Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones, cell phones

Treo 800w: Now Finally We Get Wi-Fi ...

August 25, 2008

The first Treo device with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity is worth a look for companies running a Microsoft back-end infrastructure or for die-hard Treo users. Alas ...

Although the Treo 800w is likely the best Treo smart phone Palm has delivered to date, Palm's late adoption of technology now standard on many competing mobile devices leaves the Treo 800w as a middle-of-the-road option for many casual buyers.

At long last, Palm has added Wi-Fi connectivity to a Treo, as the 800w features an 802.11b/g radio in addition to a new integrated GPS receiver.

Given how astronomically long it has taken Palm to implement Wi-Fi in any of its devices, it is gratifying to see that the company gone the extra mile to improve upon the basic software functionality that comes with Windows Mobile.

Get more at eWeek.

Posted in Mobile Phones, Wireless

Apple's Got a Few Blemishes of Late ...

August 25, 2008

So much good news and now so much bad news.

The Apple rumor mill is churning, but this week it's about software fixes instead of new products. News reports are raising expectations of yet another iPhone software fix next month.

Apparently software update 2.0.2 didn't fix connection problems -- in fact, it created new issues for some iPhone users even as others are wrestling with MobileMe foul-ups that make receiving e-mail on the handset sketchy.

The software fix Apple was reportedly related to a chip inside the iPhone. BusinessWeek reported last week that Apple was working on a remedy through a software upgrade.

But applications are still crashing, crashing, crashing.

Apple has set itself up for failure because it's vetting all of the applications on its App Store to ensure the software doesn't contain any bad code, according to Mike Disabato, a wireless analyst at the Burton Group.

"I've got three applications on my iPhone right now that don't work. Apple killed the Netshare application. Why did that do that?

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

Moto Looks To Get Its Mojo Back

August 21, 2008

Motorola, the world's third-largest handset maker, has just unveiled two new low-end phones on that allow users to listen to songs and surf the Web.

Facing stiff competition from handsets such as Apple's iPhone and the Nokia line, Motorola has said it would launch 50 new devices this year, including advanced phones, trying to come up with a strong follow-up to its once-lauded Razr phone.

One new handset is a music-enabled camera phone -- the W388 -- that sells for under $100.

The second device is a low-end third-generation (3G) mobile phone -- the VE538 -- which goes for less than $250 and offers one-click mobile social networking, photo uploading and blogging at various websites.

The two new products will be shipped to Asia-Pacific markets first -- before being rolled out globally -- by September.

More at Reuters.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones, Wireless

Apple's Battery Problems -- Now with iPods!

August 19, 2008

Remember not all that long ago when just about every computer notebook manufacturer was having problems with batteries -- like catching on fire!

Now we have battery problems with cell phones!

Apple is blaming a problem its problem with overheating iPods in Japan on faulty batteries.

In response to reports that Japan is investigating incidents of iPod nanos getting hot enough to scorch paper placed nearby, Apple acknowledged that "in very rare cases" first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat.

Extremely rare, Apple said it has received reports about less than 0.001% of first-generation iPod nano units acting in this way, and has traced the problem to a single battery supplier. Apple did not name the supplier.

Lots more at Macworld.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

Jaybird Does Bluetooth (Headsets/Headphones) Nice

August 13, 2008

I

I've had the good fortune to give the Jaybird JB-100 Bluetooth Stereo Headset a workout, and it's been a good time.

Now the JB-200 supersedes the groundbreaking JB-100 -- which boldly presented a new design in this field.

The JB-200 offers the same great design, but now with:More control of music, with complete AVRCP Music and Call ControlsImproved fit, with 25% narrower ear-tipSound isolation, with 50% longer sound-isolating ear-tipsGreater comfort, with higher grade, softer silicon ear-tipsEnhanced audio experience, with 25% more volume and improved bass performanceClearer voice reception on phone calls, with relocated & upgraded micMore freedom of movement, with a one-inch longer behind-the-neck cord www.jaybirdgear.com

Posted in Accessories, Mobile Phones

LG: #2 in Mobile and Trying Harder

August 12, 2008

LG Electronics, the South Korean mobile phone manufacturer, has overtaken rival Samsung to take second place in the U.S. handset market behind Motorola in the latest quarter.

The figures, prepared by Strategy Analytics, a Boston-based research firm, underscore the popularity of several touchscreen-based handsets made by LG, including the Vu and Voyager (photo above). Both are sold by Verizon Wireless in competition with Apple's iPhone offered exclusively by AT&T in the U.S.

More at the Financial Times.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

The Apple Is Never Dull ...

August 11, 2008

Never a dull moment in the land of Apple.

(Who said tech is dull?)

Just take a look at just some of the recent news (most of it today, in fact): 3 million iPhones sold in the first month (more here) iPhone 3G issues (more here) Problems with MobileMe (more here) Steve Jobs' health (is there a succession plan or does the company start and end with him?) You know, this is like an Apple headline news digest, but very easy on the system.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

The iPhone Kill Switch -- Something for Austin Powers?

August 8, 2008

Apple's iPhone "kill switch" has prompted much hand-wringing, despite the fact that no one knows exactly what it does. But the thing is, we just don't know.

Until Apple explains why it has included this function, or an application appears on the blacklist and is wiped from someone's phone, it's all just the usual leaping to conclusions on a sleepy Friday in August, as reported on CNET.

An independent iPhone developer and author recently discovered a URL while poking around inside the iPhone 2.0 software that downloads a list of "malicious" applications every so often to the iPhone.
Several outlets quickly seized on this detail as proof that Apple is poised to remotely disable any application running on the iPhone that it finds unpalatable.

Before we get into the ways in which Apple might use the blacklist, let's remember that we don't know a damn thing about how this actually works.

There are several explanations for what Apple might be up to.

If you want to know more, head over to CNET.

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones

JAJAH Babel and JAJAH Concierge Launch

August 7, 2008

JAJAH today launched two brand new JAJAH services called JAJAH Babel and JAJAH Concierge.

JAJAH Babel is a speech-to-speech translation service. Currently, it only translates English-to-Chinese (Mandarin) and Chinese-to-English. Perfect timing for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Summer Games, but I wish JAJAH also launched with English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English. My wife and I hire the Maids Home Services on occasion to help clean up our house and inevitably my wife or I ask them to clean a specific area and they don't understand what we're saying since they only speak Spanish.

Posted in Mobile Phones, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP

How much data does fring consume?

August 5, 2008

Ever wonder how much data fring consumes when making a VoIP call or even when idle? Personally, I really like fring which I like to call "the Swiss army knife of mobile VoIP and IM", since it works with Skype, SIP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, and AIM.

Well, I found the answer to this question on fring's blog which was posted today.

When idle, fring also consumes an additional 10kb per hour of connectivity to communicate with fring's servers. This is needed to get/push presence and other info.

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

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