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- Motorola BACKFLIP first Android phone for AT&T, coming March 7
- Video: Opera Mobile running on the Nexus One
- Out with the old, in with the new: Windows Mobile 6.5 gets a name change
- Cellphones will be able play intense 3D games and 1080p video.. at the same time.
- Puma Phone by Sagem given some hands-on treatment
- Android has been graced with a new eBay application
- Afilias buys ".mobi" domain, but will it help?
- Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 clears for landing at AT&T
- Opera says Opera Mini for iPhone "100% compliant" with App Store policies (video)
- SK Telecom stuffs Android, CPU, and memory into a SIM card
- Firefox Mobile for Android launching "late this year"
- NEC chip helps make cell phone displays viewable outdoors, saves power
- Snapback automatically reconnects calls when your BlackBerry takes a dive
| Motorola BACKFLIP first Android phone for AT&T, coming March 7 Posted: 18 Feb 2010 04:15 AM PST
AT&T and Motorola this morning confirmed earlier rumors that the BACKFLIP with MOTOBLUR will be available in online and in AT&T stores across the nation, beginning March 7. This is the first Android handset for the carrier. More information, pictures etc. are available here. Also check out our hands-on review of the phone. Full press release:
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| Video: Opera Mobile running on the Nexus One Posted: 18 Feb 2010 03:04 AM PST We had a brief chat with Opera Software product analyst Phillip Grønvold here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday. We had a conversation about the company's plans to submit an Opera Mini iPhone app up for App Store approval, of which we posted the video interview yesterday. Another thing we touched upon was the recently announced plans to provide handset manufacturers with a toolkit to get the company's Opera Mobile product preloaded on Android devices. Grønvold demoed the app running on Google's Nexus One phone, and we recorded the video of the app in action, embedded above. Note: again, this isn't a consumer product, but an OEM offering. Opera Software says it works closely with many manufacturers around the world and hopes to get Android handsets with Opera Mobile pre-installed into the hands of consumers by the end of this year. The company also points out you can download its lightweight mobile browser, Opera Mini, from Android Market today (we also know Opera is working on getting Opera Mini 5 in the store 'soon').
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| Out with the old, in with the new: Windows Mobile 6.5 gets a name change Posted: 17 Feb 2010 05:04 PM PST
If you thought that Windows Mobile 6 would fade into oblivion because Windows Phone 7 is coming soon, think again. Not only will the OS stick around for a while longer, but it's getting a name change, too: Windows Phone Classic. Of course, we all knew this was going to happen, so no surprises here, right? Smart move by Microsoft here in letting go of the name that brings antiquity and cumbersome to mind. However, Windows Mobile 6.5 Windows Phone Classic will take a back seat to Windows Phone 7, which we'll refer to henceforth as WinPho 7, and will only be available to the developing world and big businesses. The move also helps to keep Windows Mobile applications around since they are incompatible with WinPho 7. So, we bid adieu to Windows Mobile. It was somewhat nice while the OS was in the mainstream, but we're moving on to bigger and better things.
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| Cellphones will be able play intense 3D games and 1080p video.. at the same time. Posted: 17 Feb 2010 04:30 PM PST
The Armada 618 chipset will be part of the next generation of smart phones, and reportedly be available to developers later this year. The current version is capable of running up to four 2000×2000 displays at a time, and the 3D engine can render up 45 million triangles per second. This is moving into the realm of full size computing output, while still maintaining a small amount of power usage. Ultimately, we might see this technology in netbooks as well since it's certainly more capable then the current Intel Atom chipset that is so prevalent.
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| Puma Phone by Sagem given some hands-on treatment Posted: 17 Feb 2010 04:28 PM PST
When I first saw shots of the new Puma phone, I was a little skeptical. It looked decent enough, but the whole solar charging thing made it seem a little gimmicky. After seeing the following video from Mobile World Congress, however, it's beginning to look more like a smartphone I'd actually use. The Puma phone's screen isn't the biggest at just 2.8 inches with a 240 x 320 resolution, but the video shows that it's quite vivid and pretty responsive. It comes with all the bells and whistles you've come to expect from a modern smartphone: 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS, compass and it even has a pedometer. With all the slick UI tricks and the clean looking interface, maybe the nicest thing about this phone is the solar charger in back. Sure, I admitted it's a bit of a gimmick, but it beats having a dead phone by the time my lunch starts to make me sleepy. With most cool new phones, the Puma phone will be hitting European carriers first in early April. Puma says the phone will be subsidized by carriers, but right now the price is somewhere around €400 and no word on when it comes to the U.S. |
| Android has been graced with a new eBay application Posted: 17 Feb 2010 01:39 PM PST
The new eBay app for Android could make shopping, paying and selling through the online auction site a breeze. With eBay for Android, you can check the status of your auctions, navigate with voice commands, check status updates and view or leave feedback while on the go. It also gives bid notifications so you can keep track of items when the clock starts ticking and an auction is about to end. Of course, all of these options are something you would come to expect from the official version of the application. Already huge in mobile commerce, eBay has been huge in 2009 with $600 million in gross merchandise volume, a 200% increase over 2008. This number is sure to grow larger in 2010 with the new mobile application along with over 60,000 Android units moving per day. If you're a power eBay user or just an occasional bidder/seller and you're looking to pick up an Android handset (if you don't already have one), you might want to take a look at the official eBay app, which is available now. If eBay gets this app just right, it could be a decent option over having to dig through your browser every time you want to get into your eBay account. Here are some screens; click to embiggen.
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| Afilias buys ".mobi" domain, but will it help? Posted: 17 Feb 2010 01:11 PM PST
That's what we thought. And that might change. In 2005, the .mobi top-level domain was introduced in an effort to improve the mobile web browsing experience by creating a subset of websites specifically meant for mobile access. It was certainly an interesting idea, and it was backed by a laundry list of industry notables, including Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, and T-Mobile just to name a few. Looking back on it now though, as we can all see, the whole concept was patently ridiculous. Instead of segregating the internet into mobile and non-mobile friendly areas, mobile browsing has shifted in a way that promotes better browsers that can view regular websites with aplomb. Given the way the industry is moving, it's not a terrible surprise to hear that the .mobi was recently sold off to an Irish registrar. Afilias, who already owns the .info TLD, will be earning an "undisclosed annual fee" for each of the .mobi sites registered, so there's a vested interest in keeping them alive and kicking. According to their press release, "Afilias' strategic domain expertise combined with mobile industry support will be a powerful accelerant for .mobi growth", so we could potentially be looking at a .mobi comeback, but we're not counting on it. |
| Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 clears for landing at AT&T Posted: 17 Feb 2010 11:42 AM PST
When the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 was announced in November, my major concern was whether it was coming to the U.S., when it was coming and if it would be subsidized by a carrier. The good news is that it looks like the X10 will be hitting AT&T's shores this Spring. The Boy Genius, whom I trust, has it on very good authority that the device will definitely be carried by AT&T, and that it will arrive some time in April or May. As far as pricing, it looks like $199 or less is what BGR is hearing and that sounds reasonable if Sony Ericsson wants a fighting chance against devices like the iPhone.
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| Opera says Opera Mini for iPhone "100% compliant" with App Store policies (video) Posted: 17 Feb 2010 11:25 AM PST We had a brief chat with Opera Software product analyst Phillip Grønvold here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday. We inquired about the company's plans to submit an Opera Mini application for the iPhone / iPod touch in the near future, and also got a hands-on demo of the app in action. Unfortunately, Grønvold was unwilling to demo the app on video, but take our word for it: the browser really is very, very fast. Grønvold also declined to provide an ETA for the submission of the app to the App Store, but said it is very close to completion so it shouldn't take too long. A lot of people are – justifiably – skeptical about the chances of Opera Mini for iPhone actually making it to the App Store, but we can tell from our conversations with the people from Opera that this isn't a publicity stunt, and that the company went to great lengths to ensure that they fully comply with Apple's strict policies. It'll be interesting to see when Opera sees the app fit enough to be shown off publicly, and when it will be submitting the app. Once it does, the ball will be in Apple's court, and a lot of people will be watching over its shoulders. Do you think you'll ever be able to download Opera Mini for iPhone from the App Store, or is there no chance in hell?
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| SK Telecom stuffs Android, CPU, and memory into a SIM card Posted: 17 Feb 2010 09:38 AM PST
Think about the size of an SD card. What things could you design in that amount of space? I think I might be able to build a stick figure out of tooth picks in a space that size. It probably wouldn't even be very good. Perhaps just to show that they can (or perhaps because they just have extra money to throw around after getting rid of Helio) SK Telecom has gone and stuffed Android and just about everything needed to run it down into a SIM card.
SK's Android SIM packs a CPU, system memory, and 1 gigabyte of flash storage inside – in other words, it's more or less everything but the display and input device. Now, what exactly does that mean to you and I? Not a whole lot, at this point. It's just a prototype for now, and they don't have any immediate plans to bring it to the market. If they do bring it to the market, however, it could work out to some pretty cool stuff; you could pop your SIM from one device to another (like from your phone to a tablet, or a netbook for example) and bring everything from the OS, to the settings, to all of your files with it. Of course, there are about a dozen ways to do that without stuffing everything onto the SIM (like syncing everything to the cloud, for example), which is presumably a big part of the reason why this is solely conceptual. SK Telecom is considering making themed versions of the chips (such as Android installs pre-loaded with wallpapers and media for sports teams) which carriers could sell to the consumers in place of pre-flashed handsets.
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| Firefox Mobile for Android launching "late this year" Posted: 17 Feb 2010 07:45 AM PST
Are you an Android user? Are you jealous of all nine people who have Nokia N900s and thus can already use Firefox Mobile? Good news! While we've known for some time that Firefox Mobile (otherwise known by its code name, "Fennec") was coming to Android, but we didn't have the slightest idea when. As you could probably assume from the headline of this post, that has since changed. The guys over at TechRadar had a chat with Mozilla's VP of Mobile, Jay Sullivan, who went on the record saying that Firefox for Android should debut "late this year". So why not sooner? According to Jay, they just couldn't do it when Android only supported Java development. Once Google added native C/C++ support back in June, however, the path was clear for development. With Skyfire on the way for Android and Firefox coming within the year, the competition for browser share on the platform should get pretty fierce pretty quickly – and you know what? We're perfectly okay with that.
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| NEC chip helps make cell phone displays viewable outdoors, saves power Posted: 17 Feb 2010 07:38 AM PST  If you've ever got upset about not being able to view what your cell phone screen displays while you are outside your house, NEC's new color-compensation chip is probably good news for you. The chip, which is specifically made for LCDs for mobile phones, helps to make them easier to view in bright outdoor settings. |
| Snapback automatically reconnects calls when your BlackBerry takes a dive Posted: 17 Feb 2010 05:49 AM PST
It's an unavoidable truth of carrying a cell phone in a world full of massive skyscrapers and thick-walled tunnels: Dropped calls happen. It always seem to happen at the worst of times, too. You're driving along with your Bluetooth headset clamped to your head, when bam! Call is gone. You don't want to look away from the road to check if the signal has returned, right? Because next thing you know, your front end would be half way through a highway divider. A company called Movius is looking to make the whole dropped call process a little bit less annoying for BlackBerry users with an application called Snapback.
While Snapback can't miraculously fix your carrier's shortcomings and end dropped calls all together, it will reconnect calls at the first opportune time once they've dropped. Snapback constantly runs in the background, monitoring for call failures – once one occurs, it waits until the signal strength has returned to a strong, steady level, then reconnects your call. And don't worry: It'll beep and throw up an alert window letting you know that it's reconnecting to decrease the odds that you're going to get caught cussing at your phone when the call is reestablished. The app is available in the BlackBerry App World now for $5 bucks. If a bit of convenience is worth a Lincoln to you, you can find Snapback right here.
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Much of what is coming out of the MWC is still in the concept stage and not available yet, but that doesn't make it any less fun. Take for example the latest Armada chipset from Marvell; it's an ARM based graphic processing package that has enough power to handle hi-res 3D gaming, and 1080p video — simultaneously.
There's nothing like finding and getting rid of junk on eBay, especially if you're a gadget hound looking to offload last month's toys for the latest and greatest. While it's entirely possible to manage your eBay account on your phone's browser, a dedicated application would make life so much easier.
Alright kids, it's time for a little game. Raise your hand if you've visited a website with a .com TLD today. Alright, good! Now raise your hand if you've been to a .net site today. Great! Here's the last one: raise your hand if you've been to a .mobi site.
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