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Tom Keating
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Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones, cell phones

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.









Jaybird Does Bluetooth (Headsets/Headphones) Nice

August 13, 2008

LG: #2 in Mobile and Trying Harder

August 12, 2008

The Apple Is Never Dull ...

August 11, 2008

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.




















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.

How much data does fring consume?

August 5, 2008

Apple Stays Exclusive with AT&T -- Boo!

August 1, 2008

According to USA Today, AT&T and Apple have agreed to extend their exclusivity relationship through 2009, meaning the next iPhone will be made specifically for AT&T service.

The report claims that Apple originally signed the deal with AT&T through 2008 and next year would start selling iPhones on other carrier services. But after AT&T offered a $300 subsidy on each iPhone instead of the revenue-sharing model that became such a hot issue last year, Apple decided it was in its best interests to stay on with AT&T for one more year and take the subsidy.

Undoubtedly some will say that AT&T may have made the best deal in quite some time and I tend to agree. But still others will say that Apple did the right thing in taking the money and although it's forced to sign up for another year with AT&T, it's still the right move.

Those people are dead wrong. 

And The Digital Home got that right -- read on!







Dynolicious for your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch - Coolest Apple App ever!

July 31, 2008

Dynolicious utilizes the accelerometer built in to your iPhone or iPod Touch to sense the motion of your vehicle to calculate performance statistics including 0-60 acceleration, 1/4 Mile Elapsed Time, Lateral G's, and Horsepower. Is this not the coolest Apple App ever? I would have headed over to the Apple App Store to buy this app pronto, except I no longer drive a high-performance Dodge Viper - I now drive a pokey Volvo.

Here's a photo of my beloved 2001 Dodge Viper at a Cape Cod motel before it was totalled by a 24-year old pharmacist one month after I sold it to him.

Early Termination Fees Going Bye-Bye?

July 29, 2008

Hey, hey, hey ... Sprint Nextel was dealt a major blow in its early-termination-fee case when a California judge ruled it would have to pay $73 million. Bad news for Sprint ...

... but good news for us!

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