Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones, cell phones

fring Adds VoIP to iPhone

October 4, 2008

fring for iPhone has arrived! I'm a huge fan of fring, which I like to call the Swiss Army knife of VoIP/IM communications since fring works with AOL/AIM, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo! Messenger, and SIP registrars/IP-PBXs. I've used fring on my Windows Mobile 6.1 phone to connect to an Asterisk-based IP-PBX using SIP which enabled me to remotely make and receive calls. fring is a currently a free pre-release app free on iTunes.

VoIP using fring is of course restricted to WiFi connections - it won't work over 3G, but still cool nonetheless. Further, according to the apps description in iTunes you can IM over 3G, GPRS, EDGE, or WiFi, so you can use fring as your centralized IM application on your iPhone.

Features:
• VoIP (Voice) Calls over WiFi
• Instant Messaging
• Integrated dynamic contact list  with real-time contact availability
• SIP integration
• Multiple Connection types

Download fring (free app) for iPhone here.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones, SIP, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP

Nokia Unveils Its First Music Phone -- 5800 XpressMusic

October 3, 2008

Turning up the volume on what could be a music phone war, Nokia has unveiled the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, a mobile device for music that brings innovative new features to the mass market.

Delivering on Nokia's vision to provide the best total music experience possible, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music, Nokia's service that offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalog.

When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience -- with more memory, loud and powerful speakers, easy synchronization -- and must still work well as a mobile phone with direct access to important contacts and content. That's what the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is supposed to do.

Taking advantage of touch screen technology, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic introduces the "Media Bar," a handy drop-down menu that provides direct access to music and entertainment, including favorite tracks, videos and photos. The Media Bar also offers a direct link to the web and to online sharing.

Posted in Mobile Phones

Now the iPhone Is a Political Tool ...

October 2, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign launched an iPhone application today that turns the gadget into a political recruiting tool.

The most notable feature "organizes and prioritizes your contacts by key battleground states, making it easy to reach out and make an impact quickly," according to the software.

For example, if you have contacts in Colorado, Michigan, and New Mexico, they would be ranked at the top; at the bottom would be someone with a cell phone in Texas.

The application anonymously reports back the number of calls made this way: "Your privacy is important: no personal data or contacts will be uploaded or stored. Only the total number of calls you make is uploaded anonymously."

More at Cnet.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

An Unlocked iPhone 3G in HK?

September 29, 2008

Unlocked iPhone 3Gs are now on sale in Hong Kong direct from the company web site, according to a published report.

Until now, Hong Kong iPhones could only be bought from Hutchison Telecommunications on a two-year contract, the cheapest package being a staggering $188 a month.

Now Apple's local website is offering the 8 gigabyte version of its unlocked phone for $695 and the 16 gigabyte one for $798, letting buyers choose their own GSM service provider.

The shape of things to come?

Get more here.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

Cell Phones: More Tapping Than Talking Now

September 29, 2008

For the first time in recorded history, we used our cell phones more for sending text messages than making phone calls! (Knew that day would come ...)

In the fourth quarter of 2007, the average subscriber's volume of text messages shot upward by 64%, while the average number of calls dropped slightly, according to Nielsen Mobile.

Not surprisingly, users with QWERTY-style keypads sent 54% more text messages than those with ordinary keypads.

Teenagers 13 to 17 are by far the most prolific texters, sending or receiving 1,742 messages a month, according to Nielsen Mobile. By contrast, 18-to-24-year-olds average 790 messages.

Thanks (as always) to the New York Times for filling my day with news.

Fingers by Anders Bergstrom; check out it here.

Posted in Mobile Phones

How about a 9-Megapixel Camera Phone?

September 26, 2008

German-based Digital Imaging Systems (DIS) has introduced a camera module for cell phones that for the first time includes 9-megapixel technology.

(Remember when 1 MP was a lot?)

The module delivers image data with a max resolution of 3488 x 2616 pixels through either a parallel interface or optional MIPI interface. Full production is scheduled to begin later in the year.

The unit also contains an array of advanced photographic features, according to the DIS. These include auto-focus, high quality lenses, mechanical shutter and ND-filter with integrated actuators and an easy-to- access platform software, enabling high-end digital still camera quality in mobile phones.

The announcement was made at Photokina, the huge European trade show.

More at Cellular-news.

Posted in Digital Cameras, Mobile Phones

Cell Phones Will Take over GPS Market

September 26, 2008

Cell phones will replace the personal navigation device (PND) as the primary GPS device by 2011, according to the research firm iSuppli.

The firm predicted that cell phones will then account for 36% of the GPS market, compared with 30% for PNDs, which today account for 50% of global navigational units sold.

The report also predicted that price drops among PNDs will lead to smaller manufacturers selling out to larger hardware companies over the next year or two. (Doesn't this happen in every gadget category?)

Reminds me how cell phones were going to replace digital cameras -- don't believe that has happened yet. But maybe GPS is a more easily stormed market ...

More at TWICE.

Posted in GPS, Mobile Phones

Motorola Femtocell Picture Frame Combines VoIP, Video, Bluetooth, Touchscreen and more

September 26, 2008

Check out this cool new converged prototype device from Motorola that combines a picture frame with touch-screen, video camera, Bluetooth headset, VoIP, femtocell, and video streaming. A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in residential or small business environments that allows you to use your mobile phone in your home connecting to your femtocell access point.

Femtocells essentially are an alternative way to deliver the benefits of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) without the need for a dual-mode handset. In the Youtube demo video below demoed by Motorola representative Harsha Hegde, you can clearly see they're using the popular Counterpath Xten SIP-based softphone - also shown in the screen grab above. Motorola also demonstrates a femtocell mobile-to-mobile VoIP call, which is pretty cool.

Posted in Gadgets, Home Entertainment, Mobile Phones, TMCnet, Video Conferencing, Video Hardware & Software, VoIP

NuTsie Streaming iTunes to Your Phone

September 25, 2008

Regional mobile carrier Alltel has launched NuTsie, a service that allows users of almost a dozen of the company's handsets to stream certain titles from their PC's iTunes collection to their cell phones.

This makes the operator the first U.S. carrier to offer such a service, which will cost $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year.

To stream the protected and unprotected songs in a user's iTunes library, NuTsie does not actually place-shift songs from a user's PC. Instead, the service matches the songs in a user's library to the licensed songs stored in NuTsie servers, then streams only the songs in its server.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

Landlines Going the Way of the Buggy Whip ...

September 24, 2008

According to a report released last week by Nielsen, nearly one in five American households will not have a home phone line by the end of the year.

To many, I have a feeling that this is a surprising finding, but it shouldn't be.

Landline home telephones are quickly becoming an unnecessary expense. What can one do on a landline phone that they can't do with their cell phone?

It's a little bit like that essential tool of the horse-drawn carriage age -- the buggy whip. It used to be a big business, but don't think you will find too many of them today.

Now what is going to happen to all of those telephone poles and wires some day when everything goes wireless?

Posted in Mobile Phones

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