achieved that status despite being the youngest player in the game. Of the Android army, HTC phones are the most popular a surprising figure considering the popularity of the Motorola Droid line of phones on Verizon, the nation's biggest carrier.
Apple is a close second, and should see a bit of a surge through the first half of the year as Verizon just launched the iPhone 4 and is expected to sell as many as 11 million iPhones this year.
Tied with Apple is RIM's Blackberry OS. But Blackberry phones have seen a steady decline since the rise of Android and there really isn't any indication that they can stop their fall from grace.
Microsoft comprises a surprising 10% of all smartphone users in the US. But that figure includes their Original Windows mobile platform in addition to the newly launched WP7. Bringing up the rear are HP/Palm's Web OS and Nokia's Symbian, who carry less than 10% of the market combined.
That low figure is exactly why Nokia recently announced that they are dumping Symbian in favor of Windows Phone 7. Whether that move results in a greater market share remains to be seen. For now, it really is a two horse race between Android and Apple with Blackberry fading fast.
The iPad 2 was officially unveiled today by King Jobs and that sound you heard was third party iPad accessories manufacturers jumping for joy and screaming like little girls. Third party manufacturers have made boatloads of money on the back of the original iPad, and there is no reason to believe that they won't be raking in the moolah with the second generation device either.
Apple is looking to make a few bucks on accessories themselves, as they introduced a full line of iPad covers in every color of the rainbow, with a snazzy magnetic closure. The covers are only designed to protect the screen and flip around and serve as a kickstand for the iPad 2 when not covering the screen.
Apple also introduced a new HDMI data cable that will allow users to connect their iPad 2 to their televisions. The best part about the HDMI cable is that it is backwards compatible with the original iPad, the iPhone 4, and the latest generation iPod touches.
The iPad 2 goes on sale on March 11th and will be available in both black and white. It's thinner than the iPhone 4 (not a typo) and features a front facing camera and a dual core processor. Oh, and it will cost exactly the same as the original iPad did when it first came out - $499.
One of the biggest knocks against Apple is that there products are so much more expensive than their competitors. Those complaints haven't fallen on deaf ears. According to Apple's COO, Tim Cook, the company wants to be 'for everyone' not 'just for the rich'.
In a recent interview, Cook revealed that cheaper iPhones were on the way and that Apple may even come out with no contract phones available on a pre paid basis.
That would be great news for third party cell phone accessory makers who are already making millions off of the popularity of the iPhone. If pricing makes Apple phones available to more of a mass market, then there are several companies who could reap a windfall of cash, not just Apple.
Of course nothing concrete has been set, or a timeframe set for when we can expect to see these cheaper devices. But rumors have definitely been swirling the past month or so. It started with the rumor than an iPhone nano was on the way that was ½ the size of the current iPhone. Those rumors were quickly debunked, but clearly the electronics giant is looking towards more budget friendly phones in the future.
It's not every day that technology and medicine converge. Wait a minute. I have just been informed that is exactly the way modern medicine works. Keeping that in mind, it really should come as no surprise that scientists at MIT and Harvard have developed a portable scanner and smartphone app that can diagnose cancer.
In initial trials, the device has had an accuracy rate of 96%, twelve percent better than current methods. To put that in scientific terms - that is ridonkulous.
The device itself only costs $200 and hooks into a smartphone and displays its results on the phone's screen. In order to work, a tissue sample is needed for the device to scan. Presumably you would need a doctor to get that out of you. Keeping that in mind, the practical application of this device for personal use is limited.
However, with the relatively low cost of this device, imagine the applications this device could have in underdeveloped countries to accurately diagnose cancer. It really is something to get excited about.
There are several cell phone cases out there that promise to protect your phone from virtually anything you can put it through. Companies like Balistic, Otterbox and Griffen offer lines of cases that boast claims like military grade to put users at ease.
One of the biggest drawbacks to these cases though is the extreme amount of bulk these cases add to the phone as you wrap it in multiple layers of protection. A company called Lifeproof is touting an iPhone case that is supposedly military grade but only adds 1/16 of an inch of bulk to the phone. That's basically the same bulk added as a standard rubberized case, except this one is water proof, dust proof, shock proof and well, life proof.
As you can see from the video, the case definitely passes the water and mud test. Although there is nothing in that video that would suggest its shock proof too. At $70 it better be more than just air tight, and I'm not sure if I want to be the one to test their phone in a durability test.
You know that iPad exclusive newspaper launched by Rupert Murdoch? It's called the daily and it just launched not that long ago.
Rumors are swirling that Apple isn't going to be getting exclusive rights to it for very long. By as early as this Spring, an Android version of the Daily will supposedly be released.
At the official launch event, Murdoch said that they planned on getting an Android version out eventually, but also said that they didn't expect it to launch until closer to the end of 2012.
So far the Daily has reported better than expected downloads of their app. They also have been running a free trial period, so it will be interesting to see how many of those people re-up for a subscription when they actually have to pay for it.
It's not going to be too long before 3D glasses become a popular cell phone accessory. LG is already launching a phone with a 3D display sometime in the near future and experts are predicting that smartphones will soon come equipped with 3D projectors. Pretty soon we'll all be able to send Obi Wan Kenobi distress messages.
The 3D projection actually wouldn't be used for video messaging, which is a surprise. Rather, it would project an interface that the user could interact with to control various applications like the camera, texting, web surfing, etc.
The technology is being developed by a company in California called MasterImage. They already displayed the tech at the Mobile World Congress, so it isn't that far off from becoming a reality.
That phrase was made famous by Verizon's advertising campaign a short time back. However, that isn't what you want to be saying to the 911 operator on the other end of the line when you're trapped in a blizzard. Unfortunately for Verizon customers, that is exactly what happened as nearly 10,000 911 calls were dropped in the Washington DC/Maryland area last month.
The most disturbing problem was the Verizon was completely oblivious to the problem until Montgomery County police called them to inform them of the dropped calls. The problem was fixed very quickly, but the FCC still isn't very happy. The Feds are insisting that Verizon do a check on their entire system to look for similar functionality problems to avoid disaster in the future.
AT&T has yet to release a statement blaming the iPhone and saying ‘I told you so,' while T-Mobile's next commercial will have a model in a pink dress talking to a half naked hipster (iPhone) suffering from hypothermia while a geeky old guy in a suit is putting a cast iron pot over his head and banging it with a wooden spoon.
Unfortunately for the ladies, that is indeed a telephoto lens in your pocket. And it goes on your new iPhone 4. Yup, possibly one of the coolest, if not most cumbersome cell phone accessories we've seen in a long time is this telephoto lens attachment from Photojojo.
In order to make it work, you need to buy an accompanying cell phone case to make this guy work. But is it worth it you ask?
That all depends on if you are a serious photo junkie, a private investigator or a peeping tom. The lens does offer up an impressive 8X zoom on top of what the iPhone already offers. It also comes with a mini collapsible tri-pod. And it's only $35, for the case lens and tri-pod.
The obvious drawback is that it isn't exactly convenient to carry around in your pocket, so this really is just for the individual that is actually planning a photo shoot that requires shots from distance. And if you are already planning photo shoots that require shots taken from a distance, you probably have a camera that takes better pictures than an iPhone. But it's still pretty cool nonetheless.
Today Belkin announced that they will be making a series of iPhone cases exclusively for the Verizon iPhone 4. For those of you who recognize the name Belkin and can't quite put your finger on things, they are best known for their wireless routers. You probably have one in your house.
That information would lead one to believe that perhaps these cases would serve as some sort of Wi-Fi hotspot. Don't get your hopes up on that one, as these seem to be every day run of the mill cases.
The cases are named the Grip Groove, Grip Vue and the ProFit Armband. The case pictured below is the Grip Vue
Maybe that personal Wi-Fi case is coming a little later down the road. I can't imagine it would be too hard for Belkin to develop something along those lines. According to the Belkin website, the cases will range in price between $20-$40, and are currently available for sale.
The Playstation phone is coming soon, and it may be hitting multiple carriers here in the US. It will officially be called the Sony Ericsson XPeria Play, and carriers around the globe are starting to confirm that they are getting it. Here in the US, no one carrier has yet confirmed that they will carry the phone. But it is definitely coming to the US.
Early screen captures of the phone showed screen captures of the phone asking for a SIM card, indicating that it would be a GSM phone. For the US, that would indicate either AT&T or T-Mobile. However, according to a side by side comparison of the Xperia Play and iPhone 4 done by Wirefly.com, Verizon is the listed carrier.
It would stand to reason that multiple carriers will offer this phone. That is the case in England, and will most likely be the case here in the US as well. This might be the only real challenger to the iPhone in terms of total sales, as this phone is expected to be huge amongst gamers.
The Xperia Play will officially officially be revealed this weekend ahead of the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, which begins on Monday. That is when we'll most likely find out the details regarding which US carriers will offer the phone. That's not too long to wait and speculate is it?
It wasn't too long ago that the Pope gave facebook the thumbs up. What I didn't realize is that he did it via a Tweet, while checking in at the Vatican on FourSquare. It would appear as though the Catholic Church is embracing technology as they have such approved a confession app for the iPhone.
If absolution now comes in a handy cell phone app, I wonder what other cell phone accessories the Catholic Church will be approving down the road? Maybe a special Bluetooth headset that offers a direct link to God? I've met at least one guy on a city bus that was convinced he already had one of those.
To be fair, for the iPhone app to get you into Heaven, you have to consult a priest before everything is official. No word on if you can just text message the priest or not though. Although I don't see why not?
Now that we have 4G I'm sure couples will be able to video chat with a priest to get married, and last rites will be administered the same way. It is the 21st century after all.
The secret is out. The Verizon iPhone 4 is going to be massively popular. Presale of the phone launched online last Thursday, practically overloaded Verizon's servers, and sold out within a few hours. That pop sound you heard was third party cell phone accessories manufacturers opening champagne bottles to celebrate.
The champagne is definitely going to keep on flowing too. According to one survey done by uSamp, nearly 50% of Verizon's current Blackberry and Android users said they were likely to switch to the iPhone. The same survey found that approximately 25% of current AT&T iPhone customers will switch to Verizon. Those are massive numbers.
In the interest of full disclosure, the sample size of the survey was extremely small (700 people). It leads one to believe that uSamp just went down to their local mall food court to find their survey subjects. But the part about the AT&T customers definitely falls in line with grumblings on the interwebs.
For the lucky few Verizon customers who managed to nab an iPhone on presale, they have started to arrive today. For everyone else, they go on sale in stores this Thursday. How long they actually stay on the shelves remains to be seen, but don't expect them to collect any dust.
Charles Manson was caught with a cell phone last month for the second time. Being the criminal mastermind that he is, I'm shocked that prison officials found it at all. He was hiding it under his mattress. Inmates getting their hands on cell phones is becoming a huge problem for prison officials. They use them to organize criminal activities while behind bars.
With the proliferation of cell phones in jails, you have to figure that cell phone accessories like batteries and cell phone chargers are getting smuggle in as well. It paints a disturbing, if not comical picture of exactly how these items are making it behind the concrete walls of prisons around the country.
The problem has gotten so out of hand that at least one Senator is trying to get legislation passed that will make it a crime for an inmate to be in possession of a cell phone while in prison. Suggested punishments include an additional 5 years tacked onto a prison sentence and/or forfeiture of time already served.
Considering that these criminals are already shanking each other in the shower with sharpened tooth brushes, I doubt the new law will be much of a deterrent. These guys are prisoners after all. Clearly the thread of jail time didn't have too much influence over their decision making process in the past.
Other lawmakers and prison officials have tried to pass legislation that would allow them to jam cell phone signals in jails, but the FCC determined that would be against the law, so that plan was killed before it ever got off the ground.
Just in case you were wondering who Manson was calling: late night infomercials. The ShamWow really comes in handy when you're behind bars.
I guess not all people are aware that you can buy cell phone accessories online and save a grip of money versus buying them in a store. Those people are willing to go to some pretty creative lengths to build their own accessories. I'm talking prison inmate creative, which is the highest level of creativity next to MacGyver status.
A clever gentleman somewhere out in cyberspace decided that he didn't want to spend $15 on a cell phone car mount for his car, so he built one himself out of office supplies. You can see the finished product below, and here's a link for anyone interested in replicating his work.
I confess, this is extremely clever, I would think that the time it took to make it is worth more than what he spent making this contraption. But even I have to admit, if I was ever stranded on a desert island, I'd probably want this guy with me (provided there was a Staples on the island as well).
Its common knowledge that the instant you drive your new car off of the lot, it depreciates in value by several thousand dollars. That's just the way things are. That really shouldn't be the case with cell phones, but it seems that these days, the second you take your new phone out of the box it is already obsolete. Android has allowed phone technology to advance to the place it is today, but it is also why the shelf life of your phone is the shortest in the history of the cellular world.
I'll use myself as an example. I got my Samsung Vibrant back in October. It was still just a couple of months old, and was by all accounts one of the best phone available on any carrier in the US. Three months later, it is being sold for free by T-Mobile on a 2 year contract in large part because the next generation Vibrant is expected to arrive in the next couple of months, running at 4G speeds with a few upgraded specs. By the time I'm eligible for an upgrade, my Vibrant will be the technological equivalent of a paperweight.
It wasn't always this way. There was a time when the Motorola RZR was the best selling phone for 5 straight years. To put that into perspective, 5 years ago this was the best selling smartphone on the market.
Imagine if that was still the dominant phone technology today. No touch screen. No apps. The iPhone hadn't even been released on the market yet.
When Google decided to make Android free to manufacturers, it allowed them to focus on the guts rather than the software. Not only did it cut down on the money it cost to develop a new phone, it made the rate at which phones could be churned out advance to breakneck speeds. That's why we'll see dozens of new HTC phones, Motorola phones and Samsung phones hit shelves at every major and minor cell phone carrier in the country this year. And its why your brand new cell phone already sucks.
Without a doubt, one of the coolest cell phone accessories on the iPhone 4 is the camera. The thing produces some stunning photos. As it turns out, that same camera is indirectly the reason why the White iPhone 4 has been delayed by more than 6 months.
According to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, the white paint used in initial production was translucent enough to allow the light from the flash to leak to the light sensor, causing photos to look as though they had been shot through plastic wrap.
That's a fairly good reason to delay a phone's release, although you would figure that the engineers at Apple would have realized this would be a problem given the fact that the back of the iPhone is made of glass.
Based on that information, this clever iPhone 4 modification might not be all that clever. Essentially a guy took apart his phone and used paint thinner to take off the black paint, thus making his phone completely translucent. If white paint made the iPhone's camera take lousy pictures, having a completely translucent backing must make them completely washed out. But it does look cool.
Here are a few fun facts that I didn't know. When someone goes into cardiac arrest, they have about 10 minutes to live without medical attention. The average response time for 911 emergency calls is 7 minutes. Quick math tells me that first responders have about 180 seconds to assess the scene and administer CPR. That's an extremely small window.
So small in fact, that the San Ramon Valley Fire Department has created an iPhone app that would enlist the help of good Samaritan citizens to help increase that window. Right now, the app is only available on the iPhone, but Android and Blackberry is in the works too. Also the app only works in San Ramon, although it may be expanded in the near future. Here's how it works.
People who are certified in CPR can download the app. Once downloaded, they will receive text message alerts when someone calls in a cardiac arrest call to 911. The text also comes with an interactive map to show where the victim is. If they are close enough, individuals might be able to arrive on scene earlier than EMTs, and perhaps save lives. Odds are, if someone takes the time to download this app, they are likely to rush to action should the call come in. Check the video below for a demo of the app. The CPR part of the app kicks in around the 1:30 mark.
By now pretty much everyone is aware of the distracted driving laws that are being passed all over the country. In a nutshell, you are required to use a Bluetooth headset or a handsfree device if you want to use your cell phone while driving.
Well one lawmaker in New York, State Senator Karl Kruger, would like to extend those laws to pedestrians crossing the street. He wants there to be a $100 fine levied against people who are listening to an MP3 player or talking on the phone while crossing the street. I understand the thought process behind this. Just last week we blogged about a woman who walked right into a mall fountain because she was texting a friend and not paying attention to where she was going. Here's the video again because it is just that awesome.
At the same time, I'm a believer in Darwinism. Call me a cynic, but if you are so playing Angry Birds on your phone or listening to the latest Justin Bieber song on your iPod makes you completely oblivious to the world around you that you walk into oncoming traffic, then maybe a city bus taking you out isn't going to be a that huge of a loss for the gene pool.
It's only a matter of time before someone invents a cell phone accessory with a motion sensor on it that delivers an electric shock to the user if they get to close to a busy thoroughfare. Until then, we'll have lawmakers trying to micro manage every aspect of our lives because a few bad apples can't manage seem to manage their own.
Last week rumors started spreading about the white iPhone 4 finally arriving. Now the Moby Dick of cell phones is popping up in AT&T's inventory system lending quite a bit of credence to the rumors. Whether or not this actually compels anyone to sign a new contract with AT&T rather than jump ship to Verizon remains in question.
But just in case you decide to sign up for AT&T's service and then immediately regret that decision and wish you were a Verizon customer, Verizon has some good news. You will be able to trade in your AT&T iPhone for cold hard cash that can be used towards purchasing a Verizon iPhone 4. A 16 GB iPhone 4 is worth $212, which might actually cover your early termination fee with AT&T depending on how far into your contract you are.
It doesn't seem as though Verizon will be getting the white iPhone 4. Big Red's customers will have to make due with a white iPhone 4 decal skin and hope that their friends don't notice the difference. We won't tell.
The iPhone 4 officially goes on preorder for Verizon on Feb. 3rd, and hits shelves a week later on the 10th. Verizon is blaming their lower than projected sales figures from Q4 2010 on the anticipated arrival of the iPhone 4. If that analysis is true, expect sales of the iPhone 4 to explode, regardless of what color the phone is.
Don't feel like paying several hundred dollars for a crocodile skin cell phone case? A clever individual in the Ukraine figured out a way to wrap their phone in crocodile skin without paying a penny. Unfortunately the phone is also wrapped in crocodile muscle, crocodile bone, crocodile stomach, and crocodile stomach acid.
Some moron decided that they weren't happy with the pictures they were getting at a local aquarium in the Ukraine, so they stuck their arm through the fencing to get a foot closer, and dropped their Nokia phone in the enclosure. Curious, a crocodile ate the phone. When employees at the aquarium were informed of the incident, they were skeptical, so they called the phone. And it rang - from inside the crocodiles stomach.
We all know that Nokia makes some pretty durable phones, but the crocodile digestion test is probably something they skip over back at the lab in Finland. Unfortunately for Nokia, in addition to being practically irrelevant in the smartphone arena, their phones also cause massive indigestion. The poor crocodile has been refusing food and has been far less active since eating the phone. At least if the phone had been on vibrate he could get a little tickle tickle for his troubles.
James Bond has long been able to drive his car using a remote control on his cell phone. Now you too can be like James Bond thanks to Nokia's Asian division. They have created an app for the Nokia C7 that controls can control a BMW 1 Series car via your cell phone. (Skip ahead to the 1:25 point if you want to jump straight to the remote control car part of the video.)
Nokia claims that the above video uses no special effects at all. Finally there is a reason to buy a Nokia phone. Only problem is the phone isn't available in the US unless you pick it up online somewhere as an unlocked cell phone.
Obviously there are several reasons beyond remote control of your actual car to buy a Nokia smartphone. Unfortunately, the proprietary operating system and severe lack of apps are two major reasons to stay away. So much so that there is currently only one Nokia smartphone offered on any of the four major US carriers (Nokia Nuron/T-Mobile).
Rumor was that Nokia was about to release their latest and greatest, the X7, on AT&T next month. That rumor was confirmed and then destroyed when Nokia announced that they are pulling the plug because Nokia felt that AT&T wasn't putting a strong enough marketing plan together to promote the phone and the subsidized price wasn't going to be low enough.
No word yet on whether or not the X7 is going to find its way to a different US carrier, but Nokia is already fading into obscurity in the US smartphone arena, and despite James Bond-esque awesomeness, there are no signs of a return to relevance any time soon.
If you haven't seen this video by now you are either Amish or….well, you're probably Amish. And if you're Amish, how are you reading this blog?
The thing is, I'm sure this happens nearly every single day, at malls all over the country. In fact, I think I'm probably going to start hanging out at my local mall with my phone poised and ready to record some text engrossed teenager taking an unplanned snorkeling lesson.
My guess is that the Megareader app was designed by someone who suffered the same fate as the girl in the video. It is for the iPhone and is similar to the Road SMS app available for the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones. Essentially it utilizes the video camera function of the iPhone to provide a heads up display while texting. Basically your phone appears to be 'transparent' so you can see what is in front of you while texting.
Just in case you don't have a Galaxy S phone or am iPhone, we would recommend getting an Otterbox cell phone case, just in case you fall into a well or walk off the end of a pier.
Why people get so geeked up about a White iPhone is still beyond the scope of my understanding, however they do – to extreme levels actually. Technically you can get a white iPhone4 faceplate and accomplish the same visual effect. And while I realize that it's not the same thing, the idea of waiting months upon months for a phone color variant that may or may not ever come to fruition seems nothing short of whacky.
The white iPhone 4 has been rumored for a long time. Each time those rumors proved to be cruel jokes. People got so impatient that a high school senior managed to buy a bunch of white iPhone 4 components direct from Foxconn in China and started selling conversion kits online. Amongst his customers was Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The Woz got in before Apple forced the kid to shut down his website, threatening to charge him with possession of stolen goods if he didn't.
Well, the white iPhone 4 simply won't die, and we finally may have reason to believe that it is officially coming next month. Rumors first started to abound when employees of Vodofone Germany leaked a screenshot of their inventory list featuring the white iPhone. Rogers Canada also has the white iPhone 4 in their inventory system. And within hours of those leaks, a similar screenshot was leaked by Best Buy employees here in the US, with a release date of February 27th. The sheer number of carriers/retailers that are adding the white iPhone to their inventory systems at the same time tends to lend some credence to the rumors.
Good news for you holdouts. You'll probably be able to pick up the white iPhone 4 a mere 4 months before the iPhone 5 comes out. Yay.
There have literally been hundreds of startup companies that have made millions of dollars off of the iPhone. These companies primarily make cell phone accessories specifically designed for the iPhone. Things like cell phone cases and screen protectors can be found in dozens of different colors and styles. Even major designer labels like Ed Hardy and Body Glove have gotten in on the action. And it's not just every day accessories either. Everything from iPhone baby monitors to iPhone heart monitors to iPhone meat thermometers have found their way onto the market.
With Verizon set to launch a CDMA version of the World's most popular smartphone, these third party manufacturers are licking their lips at the millions of new customers that are suddenly opening up to them. What they don't want you to know is that the vast majority of existing accessories are going to be 100% compatible with the new Verizon iPhone. In fact, only a handful of cases and covers are likely to be incompatible due to the fact that the reconfigured antenna on the Verizon device has pushed the mute and volume buttons slightly farther down on the side of the iPhone.
It's hard to imagine that there are very many new products out there that haven't yet been conceived. But with millions of new iPhone customers expected to make the switch in February, there's bound to be another slew of startups looking to cash in on the backs of Apple and Verizon.
If you happen to live anywhere in the US where winter is accompanied by below freezing temperatures, don't use your iPhone 4 outside. Apparently a woman in Norway had her phone completely shatter when she pulled it out to make a phone call. When she took it into her local Apple store they told her tough noogies, the iPhone 4 wasn't built to withstand sub freezing temperatures. They also claim that the phone isn't designed to withstand temperatures above 95 degrees.
Pretty much, if you don't live in San Diego, CA, your phone runs the risk of being destroyed by nature. We already have read how a single grain of sand caught between the glass backing of the iPhone 4 and certain slider iPhone cases can cause the device to shatter. But this is just plain ridiculous.
To be fair, there really is no indication of how long the woman had her phone exposed to extreme temperatures, but should that really matter? More than 90% of the US experiences sub freezing temperatures for several months out of the year. Are people who live in these places only supposed to use their phones inside lest the risk voiding their phone's warranty?
Hopefully the iPhone 5 won't be more fragile than the bubble boy. But knowing Apple's obsession with aesthetics, we aren't holding our breath.
I'll admit that when I'm cruising along in my car and Tu Pac comes on the radio, I crank up the volume as loud as my car stereo will allow. I never thought that would result in the SWAT team being sent out to intervene. Of course, I'm also not married to the most paranoid nut job on planet earth.
Unfortunately for one school administrator in Illinois, he IS married to the most paranoid nut job on planet earth. On his way to a school board meeting, said administer was busting some rap on the radio when he accidentally but dialed his wife. The wife, hearing 'gangster like lyrics' jumped to the ridiculously moronic conclusion that her husband had been taken hostage in his office and called the police.
I'm not sure exactly what the woman said to police, but they believed her and dispatched three helicopters and a SWAT team to the school. Needless to say that when a team of SWAT officers wielding automatic weapons kicked in the doors of the school board meeting, the husband was pretty embarrassed.
That's when you know it's time to upgrade to a smartphone, where butt dialing is virtually impossible thanks to touch screens that go dark when not in use.
Butt dialing and police involvement isn't that uncommon. According to a 2002 FCC study between 25-70 percent of all 911 calls originating from cell phones are accidental dials. Granted, that is a massive margin for error there, but even on the low end, that's a staggering figure.
The lesson here is upgrade to a touch screen and don't put your phone in your back pocket.
There hasn't exactly been a lot of positive press surrounding Windows Phone 7. There commercials are kinda cool I guess. So there's that. But slow sales, leading to a loss of market share a couple months after launch, have put the exclamation point on hardware issues and a general lack of available handsets.
First there was the whole, ‘Whoops, customers weren't supposed to be able to remove the memory cards in our micro SD slots' fiasco. I suppose they should have made that clear to the manufacturers. Then of course there was the HTC HD7 death grip issue. Another major complaint was the complete lack of a CDMA version for Verizon or Sprint. While that last issue is going to resolve itself, it won't happen for another 6 months – right around the same time the iPhone 5 is probably going to come out for Verizon. Talk about lousy timing.
Perhaps in six months they'll have figured out their latest scandal. Apparently Windows Phone 7 devices have a nasty habit of sucking up data even when you aren't using your phone to do anything at all. Some users are reporting data usage at night when they are fast asleep. The logical explanation is that Steve Jobs has nothing better to do than to fly around the county, break into people's houses, and stream Netflix on their devices while they sleep. But just in case there is something less logical at play, Microsoft is investigating the matter.
Right not data is leaking at a rate of about 2-5 MB per hour, which really isn't that much. But if you add that up over the course of a month, it's more than a gigabyte of data wasted. If you are on a limited data plan from T-Mobile (200 MB per month), you'll be over your limit before the first week of the month is over. T-Mobile also offers unlimited data plans which would be unaffected by phantom data loss. AT&T doesn't even offer unlimited data. Like T-Mobile, they have a 200 MB plan that is pretty much worthless with this glitch. Even their 2 GB plan would see a significant amount of that data eaten up by phantom data loss (about 50%). AT&T isn't likely to be giving people a proactive 50% discount on their bills, and should you go over you data usage by a gigabyte, it's going to run you more than $50 in overage charges per month.
Kudos to the users who figured this out. Kudos to Microsoft for not completely dismissing this issue and looking into it. But seriously, how many more hardware and software issues can there possibly be?
When I think of France I picture a bunch of guys wearing 'Where's Waldo' like shirts with cigarettes on long sticks. I've never been to France, but I'm assuming that this is an accurate portrayal. If you are riding in the subway in Paris, and see Waldo heading your way, put your phone away. Cell phone theft on Paris subways has skyrocketed, especially that of the iPhone, thanks to the black market where a high end smartphone can fetch upwards of $400. If you have a bottle opening iPhone case on your phone that price can jump to $410.
Thieves are essentially looking for passengers with their noses buried in their phones, snatching them out of the hands and then making a run for it. While that is a fairly unsophisticated crime, it is surprisingly evil genius when compared to the efforts of an iPhone thief in Idaho.
The skinny goes something like this. A man buys a cell phone at his local Walmart. Not even able to wait until he gets home, he pulls his phone out of the box and starts playing with it on the way to his car. With his nose buried in his new toy, he doesn't even see the mugger approaching him, who steals his phone and runs off. The victim calls the police, who decide to call the phone to see if the thief will answer. And he does. Not only does the thief answer the phone, but when police say they want to buy the phone from him, he negotiates a price with them. Honestly, who does this guy think is calling the phone he just stole? Anyway, when the thief shows up to make the exchange, he realizes it's a sting, and makes a break for it. He makes it all of 15 feet before tripping and landing face first on the pavement.
To the police department in Nampa, ID: I know that there has to be a video of this somewhere. Please please please please post it on Youtube. It really is an injustice to the world that you keep this to yourselves to laugh at back at the station.
If you're anything like me, you complain all the time about your cell phone battery always running out and how you're constantly charging it. It kinda comes with the territory when we use our phones to do literally everything, from checking our e-mail to checking on our infant baby's in their crib. Yes, there is an iPhone baby monitor out there.
I didn't either. But I am pulling all the batteries out of my old phones and am starting to fashion a bullet proof vest out of all my old Li-Ion friends. What is crazy is this isn't the first time that a battery has stopped a bullet. Apparently a man in South Africa survived a car jacking when his attackers tried to shoot him in the head. He was talking on his cell phone at the time and the bullet once again was stopped by the battery.
Naturally we don't recommend that you go around shooting your friends to see if the battery will save their lives. But it's nice to know that a certain cell phone accessory that comes with every phone is capable of saving your life should you be unlucky enough to get shot, but lucky enough to get shot in the battery.
So the CES show officially kicked off to the public today. Naturally this is where the coolest gadgets, including phones and tablets, are going to be revealed to the world. And with cool phones often comes an array of cool cell phone accessories to go with them. Of course there are also several head scratchers that make their way onto shelves. We figured we'd have a little fun here at the CellPhoneAccents blog and show you a bit from both worlds. Might as well start out with the ridiculous.
This plastic piece of insanity is called the Vine, and I think the picture speaks for itself. Our question is who exactly would use a cell phone holster like this? Perhaps if you're Italian like myself and speak with your hands a lot this would make talking on the phone seem more natural. Or maybe you're just too damn lazy to exert the energy required to lift and hold a 5 oz. phone. Naturally the Vine will probably sell a billiondy units and I'll eventually get one just to not be the only person on earth not to be wearing one. That's usually how these things go.
If you are looking for a more practical holder for your phone, this Speck Tough Skin iPhone case might be up your alley.
It's not exactly top secret information that the iPhone 4 is a bit on the fragile side. It's also pretty much a given that we all drop our phones a lot more often than we'd like to admit. So wrapping up a $500 phone in something designed to do more than just look cute might not be a bad idea.
For people interested in form and function, this iPad case from Joby might be the way to go. Sure, it looks like a Swedish architect designed the thing. And the $80 price tag seems to suggest that a Swedish architect actually did design the thing. But you have to admit, it looks pretty darn cool.
There are more than 300,000 apps in the Apple app store. Naturally some of those apps are going to be instructional in nature. If you happen to be a habitual smoker, and are fed up for paying for fancy packaging from big tobacco, you can know download this app, and learn to roll your own.
A few co-workers of mine have informed me that this app will be used for substances other than tobacco. I'm investigating that claim and will have a follow up blog released as soon as I discover what exactly it is that they are talking about.
It's actually shocking that this app made it through Apple's censor machine in the first place, and it would be even more surprising if it stays up on the app store for very long once parents find out about it. But just in case you manage to download it and learn a thing or two, there is an apropos cell phone accessory that just hit the market.
That there is the House of Marley Roots Rock iPhone Boombox. That's a mouthful to be sure, but I just said it in a Jamaican accent in my head and it sounds AWESOME! This boombox has been endorsed by the Marley family, and part of the proceeds from sales go to the 1Love charity. Coupled with the Roll Your Own app, the Marley iPhone boombox is the perfect companion for listening to the Dark Side of the Moon album while watching the Wizard of Oz and enjoying a hand rolled cigarette.
To say that the publishing industry has taken a beating the past few years is like saying Mike Tyson simply slapped around Frank Bruno. For those of you wondering who Frank Bruno is, check out the video.
Tyson hit that guy so hard he's not scheduled to wake up for the post fight press conference for another three years.
The publishing industry is hoping that it doesn't take that long to recover and Google thinks that they may have the answer. Google is trying to create a mobile newsstand for their Android platform similar to what is already offered by Apple. The difference being, Google is offering to keep a smaller percentage of sales than what Apple already takes from the publishers. Apple currently takes 30% from publishers, which seems a bit like highway robbery. Google will also offer up user information to the publishers in its network, something that Apple is also considering.
Magazine downloads on Apple devices have been paltry at best. In a lot of cases the numbers have been downright horrific. Part of that reason is because Apple currently doesn't offer a subscription option. Users have to download each issue individually. Perhaps if Google and Android could integrate some sort of subscription option that would make things cheaper for the consumer and give some month to month stability to the publishers, then this could see a bit of a lift over the current mobile options. All indications so far say that Google is in the very early stages of putting this together, so don't be surprised if it never comes to fruition, or major changes occur between the idea stage and actual implementation.
Without a doubt, the publishing industry needs something to pick it up off the mat.
You know those annoying pop up ads that appear on your phone when you are running your favorite apps? You know the ones I'm talking about. Well what if those pop up ads started talking smak about your phone or your cellular carrier? Now they can, and they do.
It has already been confirmed that RIM (Blackberry) and Nokia are launching mobile adds that use a bit of code to determine what phone you are using. If that phone happens to not be made by them, the ad lets you know just how much your phone sucks when compared to theirs. Conceivably every phone manufacturer can and will be using this form of mobile attack ad moving forward, though it's hard to imagine what sort of trash Nokia is talking.
Apple can brag about the bazillion cell phone accessories and apps specifically designed for their phones. Android can brag about how their not Canadian. Blackberry can brag about how they are still the biggest dog on the block (even if that's going to change within the next few months).
The smak talk is transcending its way to carriers as well. Are you rocking an AT&T phone? T-Mobile can send an ad to your phone telling you how much you're overpaying for the data plan your using to see that pop up ad in the first place. It has gotten to the point where carriers are already asking mobile advertising companies to block in-app ads from competitors. This should be fun to watch.
Raise your hand if you love Shazam. Now raise your hand if you thought I was talking about the Shaquille O'Neal blockbuster called 'Kazaam'.
For those who don't know, Shazam is a music discovery app. Long story short, if you hear a song on the radio and would like to know who sings it or what it is called, you open up Shazam, and it listens to the song and tells you everything you ever wanted to know about said song. It's a great service, but it isn't free.
That's where SoundHound comes into play. It too is a music discover app, and as of this week, you get unlimited song IDs on Android and iPhone devices. Granted, if you are thrifty, you have to make some sacrifices. SoundHound will make their money off of advertisements, and in the event you like a song so much you decide to download it, they get a cut of that too.
I already have pretty much abandoned my iPod as my personal music player. My phone has turned into my singular multimedia device The SoundHound app is certainly going to just solidify its place in my entertainment universe.
If you judge a phone based on the apps available, and let's face it, apps are really what make a smartphone a smartphone, then Windows Phone 7 and Palm kinda blow. Everyone knows that Apple is the current king, with over 300,000 apps available. But Android is closing that gap at breakneck speeds, surpassing the 200,000 mark earlier this week.
By contrast, Windows Phone 7 surpassed 5,000 apps this week. Granted, it's only been a few months since Microsoft re-launched (for the third time) a series of phones on the world. But still, when you compare WP7 to Android and Apple, there really isn't a whole lot of incentive to go out and buy a Windows phone unless you really really really like Microsoft.
As grim as the WP7 numbers are, they are moving at warp speed when compared to Palm. Their WebOS also just recently passed the 5,000 app mark. The difference is that it has taken then more than a year to hit that mark. Palm is rumored to be launching two new phones and a tablet next year, but if developers aren't really paying attention to the operating system, it's hard to forecast a sunny outlook for those devices.
The simple fact is that the hype has already died when it comes to WP7, and there never really was any to begin with for Palm.
The iPhone is great and all, but it can't get me a beer when I'm sitting on the couch watching the game, so whatever.
Aww crap! I'm actually pretty sure this is how the real life Terminator plot will play itself out. First the machines will get us wasted, and then they will systematically eradicate us from the planet when we're too drunk to fight back.
Of all the iPhone apps and iPhone accessories to build on your free time, the robotic fridge equipped with an air cannon, with an iPhone remote control app has to rank right up there with the best of them. Screw that, it is the best of them. MIT should give this guy an award of some sort. The guy even has it set up so you can choose from an assortment of beers. He just needs to throw on one of those iPhone cases that doubles as a bottle opener and he'll never have to get up off of his couch again.
The app even tells you what temperature the fridge is currently running at and allows you to adjust that via your phone. Screw you Coors Light and your blue color changing mountains. That would require me to get up off the couch, open the fridge and look inside. Who has time for that?
There really is an app for everything. But one of the coolest apps has to be the 'Find My Phone' app. In the event that you misplace your phone, you can track it via GPS to pinpoint its location and retrieve it. In the days preceding GPS, my phone once fell out of my pocket in a cab. When I realized the phone was missing, I called it, and thankfully the guy who got in the cab after me found it and actually answered it. He was staying in town on a business trip, left my phone at the concierge desk at his hotel and I was phoneless for less than 12 hours in total. That's my coolest, 'I lost my phone and then this happened' story. And it sucks compared to this.
You see, this isn't a story about how a guy lost his phone in a cab and used a cell phone app to find it. No, this is a story about a man whose car was stolen with his phone inside and he used GPS tracking to lead the cops on a high speed chase. The scene went down on Christmas day in Texas. A guy had his car stolen from a hotel. He called the local police and they gave him the runaround. So he jumped on his laptop and tracked his iPhone using 'Find My Phone'. When the car stopped, he called the local police in that city, and they found the car at a Sonic fast food restaurant. As the officer is arresting the perps, one of them somehow managed to fight off the cop, get in the stolen car and run over the cop. Back to the GPS tracker, and now the highway patrol is involved, leading to a high speed chase that resulted in the stolen car being flipped, and the iPhone returned to its rightful owner.
While that is a story of an iPhone preventing a crime, this is a story about how an iPhone really isn't the best choice for committing a crime. This story also takes place on Christmas, this time in Connecticut. A man tried to rob an Indian restaurant, but lacking a gun, he tried to pretend that his iPhone was a gun. The kitchen staff wasn't buying it though. I'm guessing because his 'gun' started to ring and he was stupid enough to answer it. Regardless, the kitchen staff grabbed a bunch of knives attacked the would be thief and then called the cops. Perhaps one day if they come up with an iPhone case with a switchblade attachment, this plan could work. But as it stands right now, the iPhone bandit will be spending the next couple of Christmases in jail.
According to experts, we are slowly climbing out of that pesky recession. Granted most of the experts are also rich, so what do they know really? I'll believe that we are out of the recession when I can afford this particular app.
While I'm saving up for that app, I will dedicate my life to hunting down the developer and punching him in the face.
Aside from ridiculous apps, mobile phones are quickly trying to devise ways to make us all live outside of our means again. But they are doing it in a sneaky way. For about a year now T-Mobile has allowed their subscribers the ability to pay for mobile apps purchases by charging the item to their phone bill rather than their credit card. From a pure convenience factor, it's a nice idea. But it is also a really really easy way to lose track of your spending. T-Mobile isn't alone anymore. AT&T just announced that they will also be supporting this feature.
For right now Verizon and Sprint have no announced plans to join the fun. And while this is just mobile apps that we're talking about here, it really does beg the question as to just how far down the road are we from being able to charge those Justin Bieber tickets to our cell phone bill rather than a debit card?
I once broke up with a girl because when I showed up to her house to take her out for dinner she insisted that we bring her little Chihuahua with us. As if that wasn't bad enough, she had dressed it up in people clothes. I didn't break up with her on the spot, but that incident ate away at me for about a week before I broke the news that things just weren't working for me. True story. She's most likely on a waiting list for this particular cell phone cover.
I suppose I shouldn't judge people based on their choice of cell phone accessories, but if I was on a first date with a girl and she pulled out her phone to take a call and there was a denim skirt on it, that first date would most likely be our last date (unless that date was with Meagan Fox – call me). I don't think that makes me a horrible person either. I'm a practicality based person. I don't even have a fuzzy cover for my driver, and I golf at least once a week.
One accessory that I can completely get behind though is this Bluetooth device that streams music from your Android device to your FM stereo in your car.
There are tons of devices like this for the iPhone, but this is the first one we've stumbled upon specifically made for Android phones. If you look closely, you'll notice that this plugs into your car's cigarette lighter, so it doubles as a car charger as well. It's made by New Potato Tech and their suggest retail price is $100. It is accompanied by a free app that makes the whole thing work.
This item arrives a little too late for Christmas, but as soon as I return all the clothes my family bought for me that I will never ever wear, I'll use the cash to pick up one of these bad boys.
According to T-Mobile, they recently hired a third party research firm to figure out which of the major carriers has the fastest network. For some reason T-Mobile isn't releasing the name of the research firm, but apparently the result came back stating the T-Mobile was the fastest in the top 100 markets in the US. Despite the shady nature of this particular boast, let's assume that it's true. Even with that honor, T-Mobile is still sorely lacking in one area they are the only national carrier without a dedicated mobile MiFi device.
That apparently is about to change. A device code named 'Lil Wayne' has been leaked by T-mo News, and is supposed to be T-Mobile's first MiFi device. It is expected to hit shelves in early 2011. For those not familiar with a MiFi device, it is essentially a portable wireless router that when turned on, acts as a mobile hotspot. Multiple WiFi enabled devices can link to a MiFi device and enjoy a high speed internet connection.
How they came up with the codename Lil Wayne remains to be seen, but that would offer up some pretty entertaining commercial spots if nothing else.
You've got to love it when a big research firm spends loads of cash to come up with a statistical study on information that was painfully obvious to begin with. About a month ago Pew Research released a study stating, in a nutshell, that rich people were more likely to own an iPad than poor people. Shocking as it may seem that people living just above the poverty line don't have an extra $700 lying around to purchase an iPad what is even more shocking is that someone got paid to conduct that research study.
Not to be outdone, Nielsen (the TV ratings people) have just released a study that says that young people are more likely to own a smartphone than old people. I suppose carriers and advertisers like to know this information for absolutely certain. It makes some sense. But considering my Uncle still can't figure out how to hook his television into his stereo leads me to the not so surprising discover that he isn't currently rocking an iPhone 4. He still can't figure out how to read a text message on his phone let alone send one, so I doubt he's looking to find a phone that can update his facebook status (Yes, he actually is on facebook).
I am actually curious as to what they will come up with next. Perhaps a study to figure out that females aged 13-24 are more likely to own a Hello Kitty faceplate than males aged 35-50. I really hope that study would turn towards the obvious.
The only piece of information that was somewhat revealing was that the US is the only country where females are more likely to own a smartphone than males.
When push comes to shove, one of the biggest selling points of smartphones is the apps that come with them. You can hardly get through a day without reading a story about a certain new app, how many apps are downloaded per day from Apple vs. Android, or how the number of apps available on one particular operating system is either a selling point or a reason to avoid a certain phone. The simple fact is that a lot of the apps are redundant, so having 300,000 apps isn't really that impressive when so many of them do the exact same thing. The only thing they didn't have was an app to keep your cat entertained, because we all have iPads for the strict purpose of occupying our cats.
Now clearly this app was created by the crazy cat lady living in apartment 4B, but who knew she had a degree in computer programming. And if you are dumb enough to download this app to your iPad without first putting an iPad screen protector on your phone, well you deserve everything that is coming to you. Essentially it's an object that moves around your iPad screen prompting your cat to claw the crap out of the display. Genius!
Speaking of genius, without the sarcasm, is another iPhone app. It's a $5 iPhone app from World Lens that uses augmented reality to translate words from Spanish to English or English to Spanish. Open the app, point your phone at a sign you want translated and instantly, it translates the image into English, or Spanish, depending on which way you want it to go. Right now it's only available for the iPhone and only in the two languages. But demand for this will probably be through the roof, which should prompt World Lens to expand its language capability and platform compatibility pretty quickly.
According to analyst firm Nomura, AT&T losing their exclusivity agreement for the iPhone next year (when Verizon will start carrying the device) may lead to increased revenues. Let me be very clear that even this expert analytics team says this would be a short effect. Essentially, the idea is that AT&T will bring in a butt load of cash in early termination fees as people jump ship from the lowest rated carrier in the country. They may also save a few bucks on subsidy fees that they currently pay to Apple, as they would be selling fewer iPhones. This logic is kind of like the euphoria that drowning victims experience right before suffocating to death. In other words, it's not sustainable revenue.
Strictly from an accounting standpoint, this could end up having an immediate positive effect on revenues. But as each quarter passes that AT&T isn't collecting a monthly subscription fee from their customers that have abandoned ship, they'll be losing revenue. Also, with added competition comes price wars, which would further cut into AT&T's revenues.
Clearly the loss of exclusivity isn't going to bankrupt AT&T. They are the second largest carrier in the US with over 90 million subscribers. iPhone subscribers account for just around 6 million, or about 7% of their total customer base. So even if every iPhone subscriber left for Verizon next year, it wouldn't be a death blow. But in terms of smarthphone sales, losing exclusivity on the iPhone will be a significant loss in a war that has risen to a new level with shifting technology.
If you jump into your wayback machine you might recall that we blogged about the US Army testing out how smartphones could be used to make better soldiers. Initially the plan was to give select groups of soldiers smartphones during boot camp to test their effectiveness there. Now the plan is to get these smartphones out into the field. The Army is looking at iPhones and Android devices and would like to see a smartphone in the pocket of every single soldier. Oh, and the Army will pick up the bill for everything. That's one heck of a friends and family plan.
The hope is that the smartphones will help the soldiers thanks to their ability to display maps, translate languages, and improve communications. I can see the Verizon commercials already. 'Can you hear me now' will take on a new meaning when the Verizon guy is standing in an active minefield near Fallujah. Smartphones will also be useful for collecting biometric data like fingerprints of enemies while in the field. If everything goes to plan, this will go into effect by next year.
Ironically, one of the biggest obstacles facing the Army is the general fragility of smarphones. The iPhone isn't exactly Army tough. A single grain of sand has been known to shatter the back casing of Apples crowning achievement. Needless to say, getting a smartphone field ready isn't as simple as slapping a camouflage faceplate on the sucker and sending Private Ryan out to the front lines. We're likely going to see the Army contract manufacturers to make specialized devices out of military grade materials. But as soon as military grade iPhone cases hit the market you know that people will be lining up around the corner for them.
In the wonderful world of stuff I don't use anymore because of technology, my cordless phone ranks right up at the very top of the list. In fact, I haven't had a landline for six or seven years now. In an interesting twist of irony, sitting at the top of the list of stuff that is inexplicably taking up space in my closet for no reason is my cordless telephone.
Well thanks to Cobra, I might have a reason to dust the old cordless phone off again. Cobra is best known for their line of fuzz busting radar detectors, but is now using their powers for stuff other than helping you avoid tickets. They have invented a Bluetooth device that connects to a landline phone, and can funnel you cell phone calls to a landline. Oh, did I mention that you don't actually have to be paying for a landline phone service for this device to work? Did I also mention that you can connect multiple landline phones to the device, so multiple people can listen in on the conversation at once? No more passing around my cell phone this Christmas.
The device works the other way too. You can dial out from your landline phone and it will push the calls out through your cell phone. If nothing else it's pretty fracking cool. But at just $35, it's also a bargain.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not exactly Bill Nye the science guy. Sorry Dr. Clapper, I suppose I should have paid more attention in Chemistry class. But who knew that science could be used to make gadgets better? Scientists have discovered a type of plant virus that can be used to improve lithium battery life up to ten times. That means your cell phone battery that you have to charge twice a day could last up to a week.
The virus is the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), and it affects more than 100 different plant species. The cells of the virus are the perfect shape for battery electrode construction and scientists have already figured out how to coat the virus' cells with conductive material. The TMV virus is capable of bonding to metal and increase the surface area of the battery's electrodes. Long story short, more surface area means more charge that the battery can hold. In this case, up to ten times more charge.
This technology would apply to any device that uses a lithium battery, including your cell phone, laptop, e-reader, etc. From an environmental standpoint this is a huge step forward. A lot of people keep their cell phone charger plugged in constantly because with today's smartphones you are charging your battery at least once a day. With this new technology, we'd be able to charge our batteries once a week, which might prompt some of us to unplug that charger and save electricity.
On the flipside, manufacturers would be able to create batteries that hold the same charge as batteries today, but they'd be nearly 10 times smaller. Smaller batteries would allow manufacturers to get more creative with the peripherals that they put into phones because of the extra room to work with. Needless to say, if this technology can be converted into commercial production it would be a game changer in every imaginable way.
Jawbone is known as a leader in Bluetooth headsets. Their focus is of course on hands free cell phone use, so it should come as no surprise that they have come out with an iPhone application that is a hands free voice messaging system called THOUGHTS. This really isn't anything that revolutionary. My cousin sends me text messages with a voice recording from his phone all the time, and his phone predates the moon landing.
Where the Jawbone app differs is that if the person you are sending your voice message to doesn't have the app downloaded to their phone, it translates the voice into a standard text message. It's a unique feature, and the fact that THOUGHTS is free it makes it a worthwhile app to add to the pantheon. No word yet if Jawbone plans on releasing an Android or Blackberry version of the app just yet.
Sticking with Bluetooth, Plantronics has come out with a pretty sick new headset. They are calling it the Voyager PRO UC, and it comes with capacitive sensors that can tell if the headset is in your ear or in your hand. So let's say you are listening to the music player on your phone. You're headset is paired with your phone but is sitting on your desk. The music will play out of your phone. But as soon as you put the Voyager PRO UC in your ear, it will automatically start playing the music through the ear piece.
The Voyager PRO UC also has a function where it can sync up with your Outlook account and read the subject line of incoming e-mails to you. Plantronics plans on releasing this Bluetooth device on the world in early 2011, but they haven't released any pricing information as of yet.
Yesterday we told you about an app tailor made to help you hide certain contacts from nosy girlfriends and boyfriends. Today comes an app that does the exact opposite. Not only does it not hide your contacts, it shares them with anyone sitting the same room as you that has the same app downloaded to their phone.
Called the 'My name is E' app for now, we expect this to quickly be named the 'How to be a creepy stalker without even trying' app. Whatever happened to asking someone for their number, and pressing dial? That way you have their number saved to your phone and they have yours. You can enter their name later. This way, a stalker doesn't even have to do any real leg work to get the phone number of the person they are obsessing about. They just have to follow them to their local Starbucks, turn on the app, pretend to order a cup of coffee, and should the stalkee also have the same app downloaded – bam – you're listening to someone breath heavily into the phone at 4 in the morning while Peter Gabriel is playing in the background.
The app is free, which means plenty of unsuspecting targets are going to unwittingly sharing their e-mail address and phone number with the creeper on the other side of the room.
I remember when the app store for Apple first came out. The tagline was 'there's an app for that.' There literally was an app for almost everything – except for an app to help you cheat on your significant other. Well Apple users, you're still out of luck when it comes to cheating apps, but Android users can feel free to cheat away as much as possible.
Now the need for a privacy screen protector is all but moot thanks to Loky. This app allows you to keep a separate contact list away from your regular contacts list. It also will redirect text messages, videos and pictures sent from this secret contact list to the app instead of your phones regular messaging app. And of course, everything is password protected. But it doesn't stop there people. This app comes with a great feature – shake to close. If you are pouring over those sext messages while sitting in your cubicle and your boss sneaks up on you, you just shake your phone and the app closes. No more fumbling with buttons to avoid embarrassing situations.
Speaking of unscrupulous activities, this cell phone accessory is likely to become a stripper's worst nightmare (or a shopoholic's).
It is a wallet that syncs to your cell phone through Bluetooth technology, which in turn syncs to your mobile banking app. You program your monthly budget into the app and when you hit that number a clasp in the wallet prevents you from being able to open the wallet. It will also vibrate whenever a transaction takes place. This is definitely not the wallet you want to bring on a first date or to Vegas. Scratch that, this is exactly the wallet you want to bring with you to Vegas.
Perhaps it was consumer demand that is driving Apple's hardware manufacturers. Or perhaps it is the fact that a high school senior in New York bought a bunch of white iPhone 4 accessories, figured out how to assemble them, and has made a small fortune selling them that is driving Apple. Whatever the case may be, the white iPhone 4 is coming this Spring.
We've heard all of this before from Apple. Their excuses thus far as to what the white iPhone 4 hasn't come out have been that manufacturing the devices has been a bit more difficult that they had anticipated. But then a 17-year-old kid managed to buy parts direct from Foxcon in China, and sold them online along with a kit on how to assemble the parts to make your own white iPhone. That didn't last too long as Apple is threatening to charge him with selling stolen property if he keeps on doing business.
If you're anything like us, you're not quite sure why someone would go to such lengths to get a different color phone. And we're not the only ones who feel that way.
But the fact remains that the white iPhone is one of the most talked about phones in the blogosphere. If I were you, I'd wait until this white beauty makes its way to Verizon. According to Consumer Reports, AT&T is the worst carrier in the US. Consumer Reports rated the 5 biggest carriers in 10 different categories, ranging from call quality to customer service product knowledge. AT&T finished dead last in all 10 categories. US Cellular, the smallest of the 5 carriers by a wide margin, scored the highest. Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively with fairly even scores across the board.
Have you ever been playing Angry Birds in the middle of your Quantum Physics 101 lecture when your cell phone battery died, forcing you to actually listen to what your professor was saying? Who hasn't really? Thankfully there are teams of engineers and scientists out there working around the clock on coming up with ways to combat this sort of tragic scenario through various cell phone accessories. And lo, we may have found a couple of breakthroughs.
Thanks the wonderful people at PhoneSuit, and their Primo Power Core, there is pretty much zero excuse to ever run out of power on your phone again. That is unless you're stranded in the desert for multiple days, at which point the ability to update your Facebook status from your phone just becomes redundant anyway.
For individuals not trapped in a Man vs. Wild scenario, the Primo Power Core can charge an iPhone, iPad, iPod, a slew of Android phones, Blackberries and even netbooks. Basically anything that uses a USB port to charge will work with this bad boy. It's extremely portable too. The dimensions put it at roughly the same size as your typical smartphone.
For Apple users that don't like the idea of their iPhone co-mingling with Androids and Canadians we have something for you too. The Mophie Juice Pack Plus is an iPhone case with an attached battery pack. Mophie claims that this case will double the battery life of your phone. Both devices will run you about $100.
Attention everyone with lead feet. This is for you. We have not been to shy about promoting Bluetooth headsets as a means to avoid costly fines and tickets while driving. Well, there is a new cell phone accessory that can help cut down on the money you send to your local municipality's court system. You can begin rejoicing……now.
Cobra has come out with the iRadar. It's another in a long line of iPhone accessories designed t stick it to the man. The device pairs with your iPhone via Bluetooth and serves as a radar detector to avoid speed traps. Not only will it scope out radar wielding cops, it also can tell you where red light cameras are to avoid running a red light tickets, and a cloaking device so you can illegally park in red zones without anyone being able to see your car. That last one might not be true.
The device runs through a free app that you can download to the iPhone. Android users, fret not. An application for the Android Market is coming soon too. For around $129 on Amazon we will soon all be able to drive around like maniacs without fear of consequences - except for Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 users that is. But those guys deserve to get tickets right?
On the same day that Acer confirmed that it is considering releasing a liquid metal handset in the US, the Taiwanese electronics giant confirmed that they are developing a Windows Phone 7 handset. As far as the liquid metal device is concerned, we're talking about a GSM device, which mean AT&T or T-Mobile are the potential destination carriers. This phone has already hit in France and is expecting to make its way across the English Chanel relatively soon. As far as specs are concerned, the Acer Liquid metal isn't going to be anything breakthrough. It's the curved stainless steel back that is the selling point on this phone. It really is nice to look at. The iPhone needs a chrome faceplate to look this good.
As far as Windows Phone 7 is concerned, this has to be welcome news. A limited number of devices available in the US has in part led to less than stellar sales out of the gate. Adding a style conscious manufacturer to the current stable will only help Microsoft's slow sales. Although it's a bit early in the game for Microsoft to be passing judgment. It will be interesting to see if the Dell Venue Pro sales are better than the other devices thus far. The Dell Venue Pro, which is finally available for pre-orders on contract, is geared more towards the business market. If the Dell offering outperforms the more social networking centered handsets, it could serve as a good indication of what Microsoft's audience really is, even though they have actively tried to position themselves as an alternative to Android and Apple.
So that Bluetooth headset that you bought specifically for use in your car so you can avoid tickets and be a responsible driver may be rendered useless if the man gets his way. The government is seriously considering mandating that all car manufacturers install software into new cars that blocks certain cell phone features when certain speeds are reached. The government is also looking into mandating that Sandra Bullock drive all of those cars and that Keanu Reeves is the voice for all turn by turn direction devices.
The intentions of the government are certainly in the right place. According to statistics, distracted driving accounted for more than 5,000 fatalities and 500,000 injuries in 2009. The same studies show that the results of distracted driving are comparable to drunk driving. It is definitely a cause for action.
However, the government doesn't force all car manufacturers to install breathalyzers into the ignition systems that serve as kill switches if a drivers BAC is too high. Such devices do exist, but aren't typically installed until an individual racks up multiple DUI arrests. Unfortunately, the stigma attached to drunk driving hasn't been translated to distracted driving, and that is the major issue.
The department of transportation is planning on launching a nationwide ad campaign outlining the dangers of texting and talking while driving. That's certainly a step in the right direction. However, as more people use their phones to stream music to their stereos or take advantage of their phones GPS capabilities for turn by turn navigation, the government would be taking away a consumers freedom of choice by blocking those features.
Hopefully this idea is reconsidered and shelved. Education is certainly a better solution than punishing responsible drivers who adhere to hands free policies.
There is no denying that Samsung's Super AM OLED displays are indeed super. Unfortunately, there has been a shortage of the screens, which has limited the number of phones and manufacturers that have been able to take advantage of the technology. That shortage is set to turn into a surplus by next year as Samsung has announced that another production facility is set to be online soon. In addition to Samsung, several competitors have also started ramping up development and production of their OLED displays, which is nothing but good news for consumers. As availability of the components increase, theoretically prices should decrease accordingly, and the saving should be passed on to us.
Considering the display has become the single most important phone accessory since the advent of the smartphone, this is good news. And while the latest and greatest in display technology looks to be in a healthy position, companies like Microsoft and Nokia are already working on the future.
Microsoft recently filed for a patent on a certain type of tactile touch screen. While still years away from hitting the consumer market, tactile touch screens are a pretty cool thing. Right now when you use a touch screen phone you feel a vibration when you touch a button. Tactile displays actually simulate the feel of pressing a button on a keypad. How this technology will affect the functionality of screen protectors remains to be seen, but we trust that if scientists can figure out how to simulate the feel of an actual keyboard on a touch screen display they'll be able to figure out a way for us to protect those displays.
For those not willing to wait for the future, you can fly over to China and steal one of these concept phones from Lenovo.
It's a feature phone that has a translucent display. Translucent being a fancy word for see through. With this phone when you step into oncoming traffic because your head is buried in a text message you'll at least be able to see the bus that is about to run you over.
This just in from the United States Department of Wasting Money on Studies of the Stupidly Obvious: People from higher incomes are more likely to have access to cell phones and tablets. You don't say? They're trying to tell me that rich people are more likely to be able to afford an $800 iPad.
O.K. So the USDWMSSO doesn't actually exist. But the study is real. It was done by Pew Research, and I really hope that the spent a ton of money to learn this information. In other related studies, Pew has discovered that the rich are more likely to own diamond encrusted faceplates, blind people are 75% less likely to be accurate texters and my grandmother still doesn't understand what a text message is. Why Pew would care about my grandmother's understanding of mobile technology is beyond me. Apparently they are a very big research firm with a lot of time on their hands.
The study included households with an average income above $75,000 per year and households with an average income below $75,000 per year. You would think that if Pew was going to go to the trouble of doing this study in the first place they would have included more categories. At least then we'd have a slightly more accurate view. It would have been interesting to see what percentage of people with an average yearly income of less than $30k owns an iPad. At least then we could work up a bit of ire about the frivolous spending habits of the lower tax brackets.
Yesterday I stopped by Best Buy to pick up some groceries. What? They sell sodas, candy and chocolate covered pretzels. Don't judge. Anyway, on my way in the store and there are already about a half dozen people outside who have pitched tents in anticipation of black Friday. This was Tuesday night, which means these people are going to be camped out on the sidewalk for three freaking days and nights just to be first in line. Don't they have jobs?
There is a point. Best Buy has already set up their store for optimum impulse purchases. Their phone accessories have been moved out of the mobile department and are strategically located right on the most heavily trafficked aisles. It's amusing to me the lengths that people will go to save a few bucks. I can understand saving a hundred bucks on a TV, but those impulse buys are always cheaper online.
When push comes to shove, anything cellular is better to go to the source. We've been trying to keep you posted on the various Black Friday sales that the different carriers are offering and before we head off to overdose on tryptophan we figured we'd share one last sale.
AT&T will be offering a buy one get one free sale for all of their Windows Phones starting on the 26th. There are three phones to choose from including the LG Quantum, the HTC Surround, and the Samsung Focus. Before you get too excited to run out and buy these phones though, remember that there has been a hardware issue with Windows Phones. They are only capable of reading the memory card that came with the phone, so no expansion is possible on these badboys. If you are photo taking, video recording, song downloading super dynamo, these might not be the phones for you.
Do you remember that kid in high school that was a total jerk but everyone pretended to like him because his parents were always out of town and he always threw a lot of parties? According to a recent survey done by ChangeWave, AT&T is the jerk in this analogy and the iPhone is the party. You see, according to their study, 33% of the smartphone owners they surveyed said that they would buy the iPhone if it were offered by someone other than AT&T. On top of that, a completely different study conducted by Deloitte found that 50% of current iPhone owners would dump AT&T like a bad habit if the iPhone were offered on another carrier.
Considering Verizon is getting the iPhone by Spring of 2011, AT&T should be concerned. And if Apple is listening, they should really think about getting an iPhone into T-Mobile and Sprint stores. Heck, T-Mobile is not so overtly courting Apple as we speak. They are already selling iPhone accessories in stores and their recent ad campaign specifically targets the iPhone and hints at how their network would be a better home for Apple's handset.
At some point AT&T had to read their contract with Apple and realize that their exclusivity agreement eventually ran out. While the iPhone expanding to other carriers certainly won't cripple the behemoth cellular provider, a mass exodus of subscribers will certainly cause their accountants to pull out their red pens.
When push comes to shove, Apple might realize that they made a mistake going exclusive with AT&T for as long as they did. They certainly aren't making the same mistake with the iPad as virtually everyone and their mother is selling that along with Apple branded iPad cases and peripherals. Whether the iPhone becomes a free for all as well remains to be seen, but we certainly are headed in that direction.
Prepare to be underwhelmed. Last week we revealed a couple of really sweet Black Friday sales that will be hitting Verizon and AT&T this coming weekend. We spent the past couple of days eagerly anticipating what T-Mobile or Sprint might have in store for us, considering both Verizon and AT&T are having penny smartphone sales. T-Mobile does have a Black Friday sale, but it really doesn't live up to what we've recently come to expect from The Big T (I just made that up. Maybe it will stick.)
From November 26th through January 18th, if you buy a myTouch 4G or a Samsung Galaxy Tab at regular price you can get another phone free. Sounds alright, but lest really break this down. Two of the phones, the LG Optimus T and the T-Mobile Comet are already free on a two year contract. So that reduces the number of 'free' phones down to just six. The two Motorola phones on offer, the Charm and the Defy, are already on the lower end, costing $49 and $99 respectively on a two year contract. The Blackberry Bold is also on the list, which is a step up. It is the best Blackberry phone in T-Mobile's arsenal, but is still only $129 on contract.
The last three phones on the list are all top end phones, including the HTC HD7 (Windows Phone), the myTouch 4G and the T-Mobile G2. We can respect this list, but the other 5 seem to be padding and not much else.
For a company that recently started selling iPhone accessories in their stores despite not carrying the iPhone, boldly claimed to have the largest 4G network in the nation, and is running a national ad campaign slamming AT&T, we expected more. Maybe we're being a little cynical, but putting two phones that would have been free anyway on a buy one get one free list is kind of tacky. Now we wait and see what Sprint can come up with.
Apparently you don't have to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to save a ton of money on phones this year. In fact, if you can find a penny lying around anywhere you can actually purchase any phone with the Droid moniker. That would include the HTC Droid Incredible or the Motorola Droid X. It even extends to the newly released Droid Pro. Of course you have to sign your life away to Verizon for two years to cash in on the deal, but with the money you save you can buy some killer cell phone accessories like this solar powered phone charger. The deal only runs through the weekend.
Amazon and Verizon aren't the only players getting into the penny for a phone game. AT&T will be having a 24 hour .01¢ sale for all refurbished phones on Saturday the 26th. OK, so that's not nearly as impressive as a brand new Motorola Droid Pro for the same price, but wait a minute. AT&T will have a second 24 hour .01¢ sale on Monday the 28th where they will be offering their high end smartphones for a copper Lincoln. Two of the phones included in that deal are the HTC Aria and the Blackberry Curve 3G.
US cellular isn't offering anything quite as cool as a penny sale, but they are launching their Black Friday deals starting Monday the 22nd. US Cellular will be offering $80 mail in rebates on 4 different phones, including the Samsung Acclaim and the LG Apex, which will be free after the rebate.
No word on what Sprint or T-Mobile might have planned for the busiest shopping weekend of the year, but they have their work cut out for them to offer up anything that matches what's already out there.
We spend a lot of time discussing different operating systems and phones and carriers here on the WE blog. Clearly, one of the most talked about topics in the cellular world right now is Widows Phone 7. Between their devices and their operating systems, there is a lot to talk about. Microsoft of touting their new phones as the phone to rescue us from our phone. Their OS is supposedly geared to get people in and out of their favorite apps quicker, allowing them to pick their heads up and see the world around them.
Quite frankly, all the reviews that we've seen on the OS seem to back this claim up. Hardware is another story all together. For those not familiar with Microsoft, they tend to be pretty good with software, no so great with hardware. The X-Box red ring of death is probably the most infamous example of this. It would seem as though the hardware foibles have extended into their handsets and the cell phone accessories that go with them.
The issue revolves around memory cards. Folks familiar with Android know that the phones come with a memory card that can be switched out to store tons of data. People familiar with the iPhone know that the memory cards are completely internal and if you want more storage, you need to buy a different phone with more storage space on it. Microsoft seems to have a split personality when it comes to their new phones memory capabilities.
Right now, only certified micro SD memory cards will work in their devices and nobody know what cards are certified. On top of that, if someone removes the card that comes with their Windows phone, they need to reboot their phone. No big deal right? Not exactly. Once you reinsert the card for the reboot, Windows phones assign a password to that card, essentially locking it to the device. It can't be read by any other device.
So how did this hardware issue happen? Apparently Microsoft never intended for their new phones to have removable memory cards. In fact, in most of the devices, the memory cards are hidden away and require the phone to completely taken apart in order to gain access. Microsoft also initially wanted manufacturers to glue the cards in place so users couldn't remove them even if they did take their phones apart. Unfortunately they did a really poor job of explaining this to their manufacturers, and the end result is the Samsung Focus which has an easily accessible removable micro SD card right next to the SIM card slot.
This would seem to be an easy fix, however more than a week after the Windows Phone 7 launch in the US, there is still no word on which memory cards are certified to work with the devices. Perhaps Microsoft doesn't want to fix the hardware issue, preferring to control the data storage capabilities of their devices much like Apple does with the iPhone. We'll find out soon enough.
LG has enjoyed a pretty good run as of late. The South Korean electronics giant just recently launched a line of entry level Android smartphones around the world dubbed Optimus 1. It's a very similar concept to Samsung's Galaxy S line which has launched around the world with multiple handsets. The difference of course is that the Galaxy S line is top of the line, while the Optimus line from LG is budget friendly.
Three Optimus 1 phones have landed in the US. Sprint's version is called the Optimus S, while T-Mobile's is the Optimus T. Verizon customers officially get the Optimus Vortex tomorrow. Both the T-Mobile and Verizon offerings are free on a 2 year contract, while Sprint's will cost $49.99 with a similar 2 year contract.
In the first 40 days since the line was launched, LG has sold 1 million units worldwide, making them the fastest selling handset in the company's history. That really shouldn't come as a surprise. People like cheap stuff. These phones are only cheap in price though as they pack an impressive punch.
All of the US based handsets come with Android 2.2, which is actually a step up from the Galaxy S line of phones. Where LG cut costs was with some of the phone accessories typically found on smartphones. The cameras are an unimpressive 3.0 megapixels and the displays are also considerably smaller, coming in a 3.2'. Still, the memory card slot supports up to 32 gigs, which is as good as it gets right now.
So this is news to me, but apparently technology can be used for evil. I thought that was just stuff found in James Bond movies, but no, apparently there actually are bad people out there. Not to single out China, though their food does leave me hungry again after a couple of hours, but some hackers in the Far East really did a number on smartphone users there.
Hackers managed to create a zombie virus that unlocked phones and stole information off of victims' SIM cards. Once the hackers got that information, they relentlessly sent out text messages to that victim's entire contact list containing links to games and other media. Those links were infected as well, so anyone who actually clicked on a link also got their SIM card hacked and the circle continued. In all, over a million smartphones have been infected so far.
What's even worse, people who fell victim to the virus were also charged for the spam text messages. It's estimated that nearly $300,000 in spam text charges have been racked up every day. This isn't the first time that hackers have targeted smartphones, and it probably won't be the last
Symantec, which makes the popular Norton Antivirus, launched a line of antivirus platforms specifically geared towards smartphones this past spring. But in the absence of that, just don't click on links embedded in text messages.
There's an unspoken rule in the world of cell phones. Once you get past your average run of the mill phone that you can pick up at your local Best Buy and delve into the world of 'designer' phones, the more expensive a phone is, the crappier it actually is as a phone. It's only a matter of time before someone starts hawking two jewel encrusted Dixie cups connected by a diamond filament string for $5 million, calling it the ultimate luxury communication device.
You don't believe me. Check out the two newest luxury handsets to grace our inbox. We'll start off with the cheaper model, a Samsung/Armani tag team effort that comes in at just under $1,000.
A grand actually isn't that extravagant when you think about it. An iPhone 4 off contract is going to run you about $700. A 32 GB iPhone 3GS is going to run you close to $900. So based on the theory of inverse pricing to crappiness ratio, it stands to reason that the Armani phone is pretty much exactly the same as the Samsung Captivate. So what sort of sweet phone accessories come with the extra $500 you're spending on an Armani Captivate? Pretty much your standard run of the mill package and not much else comes with this phone. You don't even get your own personal supermodel.
But if you thought that was opulent, check out the Mobiado 105 Damascus.
For $4,500 you get 1 whole GB of storage, a massive 2' display and a whopping 2 megapixel camera. But wait, it's also made from hand forged Damascus steel, glass bead blasted steel buttons, and a cool English looking lion thingy on it. Also, a quick look at the box it comes in shows that it also comes with a data cable and a cell phone battery with the same lion thingy on it. So clearly this is worth the extra four grand.
Needless to say, so long as people are willing to pay for a brand name, designers will continue to crank out ridiculously priced craptacular phones. Lamborghini recently put out a phone and Ferrari just announced they are putting out a phone made by Acer. At least the Acer phone is probably going to run Android and have a touch screen, which means it will probably cost less than two grand. Talk about a bargain.
They don't make ‘em like they used to. Now that I'm in my 30's I can safely say that. In a few more years I'm going to start yelling at kids to get off my lawn. When it comes to cell phones though, that really is the case. Is there a person reading this that hasn't experienced a phone breaking by dropping it out of their pocket? A three foot fall can be the absolute bane of a $300-$500 gadget, which is why we all put cases and screen protectors on our phones.
Nokia, which has really become more or less irrelevant in the US, used to dominate here based largely in part to the fact that their phones were nearly indestructible, as this very amateur video demonstrates.
Nokia is still trying to pass themselves off as a company that builds sturdy phones. The video below shows one of the testing machines that is supposed to replicate that 3 foot drop from our pockets over and over and over again. The N8 definitely holds up to this particular test, probably in large part due to its somewhat bulky design.
While this really isn't that sensationalistic, would you put your glass riddled iPhone 4 in there without any protective gear on it? I probably wouldn't put my Vibrant in there. Blackberries have gotten some pretty high marks in terms of durability. Not surprisingly, they tend to have pretty small displays and a lot more plastic on the front side than most smartphones. It does make you wonder though how many of these other manufacturers put their phones through a similar test only to see them fail and go ahead with the design anyway.
If an 800 lb. gorilla sleeps wherever he/she wants, where exactly does gorilla glass rest? Apparently on the display of the new Samsung Galaxy Tablet. We've mentioned gorilla glass here before on the Wireless Emporium blog, but this is the first time we've ever had visual evidence of just how Chuck Norris this stuff really is. For those not in the now, gorilla glass was invented in 1962 by Corning and sat on a shelf for more than 40 years because there was no practical use for the stuff. It is a super strong, super thin glass that is absolutely perfect for portable devices like phone displays, laptops and tablets. You don't believe me? Check out the video (the cool stuff is towards the end if you want to skip ahead).
Talk about the ultimate screen protector! Considering the iPhone 4 practically shatters just by breathing on it wrong, this is pretty darn impressive. Unfortunately, Samsung's Galaxy tab hasn't exactly been getting the best of reviews from a functionality standpoint. But at least it can stop a bullet.
According to a yearlong study by third party warranty company SquareTrade, the iPhone 4 is the most reliable smartphone on the market – until it breaks. SquareTrade tracked 50,000 different phones over the course of a year, keeping track of statistics like how often people reported accidental breakage of a device, phone malfunctions, as well as things like dropped calls.
After a year of collecting data, it was determined that the iPhone 4 was the most reliable phone you can buy from a hardware perspective, with a malfunction rate of just 2.1%. Apple's flagship phone narrowly edged out the Motorola Droid, which had a malfunction rate of 2.3%.
Before you iPhone users start doing the I Told You So dance, here's another statistic. The iPhone 4 is also the most likely to break, coming in at an astonishing 13.8% accidental breakage rate. It has already been well documented that the iPhone 4 has a bit of a shattering problem, but this study just amplifies that. This is definitely evidence that investing in a phone case and a screen protector is money well spent. Motorola and HTC customers weren't too far behind in the accidental destruction category, logging a 12.2% rate.
The most durable phones are made my RIM, who apparently Canadianizes their Blackberry phones to double and hockey pucks. Unfortunately, Blackberry also had the highest malfunction rate nearly triple that of Apple and Android devices.
So what do all these numbers mean? A: I did quite well on the math portion of my SATs. B: There really isn't any perfect phone out there yet, and you're going to have to make some sacrifices defending on what is most important to you. If aesthetically pleasing design with giant displays is what you're looking for there's practically a 1 in 5 chance that your phone is going to break long before you are eligible for an upgrade. If you want a more rugged phone, like a Blackberry, you are more likely to throw your phone into a brick wall because its constantly dropping calls and crapping out.
If you are a wholesome, apple pie eating capitalist, you love some good old fashioned competition. In the world of cell phones, that means better phones and cheaper prices that do more. But for businesses, there pretty much has been just one player, the Blackberry. Well that has all changed recently thanks to Dell and Motorola.
It first started with the announcement of the Motorola Droid Pro, which goes on sale in Verizon stores on November 18th. Still running on the ever popular Android OS, the Droid Pro is a more buttoned up version of Droid X and Droid 2 lines. So what sets the Pro apart from its cousins and a bit closer to its competition? For starters, it has a full Qwerty keyboard, so it passes the ‘does it look like a Blackberry test.' But it also has Quickoffice Mobile, corporate secure e-mail, and worldwide compatibility in over 200 countries. No word yet, but you'll probably be hard pressed to find a neon pink faceplate for one of these bad boys.
Not to be outdone, Dell is also releasing a business first phone called the Venue, which runs on the Windows 7 phone OS. Like Blackberries and the Droid Pro, the Venue offers a full Qwerty keyboard. The main difference being it has a slide out version. In a cheeky little knock on Blackberry, Dell offered to give all of their employees (all 25,000 of them) a new Venue if they turn in their old Blackberries. Dell claims it will save them 25% on their communication bill to make the switch away from RIM's Blackberry servers.
RIM quickly fired back claiming Dell's giveaway was little more than a promotional stunt. Dell then quickly fired back by saying 'Duuuhhhh!'
The simple fact remains that until one of these challengers proves itself, Blackberry will remain the king of the business phones. But numbers don't lie, and Blackberry's market share has been slipping. Heck, even the artsy fartsy iPhone is being considered by some major corporations as a replacement. RIM is going to have to make a bold move – no pun intended – if it wants to stay competitive, because should the Motorola Droid Pro and the Dell Venue do well, there are a slew of other manufacturers making Android and Windows 7 phone devices that would happily scramble for their share of the pie.
It’s not every day that an application for a patent by one of the major cell phone manufacturers gets us too excited here. Usually it’s a patent for some small variation on an already existing technology or a small design change that involves one extra screw going somewhere. What’s worse is that all these manufacturers are taking each other to court suing over patent infringement, and pretty much every time, the case gets dismissed. That all changed today.
Apple has applied for a patent that actually is pretty sweet. I won’t get into the technical side of things, because it actually sounds boring on the surface, and you might stop reading. But essentially, Apple has applied for a patent that uses the GPS capabilities in your phone as an interactive gaming device. You can connect with other iPhone users and interact with them out in the open, and because of the GPS, you know where the other players are. The patent even describes being able to use your phone gun like controller. We’re talking Laser Tag with cell phones here people.
This really does open up some pretty sweet possibilities when it comes to gaming. I can see it now. People will be using their Bluetooth headset to communicate with teammates on the battle field, developing strategies. People will be using portable iPhone chargers for marathon games. We might even see a national iPhone laser tag game where entire cities can join an ongoing game, last man standing wins Steve Jobs’ glasses. That would certainly make the commute to work interesting.
There has been some skepticism if there was any room for the phone to save us from our phones. You see, that is how Windows 7 phone is selling themselves. But do people really want to get in get out and get on with their lives? It’s hard to imagine as people are using their phones to do pretty much everything these days. With Android, Apple and Blackberry already dominating the OS market share, it really isn’t unreasonable to wonder if there is a place for another OS in the United States.
If sales in England are any indication of how Microsoft’s latest foray into the cellular arena is going to go over in the states, people are going to need to make some room at the grown up table for Microsoft. Orange, one of England’s largest carriers has completely sold out of Windows 7 Phone devices. Demand has been so great, that they are offering discounts to customers stuck on a waiting list.
Despite this news, at least one of the major carriers in the US has no intention of offering their Windows 7 phones on preorder. While it is relatively common practice for carriers to offer preorders on new phones, AT&T will be offering their Windows phones on a first come first serve basis. One of the more anticipated Windows phones is coming on the AT&T network, the HTC surround. It comes equipped with one of the cooler phone accessories we've seen built into a phone, a slide out speaker.
While it’s highly unlikely that there will be lines around the block outside of AT&T stores like there have been with recent iPhone releases, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that it might be a bit difficult to get your hands on one of these bad boys on day one of their release.
So the other day I was just cruising around in my Lamborghini when my phone rang. As you can probably imagine, I got horribly depressed. You see, despite the fact that I have a brand new iPhone 4, so does 14 million other people around the world. I might as well be a peasant. Thankfully that phone call was a friend of mine calling to tell me about the new Lamborghini Spider themed phone. Unfortunately I got sad again when he told me the Lamborghini phone is only available in Hong Kong. Then I got happy again when I remembered I also have a private jet, so off I flew to Hong Kong.
The phone comes with a super tiny 2.2 inch display, a 3 megapixel camera and 4 whole gigabytes of storage.
Sure the phone is a downgrade from my iPhone in every possible way with the exception the Lamborghini insignia, but it does come in a really cool box. And if I pay a little extra, I can get it with a crocodile skin back. Hopefully they are selling this as an unlocked phone so I can actually use it here in the US. And at $1,781, I can pick one up as a stocking stuffer for all of my friends. I was thinking about getting a Vertu phone, but that just excessive. Now I wonder if they sell diamond encrusted screen protectors for this phone?
#10 - Motorola DynaTAC 8000X – We figured we’d kick off our list with the phone that kicked off the cellular world. This was the first ever hand held cellular phone, released in 1983, Zack Morris made this phone an icon.
#9 - Nokia 5110 series – Nokia is still the worldwide leader in handsets sold. There was a time when they absolutely dominated the US market too. This line of phones was the first with removable faceplates, allowing for users to customize their phones.
#8 - HTC EVO 4G – This is the first ever 4G phone released. We’d probably rank this phone a lot higher on the list if 4G were more widely available.
#7 - Blackberry 6200 – Released in 2003, this Blackberry really did change the way we thought about what our phones could do. You could fax, surf the web, and check your e-mail all from one device.
#6 - T-Mobile G1 – Made by HTC, but branded as a T-Mobile phone, the G1 was the first ever Android phone. Considering that Android is now the most popular OS in the US, it’s important to recognize the phone that took the first step.
#5 - LG Chocolate – This is the phone that really put LG on the map here in the United Sates. Its music player wasn’t the first, but definitely popularized the feature on future phones.
#4 Motorola RAZR – Another Motorola phone, this is the 3rd best selling phone of all time with 130 million units moved worldwide. At the time, its super thin design was completely unique, and made it the “it” phone to have.
#3 - Motorola StarTAC – This was the first ever flip phone, modeled after Star Trek communicators. As far as design is concerned, it’s hard to think of a more influential phone ever made.
#2 - iPhone – The first iPhone that was released in 2007 was in a class of its own. Since then, virtually every phone has modeled itself after the iPhone in one way or another. This is the Godfather of modern smartphones everywhere.
#1 - Nokia 1100 – Simplicity is the name of the game with Nokia’s second offering on the list. Basic phones still dominate in emerging nations, helping the Nokia 1100 become the best selling phone of all time, selling 250 million units worldwide. Nokia’s billionth phone sold was an 1100, sold in Nigeria
You have to appreciate a little creativity and ingenuity when it crosses your path, even when it is the ingenuity of a multibillion dollar corporation. Sprint has somehow managed to cash in on Applemania, most specifically the iPad, despite the fact that they aren’t a lessened carrier for any of Apples gadgets. How did they do this you ask? It’s pretty genius actually.
Sprint sells this little device called the Overdrive, a pocket sized WiFi hotspot that can boost devices like the iPad up to 4G speeds. In order to push sales of this item, Sprint decided to start selling an iPad case packaged with the Overdrive. Its worked like a charm, meaning Sprint is making money off of a device they don’t even sell.
Moving from the world of genius to the world of why, we give you the Table Connect. What is the table connect you ask? Well I’ll tell you. It is the world’s largest iPhone accessory. If that isn’t enough info for you, it is a 58” glass table that is actually a Capactive touch screen that you can hook your iPhone into. According to the experts, you need to jailbreak your phone before the Table Connect works, and no word on whether or not spilling your Fruity Pebbles on the touch screen would void the warranty.
As impractical as this Table Connect is, there is no doubt that people will be throwing out their current kitchen table in favor of this monstrosity. A 58” display will definitely make it easier to text, but this isn’t exactly something we’d call practical. No pricing is available for the Table Connect, but odds are this bad boy won’t come cheap.
You know what really frosts my chonies? Last week when I climbed to the top of Mount Everest, I pulled out my phone to update my location on Foursquare and I couldn’t connect to the internet. What a jip! The sub zero temperatures also have a tendency to frost your chonies if you aren’t careful. But if frosted undergarments aren't bad enough, I log on to the internet today only to find out that Everest is now wired for the internet.
Apparently someone has set up a 3G station at 17,000 feet, which will allow its signal to reach the peak of the mountain. So while I’m a little upset still, at least I know that next week when I wander on up to the top of Everest I’ll be able to immediately update my Facebook status while posting pictures to my Flicker account. I might even send off a text message to my ex-girlfriend who told me I’d never amount to anything. And of course I’d call up Dominos to order a pizza just before I started heading down so I could have some hot food waiting for me once I got to the bottom. That decent can take a lot out of you two if you forget to bring your snowboard up with you.
While it’s obvious I’m joking (I won’t be climbing Everest again until next year), you actually will be able to do everything above from the top of the world. Heck, with a data cable and a few laptops you could set up a WiFi hotspot and play World of Warcraft together with your Sherpas. Just be careful not to drop your phone. Even the most rugged of faceplates isn’t going to protect your super AMOLED display from a 29,000 foot drop. Trust me. I know from experience. Now if you drop it off of K2, you should be just fine.
That elusive white whale from Moby Dick has crossed over into the cellular world thanks to Apple. The quest for a white iPhone 4 has must have customers feeling a bit like Ahab today, as Apple has pulled the mythical device from their store altogether. The phones release had been pushed back multiple times, most recently to a Spring 2011 release date. The reason behind this was that the phone was increasingly difficult to manufacture. Perhaps the white iPhone was too shatter resistant? Or perhaps it had something to do with them poisoning their factory workers.
For those having severe feelings of depression over this incident, gather around your computer screens. I’m going to ease your worries. You can find white iPhone 4 covers that make your device look white. You can even get a red one and look really cool. I’m not quite sure why people get so geeked up over a different color phone. Call me Ishmael - or indifferent.
On the other side of the GSM street, T-Mobile is gearing up for an extremely busy next few weeks. Set to hit stores are three different smartphones on multiple levels. The LG Optimus T will be a $30 Android smartphone. The Motorola DEFY is a rugged smartphone that will cost $100. And then there is the top of the line HTC myTouch 4G, which will go for $200 on contract. Naturally T-Mobile is already pimping out overpriced cell phone accessories for each model on their Facebook page. Oh, and for those who are interested in such things, the LG Optimus T will come in two different colors right out of the gate, although neither one of them is white. Maybe Ahab and Apple lovers are onto something. Perhaps those white colored phones are so rare they are worth going crazy over.
So I was sitting at home the other night rocking my Atari 2600, wondering when they will come out with a new video games system. And then this morning I start browsing the internet only to find out that there is going to be a Playstation Phone. Not a whole heck of a lot is known about this phone right now besides the obvious fact that it is going to be made by Sony Ericsson. But based on these photos we get a bit of a better idea of what we’re dealing with here.
This is going to be a slider device, but instead of a full keyboard, the slide out portion is a Playstation controller. The potential for some pretty cool phone accessories to go with this device are endless. How about some sort of cable that connects directly to a PS3, so you have your own portable controller to take with you everywhere you go? Or, as 3D technology becomes more prevalent, special glasses to go with 3D capable games. Conceivably they could come up with a special screen protector that could help generate 3D images. The possibilities with this phone are pretty endless.
On top of all that, this is still a phone. It seems fairly obvious that this will run on some form of the Android OS, seeing how Microsoft makes both the X-Box and Windows 7 Phone. Also, based on the images, we’re looking at a GSM based device, which narrows potential carriers down to AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. Folks at tech blogs like Engadget are predicting a 2011 release for this phone, and gamers everywhere are likely salivating already. Hopefully more details will start leaking out in the coming weeks and months. They always do.
Gadget geeks like to be the first to know about anything and everything technology related. Cell phones are no exception. And with the pace at which major handset manufacturers are churning out new devices, there’s a lot of info floating around out there. There are some really creative ways that people are getting this info too. Some scour FCC filings for info on potential new phones. Others have inside sources that leak internal documents and memos. And then there are those that see a product listing for Sprint that includes some HTC accessories for a phone that doesn’t even exist yet.
That’s how the still officially unconfirmed HTC Speedy (formerly known as the Knight) now has an unofficial launch date of Jan 6th, 2011 attached to it. It wouldn’t be the first time that some random in store document has tipped off people to the arrival of a new phone. Heck, this sort of thing happens so often you wonder why the cell phone carriers even bother trying to hide the info. They should just release a laundry list of phones they plan on launching because everyone is going to find out anyway.
I think it’s great that a new phone was leaked thanks to a list of phone accessories that had been sent out to stores more than two months in advance of its intended release. It could also be a stroke of genius on Sprint’s part. I don’t know anything at all about the HTC Speedy, but I sure as shootin want to learn more about it, just because there is so much mystery and intrigue. What we know so far is that this is a slider phone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a full keyboard tucked in there. Remember, HTC recently came out with a slider phone for Windows 7 Phone that features a hidden speaker. Whether or not the Speedy will have a speaker or some super fast processor, or magical powers, remains a mystery. Thankfully there is an entire army of gadget hunters that will spoil the surprise long before Sprint decides they want to share.
Black Friday is about a month away, which means my cousin is already camping out in front of Best Buy to ensure that she gets all of those door busting deals. Odds are she probably isn’t even the first person in line. For those of us who don’t enjoy a good sidewalk campout we can at least look at some of the cool stuff coming out in time for the mass hysteria that is the biggest shopping day of the year, and then rue the fact that we didn’t camp out so we’re going to have to pay twice as much for the same stuff. Cell phone related purchases will take up a large portion of several people’s wish lists this holiday season, so we’re going to take a look at a couple of items today that might just make it into your stocking.
One of the coolest cell phone accessories to make their way into our homes is the Powermat. It’s a wireless charging station for electronic devices, most notably cell phones. In the past, the special covers you needed to make the device work were clunky at best. Powermat has changed all that. These days Powermat is going low profile. You can check out a before and after side by side comparison here. The new style looks like a regular old HTC Evo case, the exception being this one recharges your battery when you set it down. It really is a seamless design. This really is some pretty sweet technology at work.
On the completely opposite side of the spectrum, I would be remiss if I didn’t spend a few words introducing you all to the unsmartest* phone in the world. You have to love the simplicity here – no texts, no huge display. Heck, the address book is a pen and paper that fits into a small compartment on the back of the phone. I’m actually curious if it runs on AA batteries, or if it actually has a lithium battery inside. This would be great for one of those white elephant parties. What was that? It costs $100? I guess the phone itself cost $11.95. The quirkiness will set ya back the additional $88.05. At least it is an unlocked phone, so you can use it on any GSM network that you want.
*I’m well aware that unsmartest isn’t a word, that’s the irony of the joke people.
U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi. You ugly. Your momma say you ugly. If you’re iPhone sang that little ditty after the ugly meter app analyzed your facial structure we’d really know that science is just a few short days away from colonizing Mars. As it stands, we have to settle for catch phrases based on how hot this app thinks your picture is. We’re still awaiting official word, but we now believe the iPhone covers every single possible human social interaction. Next to the no drunk dialing app, this has to be the most practical bar/party app ever invented.
In a nutshell, you take a picture of someone’s face with your iPhone. The app scans it, and spits out an ugliness score. The higher the score you get, the uglier you are. The app harkens back to the old hotornot.com website where people could upload their photos to a website and random strangers from around the world could rate their hotness on a scale of 1-10. My friends and I would try and catch each other in the worst possible shape and take pictures and submit them to that website. HotorNot.com was immensely popular in its day, and it seems that people still love seeing how hot a random person or machine thinks they are. The ugly meter is currently in the top 10 of apps downloaded from the Apple app store.
Next up will be a phone accessory that does your hair and makeup for you so you can score better on the ugly meter. Or perhaps someone will come up with a phone case with a built in fan so your hair will be blowing in the wind for your headshot.
For those on Android devices, you will be stuck trying to decide if you really are attractive or if your grandma is just saying that because you’re related.
I have some great news for anyone who owns stock in Apple – or AT&T for that matter. According to their quarterly report, AT&T sold 5.2 million iPhones this summer. Considering that Apple reported selling about 14 million iPhones in Q4 worldwide, that means over 33% of Apple's phone sales belonged to Big Blue. Here’s the scary part. Apple’s proliferation of the iPhone covers just AT&T right now, but within the next few months will also include the nation’s largest cellular provider, Verizon.
While that is good news for Apple, it might spell impending doom for AT&T. Nearly 70% of their new phone activations this summer were iPhones. Recent surveys have shown that nearly 50% of AT&T’s iPhone users would jump ship to Verizon if the iPhone became available there. In a doomsday, worst case scenario world, AT&T could lose about 35% of its subscriber base to Verizon. The likely hood of that happening isn’t very great, but AT&T’s best gal is about to start sleeping around.
For Apple, this is awesome. Because AT&T runs on a GSM network, and Verizon is CDMA, all those iPhone users that do decide to jump ship are going to have to buy new phones. Don’t worry though. That iPhone 4 holster will still look equally snazzy with a Verizon logo on your phone. With record revenues and profits at Apple, and the prospect of a virtual explosion of new US customers (not to mention China, which just got the iPhone) it’s no wonder Steve Jobs has the time to get into pissing matches with journalism students via e-mail (true story). Aside from counting all his money and shopping for black turtle necks, what else is the guy supposed to do?
Last week we posted a video of a up and coming New York band called Atomic Tom jamming out on the subway, using their iPhones as instruments. It got us to thinking, what are some of the coolest videos/commercials out there? So after some extensive time wasting that our crack team called research time, we came up with a few of our favorites. We bring you a few laughs, some hotties, a vigilante professor, moronic White House reporters, and a well planned prank. Check out Atomic Tom and the rest below.
There are certain places where having your phone go off can have some negative consequences. Some examples would be a funeral, Presidential inauguration, church, and this professor’s classroom.
This particular YouTuber has chronicled her iPhone saga since the beginning, including her first iPhone bill – all 300 pages of it.
It’s probably only a matter of time before someone sticks a taser into a phone. Until then, we can thank Sprint for providing us with these Crime Deterrent Phones.
Who doesn’t like to see stuff get destroyed? That was the thinking behind this blender company’s viral video ad campaign. The subject of obliteration for this video was the iPhone 4
From the files of creepy turned funny, we bring you this commercial from France.
If you thought having your phone go off in a classroom was bad, check out what happens when two different reporter’s phones go off at the White House within seconds of each other.
Here’s another commercial, this time from England. When you’re busted, you’re busted, so there’s no point in trying to hide it anymore.
Here is a video from a group called Improv Everywhere. Like all of their video pranks, this one took a lot of planning and a lot of people to pull off.
So that is our favorite nine. If you feel like rounding out the Top 10 like us on Facebook and submit your favorite videos. Our “research team” would love an excuse to be on YouTube all day.
So I put on my winter coat for the first time this year and guess what I found in the pocket? $27,000. I hadn’t even realized it was missing. Silly me. Figuring I might as well blow it on something extravagant, I decided to buy the new Vertu Constellation Quest phone, which ironically enough costs $27,000. Now I finally have the same phone as all my friends.
What exactly makes this phone so expensive you ask? Well I thought I’d find out for myself, so I headed over to the Vertu homepage to find out. But when I clicked on the specs section for one of their phone models, my browser crashed. Naturally I figured that they had some super technology that realized I was too poor to even look at their phones, let alone buy one, and I got sad. But mamma didn’t raise no quitter, so I reopened my browser and tried again, and it worked. So what sort of extra terrestrial materials is this phone made from to make it so darn expensive?
First the screen is protected by a layer of sapphire crystal, which is so strong it can resist, wait for it, a car key. While having a screen protected by the same stuff that Superman’s fortress of solitude was made from is cool, but you can get an iPhone 4 screen protector that also resists scratches from car keys. The numbers and letters on the Constelation Quest are made up from 1,100 tiny holes drilled through the ceramic keypad. Said holes are then filled with a special lacquer that lets light pass through it, so when backlit, it looks exactly the same as any other phone’s backlit keypad. But the backing has leather on it. So there you go.
So for $27,000 you can get the Vertu Constelation Quest. Or for $10 in cell phone accessories you can pimp out your iPhone to do pretty much the same exact thing.
When I was a kid my mom used to yell at me that all the video games I was playing were going to rot my brain. Apparently mom didn’t know everything. Numerous reports have come out in recent years saying that video games have been linked to an increase in intelligence scores in kids. Thank you Super Mario Brothers.
Today the new demon technology supposedly sapping America’s youth of their precious developmental years is the iPhone. According to a report, toddlers are becoming increasingly addicted to Apples little 4.83 oz. destroyer of development. My guess is that if scientists are as wrong about this one as they were about video games we’ll see a race of super intelligent pre-teens running the world in about 10 years.
While that may be an extreme, I’m more concerned with seeing a bunch of infants decked out in iPhone accessories and Bluetooth headsets like those creepy kids on the E-Trade commercials. I don’t have any kids, but I do look after my sister’s kids quite a bit. I can barely keep my sanity for two hours at a time, so I can only imagine what it’s like 24/7. So if a parent relents and lets their kid fiddle around with their phone for a few hours I get it. And I really don’t see any problem with it considering my 2-year-old niece knows her way around a computer better than my Aunt does. That being said, if I start seeing kids cruising around in their Huggies pull-ups with an iPhone 4 holster attached toting their own phones, I might have a problem with that.
Nobody’s perfect right? With the obvious exception being Megan Fox. But for the most part we can all agree that we have flaws. Funny thing is, we demand that our mobile devices be flawless. It’s kind of an unfair position to take considering that electronic devices are still created by people, who we all already agreed are flawed. But it’s an understandable position too. I mean when an iPhone 4 sets you back a couple hundred bucks, it would be nice to know that a grain of sand isn’t going to cause the housing to shatter because of a few iPhone cases slide on rather snap on.
The same can be said for the operating systems themselves. I don’t have a degree in software engineering, but I would imagine it is hard to design a cellular OS that runs flawlessly on hardware designed by multiple manufacturers in multiple countries. The Motorola Droid X is just one of many phones to fall victim to bugs that are making the phones run at less than optimal performance levels since being updated to Android 2.2 (Froyo).
Some of the biggest bugs reported are the media player not functioning properly, random rebooting and poor WiFi connection stability. Apparently a software update for the Motorola Droid X covers all of the problems and will be sent out soon. I suppose that is the best that we can hope for. So long as technology advances at the pace it’s moving at, there are going to be bumps and hiccups. As long as the companies recognize the problems and fix them in a timely fashion, we can’t complain too much. I take that back. We can complain a ton. But it isn’t going to change anything.
Chargers? We don’t need no stinking chargers? OK, so the Powermat technically is a charger and one of the cooler phone accessories we’ve seen in a long time. Well they are trying to get a little bit cooler. For those not familiar with the Powermat, it is a device that wirelessly charges up to three devices. Last year they came out with a device that essentially was a phone case you put on your handset and then placed on a mat. The mat then charged your battery without having to be plugged into the wall. This summer, they came out with special batteries that could be swapped into your phone and charge directly on the mat without the need for the special case.
Now the makers of Powermat are trying to integrate their technology straight into phones, so there is no need for a special case or battery at all. They expect to see their plans come to fruition sometime next year. Don’t throw out your Droid 2 charger just yet though. No word on whether Powermat will try to integrate the technology into a pre-existing handset or if they will try and collaborate with a manufacturer to develop a specially branded cell phone. Since each cell phone manufacturer designs their handsets with specific charging needs, there is also a possibility that Powermat could sign an exclusivity deal with one manufacturer. It would be easier to introduce the technology because Powermat would only be trying to integrate their technology with one particular set of specs rather than dozens of different sets of specs.
Regardless of which path they choose, you will still need the mat itself, which plugs into the wall, but your remaining devices would be cord free, which is pretty darn sweet. Whatever the case may be, Powermat is doing their best to make your desk look as cool as possible.
It’s time to get out the tin foil hats and fire up that printing press. We have some interesting news for you conspiracy theorists out there. OK, so we highly doubt that there is an actual conspiracy, but it is fun to connect the dots. Sometimes the picture ends up looking like the Indian Subcontinent. There is a lot going on over there apparently. In addition to running the call center for my Direct TV account, India also happens to be the second most populace country in the World. That’s a lot of potential cell phone users. Something that every major cell phone manufacturer is aware of and is trying to tap into, or is bending over backwards to hold onto.
Let’s start with Research in Motion (RIM). The Canadian company, which makes the Blackberry, has been desperately trying to come up with a way to allow the Indian government to hack into their encrypted e-mail service. Failure to do so would mean a ban in India, something that RIM is desperate to avoid. It’s one of the more interesting cell phone cases on the table right now around the World. India is claiming that terrorist networks can currently use the encrypted e-mail system to freely communicate without government monitoring. RIM, whether they agree or not, need to solve the problem or risk losing out on a billion potential customers.
Speaking of losing out on a billion customers, Nokia reportedly has lost nearly 20% of their market share in India, holding a paltry 36%. While that number is still pretty significant, consider the fact that Nokia once held a 70% share of the market in India and things start to look kind of bleak.
This brings us to our fake kingpin of this whacky conspiracy theory – Apple. Word on the Bangalore streets is that Apple is creating a CDMA iPhone specifically for India. The iPhone covers nearly all of North and South America, Western Europe, Australia and select African and Asian nations. It goes without saying that the addition of CDMA devices in India would be massive. That’s bad news for Nokia, whose smartphone division hasn’t exactly been churning out winners in recent years. Even Blackberry has to worry. They might come up with a solution to the Indian government’s requests just in time to see Apple swoop in and steal a huge portion of their market share. Only time will tell, but things are definitely getting interesting southwest of the Himalayas.
Word on the street is that some computer software company based in Northern California is trying to get into the cell phone business. They’re called Micro-something. I doubt they’ll last, but bless their hearts, they have somehow managed to announce 10 new handsets from four manufacturers that will be available in more than 30 countries before the end of the year. In what is an already a crowded marketplace, Microsoft is re-entering the fray with what is now the 5th operating system, that already includes Apple’s OS, Android, RIM’s Blackberry OS, and Nokia’s Symbian 3.
If three’s company and four’s a crowd, five must be a raging keg party. At least I think that’s how the phrase goes in Korea. LG and Samsung are responsible for 4 of the new devices. Dell is also putting out a phone called the Venue Pro headed to T-Mobile. But the real player in the Windows 7 launch is HTC, which will be putting out 5 Windows 7 Phone devices.
HTC was a major player in the original Windows cell phone OS but dropped the nerd in the brown suit as soon as Android started to become chic. Now the Taiwanese company is splitting its efforts evenly between Android and Windows in a “wait and see” approach. From the various screen shots that have emerged, the Windows 7 Phone interface is kind of cold and lifeless, so it will take some serious HTC accessories to spruce these phones up.
Which begs the question; what niche is Windows 7 Phone going to attack? Blackberry has long been considered the business phone. Android phones and Apple’s iPhone are considered social media dynamos. Windows seems to be positioning themselves somewhere in the middle, and is even promoting themselves in their ads as the phone to save you from your phone. I guess the message is that the Windows 7 cell phone covers all your personal and business needs efficiently so you can get on with your life. But with so many people burying their faces in their phone, will the message ever be heard?
Motorola is failing to live up to expectations. At least it’s failing to live up to the expectations they set for themselves. A combination of factors has led to disappointing sales numbers for several different models of phones. The Droid X was expected to be a massive hit, and while it has been very well received by consumers, the numbers simply aren’t where Motorola would like them to be. Couple that with a components shortage, and sales have taken an even bigger hit.
There are Droid X accessories to this crime of underachieving. Motorola has also recently launched a pair of midrange smartphones that absolutely tanked. The Backflip and the Devour have been a major flop in all aspects, and the recently released Flipout and Flipside (amazing creativity there) don’t appear to be all that different, so expectations aren’t too cheerful.
The one saving grace could be the Droid Pro. Motorola cell phones have been considered multimedia devices by and large. The Droid Pro is an attempt to conquer the business phone segment that Blackberry has dominated. That probably explains why the Droid Pro looks like a Blackberry going through puberty. All the parts are there, but it looks a bit gangly and awkward. Still, the popularity of the Android OS could help drive the Droid Pro to exceed expectations. In the grand scheme of things, Motorola is doing just fine. But there is little room for error in such a crowded marketplace.
Perhaps it was the recent revelation that Android has blown past them. Or maybe it was the growing popularity of the Samsung Galaxy S series of phones, which have sold 2 million units in the US in just over 3 months. Perhaps Steve Jobbs flipped a coin and it landed on heads. Whatever the reasons are, Apple is expanding its iPhone line to at least one other carrier, and that carrier is Verizon.
Right now the iPhone covers the US map on the AT&T network and only the AT&T network. It’s been like that since day one. With market share starting to slip, the only logical step was to develop phones for the other carriers and that is exactly what Apple is doing. By adding Verizon to its carriers list, Apple will now be on the two largest networks (by subscribers) in the United States. The rumors have been swirling for a long time now, but an article in the Wall Street Journal has but everything but a confirmation from Jobbs that production will begin before the end of the year, and that CDMA iPhones will hit Verizon stores in the first quarter of 2011.
No word on specs or if there will be any major design changes that would cause incompatibility with pre-existing iPhone accessories and ports. And for Sprint users, buying an unlocked iPhone isn’t going to make it compatible with your network. Rumors have also spread throughout the internet that T-Mobile will be getting the iPhone. That makes sense considering that T-Mobile also uses GSM technology and it would be an easy transition for Apple to make. But those rumors really haven’t gone anywhere since the summer.
If you haven’t been paying attention, and not too many people do, it has been a pretty crazy last half of the year in the cell phone world. Android has rocketed past Blackberry and Apple as the top OS in the US market, the Samsung Galaxy S series of phones have sold 5 million units worldwide (in just over 3 months) and cell phone cases are filling up courts around the world.
Microsoft is suing Motorola for patent infringement. Verizon is being forced to refund customers $90 million in wrongful data overages. Apple has sued Nokia in an English court over patent violations. Nokia has lost three major executives in the past few weeks. And speaking of patents, Apple had a $625 million settlement levied against them in Texas for patent infringement of their own. Who knew that downloading directions to an all night waffle house while updating your Facebook status and Tweeting about how epic the Justin Bieber tribute band concert you just saw would have such a dark underworld?
Who are we kidding? This is a multi-gazillion dollar a year industry. Of course there is going to be back stabbing and name calling. HTC posted a third quarter profit of $360 million, and we know they didn’t make that coin on HTC accessories. The phones are where it’s at and so long as the competition remains as fierce as it is, we the consumer will get to reap the rewards with faster, smarter and sleeker phones. Feel free to return to your daily routine now. We’ll be sure to give you a heads up in the unlikely event that everyone starts playing nice.
The king is dead. Or at least he has a pretty pronounced limp and severe head wound. Apple and Blackberry have dominated the Smartphone category head to head since the launch of the first iPhone. But Android phones have taken over the top spot. A study done by Nielsen’s shows that US consumers have been choosing Android phones at an incredible rate over the past year. In January of last year Blackberry’s OS was on top with a 34% share of new US buyers. The iPhone came in a close second with a 32% share. Android was a distant third at 14%.
Oh how times have changed. Android now captures 32% of new US consumers, while Blackberry has plummeted to 25%. The iPhone covers 26% of the new buyer market. Nokia’s Symbian OS doesn’t even register on the study, which would explain why the Finnish company is launching a new OS called MeeGo and moving away from the unpopular Symbian OS.
One of the main reasons for Android’s explosion is the sheer number of new phones that have flooded the market. Manufacturers like HTC, Motorola and Samsung have led the charge. The availability of unlocked cell phones and no contract cell phones compatible with prepaid carriers that also run on the Android OS have also helped contribute to the rise in popularity of the little green robot. Don’t expect this trend to reverse course anytime soon. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 might cannibalize some sales, as the handsets for that platform are being made by the same manufacturers that are putting out Android based models. It’s the sheer volume of manufacturers producing a variety of Android based phones available on multiple networks that has led to its rise to prominence. The heir has claimed their place in the US and isn’t likely to relinquish the crown anytime soon.
HTC is quickly emerging as a major player in the handheld market. The Taiwanese company has been around for awhile, but when they launched the first ever Android phone, they announced their arrival in a big way. Prior to that, HTC had almost exclusively worked with Windows mobile devices, but shifted away from that strategy when it saw the opportunities presented by the Android revolution.
Now the company is splitting its focus and is returning to the Windows platform with several models that will operate as new Windows Phone 7 devices. Two of those devices are the Legend and the Desire, which will come in “phantom black” and “brilliant white” respectively. To the untrained eye, they look like one black phone and one white phone. HTC phones have been growing in popularity the past year or so, with releases like the HTC Evo and HTC HD2 receiving rave reviews.
Even though the phones won’t officially be available to play with for a couple more weeks at the earliest, it’s hard to imagine that HTC is putting out anything short of a fantastic handheld. The real question is if those efforts have been wasted on a platform that is two years late to the party. Should the Windows Phone 7 operating system prove to be a dud, all the cell phone accessories in the world aren’t going to cover up that fact. But given the time and effort HTC took to move away from Windows previously, the idea that they are going back has to breathe at least a little confidence into the notion that Microsoft has done something right with their new platform.
Are you a Mac or a PC? The two Silicone Valley giants have been trading punches for years in the home computing arena, and have carried that fight into the cellular world. As it stands right now, Apple is the undisputed king of the ring right now. But unlike a mano a mano prizefight (home computers), the cellular marketplace might as well be a battle royal.
In addition to Apple’s iPhone and the iOS it runs on, there is the Android Army, Nokia’s ill fated Symbian OS and coming soon to a wireless store near you, Windows phone7. This is hardly Windows’ first foray into the battle; however, the new Windows 7 is supposedly getting a massive upgrade and has lured some of the biggest names in the cell world to their operating system.
Samsung recently announced that they will be releasing several Windows phone 7 phones before the holiday shopping season and the HTC Mondrian has been causing quite a buzz. These phones definitely aren’t going to be for dorky Poindexters in poorly tailored brown suits and coke bottle glasses. It will no doubt be a serious uphill climb for Microsoft to make a genuine impact in what would otherwise seem like a saturated cell phone market. But Bill Gates isn’t one to walk away from a challenge. Only time will tell if the Windows phone 7 will capture the hearts of Americans everywhere. At least they have us curious. It’s a start.
Well Nokia promised a Q3 release date for their new N8, and in the spirit of procrastinators everywhere, waited until the very last possible day to live up to that promise. The N8 shipped out today and looks pretty nice if we do say so ourselves. The N8 is one of two phones that the Finnish giant plans on releasing that are supposed to breathe life into the company’s beleaguered Smartphone division. We ourselves blogged about the recent shake up at the top at Nokia just a couple weeks ago, and wondered if the cell phone manufacturer had fallen too far behind in the Smartphone race to be a major player again.
The N8 certainly doesn’t disappoint in the looks department. If features a full QWERTY keyboard (wonder if Dvorak will make a comeback someday), a 3.2 inch display, a mind boggling 12 megapixel camera that puts the Galaxy S series cameras to shame, and turn my turn navigation. As far as cell phone accessories, this bad boy comes with the standard wall charger, earphones and data cable. If you’re not a fan of the light blue metallic sheen, you’re going to need to get your own cell phone faceplate.
Nokia has taken a bigger beating by the Android revolution lately than Rocky took from that guy who played the bad guy in Universal Soldier 1. If this is their attempt to shake off a potential TKO, we have to say we like their chances. We just wonder if it’s too late for them to catch up to the other major players that have passed them by the past couple of years.
In an effort to not get caught with their pants down as the world evolves to a Smartphone universe, the US Army is testing out a new program where it will give several hundred new recruits iPhones and Android devices upon enlistment. The Army also will pay the monthly service plans. The theory is that new recruits will perform better in basic training if they can download training manuals and read them on their Smartphones in their down time.
We’re not so sure if the Army will be providing cell phone accessories like the gadget guard, which boasts military grade materials, to protect the devices, or if there will be special Army issued camouflage iPhone cases handed out with the phones. What we do know is that several apps have already been approved for the program. Amongst them is a physical training tool, a mood tracker, and a specialized mapping tool.
While all this is well and good, there is the potential for a downside. Imagine a battalion Tweeting about a raid that just happened, or the embarrassment of streaming video appearing of two pilots flying their helicopters into Lake Tahoe. What’s that? Oh, that’s already happened. Well then it’s all good. In all seriousness though, the potential for hackers to target US army personnel via the GPS that many Smartphones are equipped with. In any event, it will be interesting to see how the program works out.
Have you ever been out on the town and after snapping a few hundred pictures of your night out your memory card suddenly filled up? I know! It’s infuriating that you won’t be able to take a picture of the Taco Bell drive through guy handing you your change for the 87 soft tacos and one order of cinnamon crisps you just bought. Well fear not. AT&T is going to start selling 32 gigabyte memory cards at their retail locations for $139.99.
AT&T will also be selling a 16 gig card; however, a 16 GB memory card isn’t really anything new. But 32 gigs is a bit staggering when you start to look at the numbers. Assuming you have a fancy new Smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera like the Samsung Vibrant, you can take 1,831 pictures without filling up your memory card. If you are a music buff, you can store close to 5000 songs, which is just enough to hold the entire Barry Manilow catalogue. Or you could store 16 hours of video. That means you can finally shoot that scene for scene recreations of the Ten Commandments and still have room for all three Twilight movies. The one thing it can’t do is help you decide if you are on team Edward or team Jacob – but who can honestly make that choice?
It’s crazy to think what phones are capable of these days, so it’s no real surprise that the cell phone accessories are expected to keep pace. The funny thing is, what we joke around about today as being excessive will be the same thing we’ll be wondering how we did without it a year from now.
Hey there Star Wars geeks, err, enthusiasts. Verizon has announced an R2D2 version of the Droid. In addition to co piloting your X-Wing fighter against the Deathstar, this phone comes equipped with all the bells and whistles typically found on the Droid 2, except is has a pretty killer paint job to boot. So if you named your first born Anakin or you have a killer video of you using a lightsaber on YouTube, then this is the Droid you are looking for.
It really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the little guy that invented Droid 2 accessories now has a phone modeled after him that does just about everything a user could ask for. Apparently these little guys have already started to land at Verizon stores around the country, although they won’t be available for resale until September 30th. That would be this Thursday for those not sitting next to a calendar.
With Motorola’s clever play on the Droid theme is got us thinking about what other clever spinoffs we could see in the future. The HTC Incredible Hulk perhaps? Aside from being green it could be made from some top secret government material that makes it impervious to harm. That might be a bit of a stretch, but until then at least they make cell phone accessories that do pretty much the same thing.
When Irma Thomas sang that soulful ballad “Time is on My side” she clearly wasn’t referring to HTC. The up and coming player in the cell phone hand set wars is getting set to release a Windows Phone 7, however HTC’s top dog, Peter Chou, has said there simply isn’t enough time to load HTC Sense onto the new handsets.
Considering the popularity of HTC’s user interface has been, it comes as a bit of a surprise that their first Windows Phone 7 won’t have it. Chou did say that they would develop a Windows Phone 7 interface “over time,” but that still will leave a lot of potential customers begging.
Still, the new HTC covers everything you could possibly want a Smartphone to do. Unfortunately, based on the photos that have been leaked, it isn’t going to look at that different from several other phones already on the market. But that isn’t anything that a few well placed cell phone accessories can’t fix.
Just how long it takes for HTC to develop a Sense like user interface for Windows Phone 7 remains to be seen. One can’t help but get a feeling that HTC rushed this one out of the factory a bit too quickly, but until anybody actually get a chance to test drive one of these babies, we won’t know for sure. It’s just too bad that HTC can’t pull a Huey Lewis and “Go Back in Time” to put everything into this new phone that its customers have come to expect.
OK, so maybe these particular iPhone accessories aren’t going to stop an evil genius from destroying the world, but their pretty freaking cool none the less. Imagine this scenario. You’re heading out for a night on the town wearing your favorite zebra print spandex pants. You look great – as always – but you only have one pocket and it isn’t big enough for your wallet and your phone. Now there is an iPhone case designed with a credit card slot, so you can leave your wallet at home and just slide your ID and credit card into your phone and your all set.
But what’s that you say? You aren’t much of a party person and are more studious. Well here is an all too common scenario to think about. You wake up from a coma two hours before your paper on the Shake Weight for your Kinesiology class is due. You haven’t even started it (because you were in a coma) and all you have is your iPhone. It will take you too long to try and type your paper out on your phone’s screen. And then you remember. You have just recently purchased a case for your iPhone that has a full QWERTY keyboard attached. The day is saved.
There are all kinds of cell phone accessories out there for just about any phone you can imagine. These two for the iPhone won’t instantly upgrade you to international superspy status, but they’ll definitely turn some heads.
Word on the street is that Motorola’s Droid 2 is set to get a major upgrade. Don’t worry those of you who have already decked your phone out with all sorts of cell phone accessories, our sources say that they upgrades are internal, not external, so that hot pink Droid 2 leather case you’re rocking on your belt will still fit the new phone.
The primary difference is that the new Droid 2 is going to be a global phone, and its processor is about 20% faster than that of the original Droid 2. It was actually a pretty big day for the Droid line of phones today. The Android 2.2, more commonly known as Froyo (short for frozen yogurt), update for the Droid X officially became available today.
Amongst the new features, Froyo comes with Adobe Flash Player 10.1, automatic app updated, a magic unicorn, enhanced browser performance, and a ray gun. We can’t actually get confirmation on two of those features, although we’ve decided to let you guess which to features those are.
While the iPhone remains the king in terms of total units sold, Android based phones have been closing the gap at a rapid pace, and the Motorola Droid 2 and Droid X amongst the leaders of the chase pack. With both phones generating buzz on the blogosphere this week, clearly Motorola intends to hold onto its status as one of the top dogs in the Android chase.
So it’s a cheesy attempt at ripping off Billy Shakespeare, but things really are taking an unusual turn for the worse at Finnish based cellular manufacturer Nokia lately. Not so long ago Nokia announced that it would be launching two new Smartphones in an attempt to keep pace with other industry leaders like Apple, Motorola and HTC.
Apparently that wasn’t enough to preserve the job of current CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (current for the next 7 days). Kallasvuo will be replaced by Microsoft’s business division leader, Stephen Elop, next Monday. If Kallasvuo was old King Hamlet, and Elop is Uncle Claudius, then Anssi Vanjoki would be Prince Hamlet.
Vanjoki was recently promoted to head the Smartphone division of Nokia in order to help the flailing company gain some ground on the competition. Vanjoki has had second thoughts, and today announced that he has handed in his resignation. Even though Vanjoki has pledged to stay on for six more months, given the timing of the announcement, this can’t be a coincidence.
How the company reacts over the course of the next six months will go a long way in determining if the once King of the cellular world can triumphantly transition into the next generation of Smartphones or if the Scandinavians experience a Shakespearean like tragedy of their own to try and clean up.
There was a time when Finnish manufacturer Nokia dominated the cellular world. They all but invented the concept of cell phone accessories when the 6100 series of phones came out with detachable faceplates. But just as LL Cool J once dominated the hip hop charts, times have changed, and in order to stay relevant, adaptation and evolution is a must.
These days, you’re more likely to see Cool James or Ice-T solving crimes on prime time television than you are to see them in a studio laying down tracks. They’ve managed to stay relevant by growing and adapting. Unfortunately for Nokia, in recent years, they have fallen off the pace, conceding their once lofty position in the cellular marketplace to manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. The Finnish giants still lead the way in terms of total production, but have failed to garner much attention lately, losing out to both Apple’s iPhone and the Android powered phones like the Galaxy S series of phones like the Samsung Epic recently release for Sprint.
Bigger isn’t always better, and Nokia grabbed this week to let the world (and their investors) know that they haven’t been knocked out. In fact, Nokia is coming out of the corner swinging, and is hoping to land a few punches with two new lines of Smartphones. While it remains to be seen if this heavyweight is packing any real bite, they have definitely gotten people’s attention.
The company plans to officially unveil its E7 line of phones later this week, complete with a huge touch screen and a full keyboard. While the E7 will be the jab that lays the foundation, the right hook appears to be the N8 line of phones. The Nokia N8 will be the first phone to run on Nokia’s Symbian 3 software, designed to rival the iPhone and Android operating systems. It’s a long time coming too. Still, the N8 line of phones will be a photo and video dynamo, featuring a staggering 12.0 megapixel camera.
Of course, we here at Wireless Emporium are keeping a close eye on Nokia as well. Since phones have been come an integral part in consumers lives, we’ve tried our best to meet the demand to keep those phones protected and personalized. Nokia has been around for years, but this announcement certainly suggests a comeback. Although I’m sure they would like to think of it as an evolution.
The Samsung Galaxy S series of phones will be adding a third member to its family tomorrow, Aug. 31st. Sprint is set to launch the Samsung Epic 4G and pre-order sales have been through the roof. There has been quite a bit of buzz around the internet for this phone and for good reason. The Epic 4G runs on the Google Android network and features a slide out QWERTY keyboard, a 4.0 inch AMOLED touch screen display, and can turn into a mobile hot spot for up to 5 Wi-Fi devices. Like the other phones in the Galaxy S series, the Epic 4G will feature the ‘Social Hub” feature, allowing easy access to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The phone also features a 5.0 megapixel camera, so get your data cables ready to upload photos to your computer so you can print out hi-res photos to share with family and friends. An extensive review of the Epic 4G is available here at CNET.com.
We here at Wireless Emporium already have a large selection of headsets and chargers for the Epic 4G, and we’ll have our usual wide variety of faceplates and cases available to you all shortly, all at discounted prices. The Epic 4G joins the Captivate (AT&T) and the Vibrant (T-Mobile). Verizon users will have to wait a little longer for their Samsung Galaxy S series phone, dubbed the Fascinate, set to be released on September 9th.
What features on this phone have you guys most excited? Find us on Facebook and Twitter and let us know.
Wireless Emporium, Inc. (www.WirelessEmporium.com), a leading online retailer of cell phone accessories and unlocked cell phones, has once again been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in America by being named to the Inc. 5000 list for an outstanding third consecutive year. This year, Wireless Emporium was ranked #1818, with a three year growth rate of 151%. The company is one of the elite few who have been featured on this list multiple times and enjoys the distinction of continuing its growth in spite of the economic climate.
Many of the other companies who share this achievement have moved on to become national icons, and Wireless Emporium is poised to follow in their footsteps. Tony Lee, Co-Founder reflects on the growing success: 'We are extremely proud to be recognized in the Inc. 5000 for a 3rd consecutive year. This accomplishment, in lieu of the challenging retail environment, is a testament to the loyalty of our customers and the efforts of our dedicated team whose commitment to providing world-class service has enabled us to sustain this growth - this is only the beginning of our growth story.'
Cell phone accessories, a burgeoning market valued worldwide at over $3 billion growing over 15% annually continue to be in demand as competition from smartphone manufacturers such as Apple, BlackBerry, HTC, Motorola and more engage in an endless battle for market share. Niche retailers such as Wireless Emporium are positioned uniquely to benefit from consumer demand for newer phones with better features and functionality. 'As long as new phones continue to flood the marketplace we'll continue to provide the best in cell phone accessories at a tremendous value to our customers,' says Eugene Ku, Co-Founder. 'When customers buy or upgrade to one of the hot new phones, we're able to provide better accessories like cell phone covers at substantially reduced pricing than what they'll be sold on the spot by their carrier store or big-box retailer backed by service and extended warranties never included from these traditional sources.'
Have you ever been in the middle of a great workout or on that final mile and feel the need to change the song on Pandora or adjust the volume? It sometimes seems like pulling teeth to either pull your iPod off your arm or take it out of your pocket just to make a minor adjustment. Never again do you have to worry about that if you have an iPod or an iPhone.
Timex has just announced the new Iron Man iControl. This watch features a 50 lap memory recall chronograph, Indiglo back lighting, many choices of alarms and timers. Sounds like your standard fitness or sports enthusiasts' watch right? Why do they call it an iControl? This watch can control your standard music controls for an iPod or an iPhone (airplane mode). Listening to music is made even easier now that the volume can be adjusted up or down, Play, Pause, and Track Forward/Reverse. This is accomplished just by attaching a receiver device to your Apple product's charger port. This watch is made available in many colors and retails for only $125.00.
Apple seems to be doing a great job of thinking outside the box. This fruit company doesn't limit their products to their basic function but seems to somehow incorporate features that seem not need but yet handy. This has far stretched beyond a designer faceplates or cell phone leather cases. Apple has made a staple accessory to man its own accessory.
It isn't a matter of 'if,' it's a matter of 'when.' If you bring your iPhone with you everywhere you go, you really ought to be investing in some protective gear for it. Not all protection is the same. We'll walk you through some of the options of various cell phone accessories for the iPhone so you can make the right choice to keep your most valuable tool safe.
Cover your corners.
Don't get iPhone cases unless they have extra padding and protection on the corners. Why is this important? The majority of drop tests show that most iPhones end up landing on a corner when dropped. With the extra corner protection, your iPhone is likely to last a lot longer.
Protect the screen.
Unlike the new iPad, the iPhone 3G's screen isn't nearly as scratch resistant. You'll want to get a thin film to put over it. That way, when your iPhone brushes up against your car keys or whatever else is lurking inside your pockets, it won't get all scratched up. These iPhone covers may not help you keep your iPhone in perfect condition, but they will definitely help.
Get a hard case.
Sure, you can get an iphone leather case , but it won't do a thing to absorb some of the shock heading its way when you drop your iPhone on concrete. When the iPhone impacts the ground, hard cases help preserve it much better than their softer cousins. Don't take any chances. Give yourself a better shot at keeping your iPhone protected for that fatal, yet inevitable, mistake.
The iPhone is built to last and take the abuse of being in your pocket. It's a great device on its own, but you can get much more use out of it when you follow these simple rules. Good luck and keep on doing the most with the world's favorite portable phone!
These two mobile devices are both taking their place at the top of the food chain on the Verizon and T-mobile networks. The Google Nexus One and the HTC Droid incredible both have similar hardware, running the 1GHZ Snapdragon processor with the exact same amount of RAM and 480 by 800 pixel screen. They would almost be the same phone if it weren’t for the different networks, cameras, and user interfaces available on them.
The Google Nexus One uses a non-modified version of the Android Operating System while the Droid Incredible adds a few extra features. This has trade offs. If you want a very long cell battery life, the Google Nexus One is your best option with 8 hours of talk time. Its user interface is a little more stripped down than what is available on the Droid Incredible, but it will last much longer on a single charge. Having said that, the Droid incredible has an impressive user interface that is very fun to use and a little more convenient, but you will only get 6 hours of talk time.
Some people might base their decision on the camera. If you want the best camera, go with the Droid Incredible. Its camera has an 8 megapixel sensor with two LED flashes. You can compare this with the Google Nexus One’s 5 megapixel sensor with a single LED flash. While some people like the Nexus One’s photos application better than the Droid’s, you will get quality with the Droid.
Overall, more people liked interacting with and using the Droid Incredible. The user interface, optical trackball, and better camera all combine to create a worthwhile smartphone experience. The only downside is the relatively low battery life, at least in comparison to the Droid. Of course, it all depends on what you are looking for. We just provide the breakdown.
April 29, 2010 marked the launch of HTC's much-anticipated Droid Incredible for Verizon. Critics, fanboys, and early adopters all agree that the Droid Incredible is the best Android phone on the market.
What better way to protect your beloved phone than with quality accessories? Easy-- with super-affordableHTC Droid Incredible accessories. Get car chargers, data cables, and cases for up to 40% off our all ready low prices. Start shopping now--this deal won't last long!
We've all seen the ads. Every carrier and their mother insist's that in some way, their network, coverage and speed rates are better than anyone else's. Personally, we're tired of the vague statements these shiny new commercials keep telling us with their unclear coverage maps dotted with vagaries.
AT&T's Smart Wi-Fi is a breath of fresh air for those who have a distaste for carrier-provided apps. Available for free on the Android Market, Smart Wi-Fi allows you to locate and connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots not easily found by standard wireless searching apps. The app allows you to manage Wi-Fi connections often used and even allows your phone to switch to Wi-Fi automatically to save cellular data usage (and some change on your phone bill).
Analysts at Citigroup 
Does everyone remember the era of the SUV? Big, bold and beefy, these triple-B machines were masters of the road, taking over precious interstate space, and blocking the view of punier cars left and right. 
Not too long ago, every phone seemed to have its own basic, nameless OS. Simple in design, our phones managed to do little more than call, text and play that occasional puzzle game.
New cell phones are coming out at breakneck speeds. To clarify, new 
