In Your Pocket
Verizon announced they will be partnering with the Linux Foundation and bringing Linux Mobile phones to their network later this year. Understandably, this is a big deal for the open source OS and a big step forward for Verizon, further cementing their commitment to their Open Network Initiative. LiMo, as the kids are calling it these days, is an operating system based on principles of Linux aimed at providing an easily customizable experience at no cost. And while many people are touting this as a victory for LiMo, I have to wonder if it really matters?
Well, what I mean is that Verizon has pledged to open their network to anyone that meets the standards they've set out. So, assuming your device doesn't cripple their network when you use it, they're pretty much OK with it. On top of that, come 2009 when they take over the C Block of the 700 MHz spectrum, they'll be federally required to allow other devices and services on their network. So, while it is awesome that LiMo is turning out to be the little OS that could, is it really that surprising that the company that is actively trying to change its image of rigidity to an image of openness accepts the OS that is know strictly for its customization? Not really.
Good news for LiMo, for sure, but not really something to write home about. You did it LiMo, you graduated elementary school!
Verizon picks Linux—but not Android—for mobile platform [Ars Technica]
Samsung slides into the PDA-like devices with the Glyde, exclusively for Verizon.
There isn't much about the Glyde that separates it from the rest of the slide-out keyboard smartphones on the market ... except the unique (to me) design of its keyboard. I really, really like that keyboard; it resembles that of an actual computer, with a fat space bar and a lack of extraneous buttons.
Because the Glyde looks so much like the AT&T Tilt (the phone I purchased for myself), I compared the specs to see if I got ripped off.
- Both have 2.8" touch screens
- Tilt: 6oz. Glyde: 4.13oz
- You can talk for 240 minutes on the Tilt and 210 minutes on the Glyde ... though I never trust those specs, as they're nearly always wrong
- Tilt has a 3 megapixel camera with 10x zoom; Glyde has a 2 megapixel camera with "flash and zoom," whatever that means
And a bunch of other crap—check the Glyde out here, and the Tilt out here. They're so close to one another, it really comes down to whether you subscribe to AT&T or Verizon, and whether, like me, you're second-guessing your decision not to buy an iPhone (goddamn it).
In the great white north?
Buy a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Generation iPod?
Did your battery crap out on you just like it did for the rest of us? (*grumble* *grumble* *grumble*)
You're in luck! Apple just settled a class action lawsuit in Canada with all 1st, 2nd and 3rd Generation iPod owners who feel they've been burned by the whole battery issue. Apple is providing a CAN $45 Apple store credit to all affected owners. A similar lawsuit provided US $50 to the same iPod owners a couple of years ago.
Why the discrepancy on the amount (seeing as the Canadian Dollar has parity with the US Dollar as of this writing, thanks Bush!)? Just another example of Canadians getting screwed by exchange rates and some short-changing. Better than nothing, eh?
Go on, get your store credit.
And Apple? Stop using crappy batteries. You're on notice.
iPod Battery Settlement Program [Apple]
[via: MacRumors]
You know, it's really no secret that the 3G iPhone will be out this summer, but sometimes a little more tact in making it official would be nice. A memo was recently passed around to all AT&T store staff members informing them that if they had planned on asking for vacation time anywhere from June 15 to July 15, then that's just too bad, because they'll be needed in store to make sure a "new and exciting product launch" goes smoothly (as reported by our very own Den Den). Weird... I had no idea that the Pantech Duo 2 would be that popular...
I'm a bit lucky. I, through certain associations, would have been directly impacted by this decision, if a certain someone already made plans for that time period and requested off. I understand that they honestly feel like this is going to be a huge event, but an entire month? Maybe it's just me, but that seems like they are pushing the "no vacations" thing as just another piece of the marketing puzzle. "OMG!!11! Employees can't vay-k for a whole month in the dead of summer?!?! This is going to be the biggest thing EVAR! First it was the Jesus Phone, now it's the Second Coming!"
If that wasn't enough to make a loud statement that the 3G iPhone will be out in June, try going to an Apple store to get an iPhone right now. Most are out of stock and have been sending people to the AT&T stores who still have stock available. I don't think it's because there is a spiked demand for the current iPhone either, it just makes sense that they are depleting their current generation stock to make room for the new child that Apple built.
So, for those of you that have been saving your Stimulus Checks for something exciting (looking at you Den Den, look no further than mid-June. Now, if we could just get Apple or AT&T to release some definitive pricing or features, we'd all be grateful. I mean, it's not going to hurt your sales of the 3G iPhone at all by doing that. And I'm sure there will still be a market for the left-over Edge phones when you drop the price on the phone, so don't worry about that. Just tell us already!
AT&T: No vacation around the iPhone anniversary [CNet]
Thanks to Vega81 for the heads up on all the "insider" info
Chinese site CCID (seen here in a loose translation) has posted some leaked info on a new Xenium phone reportedly called the X800 - pictured, at least theoretically.
A touchscreen device with physical buttons for "essential commands," the X800 is more slender than the iPhone and should come, if she comes at all, with games, e-mail and camera all under touchscreen control, as well as being tiltable with landscape mode functionality. Price and release dates are unknown.
Philips joining race for touchscreen phones? [Electronista]
So you have a shiny new phone (let's say for the sake of argument, an iPhone) that's unfortunately locked to another carrier (AT&T) and you don't want to mess around with hacks that might turn that shiny piece of telecommunications technology into a paperweight - what do you do?
The Universal SIM Unlock Card from USBFever's your solution, which, through some weird technical voodoo, allows you to unlock your phone merely by placing it in between your phone and your GSM card.
There's a lengthy list of compatible phones on the product page that have been tested and work, including the iPhone itself. Even better, it claims to work for 3G SIM cards as well, so you're even covered when the new iPhone launches next month.
I haven't tested it myself, but word on the street is that it does function as advertised, and for $23, might just be worth the investment if you like to use your phone with any GSM carrier without having to mess with crazy hacks.
Universal SIM Unlock Card [USBFever]
Last week we brought the joyful news that AT&T had begun offering free WiFi access to iPhone users at its thousands of WiFi hotspots.
Today, we bring you the sad news that the party has been prematurely called off.
I myself started enjoying some free WiFi at my local Starbucks (mmmm java) last week, and have found that the sweet free nectar of the Internet Tubes has indeed been closed, leaving me parched and making do with EDGE while sipping my Grande Java Chip Frappuccino (with a shot of almond - oh how I miss you, Brownie Frappuccino...)
AT&T has declined to comment on why they pulled the service, but my conjecture is that the ease with which non-iPhone browsers were able to gain free WiFi access (through spoofing their browser's User Agent to look like an iPhone) may have something to do with the pullback.
No doubt we might see a stronger authentication method when the service comes back, probably by having AT&T iPhone users login using their AT&T online billing accounts.
Until then, I'll have to make do with sipping my Frapuccino in the library of the University where I work to sample the sweet nectar of the Tubes over WiFi.
The 3G iPhone rumours are so hot now that they're liable to create their own fusion reactor and launch humanity into a new era of clean and renewable energy in which a utopia will emerge...
OK, so maybe the 3G iPhone won't be solving all the world's problems, but we in the tech media certainly love to pretend it will. This time around comes near confirmation of a June product launch for the 3G iPhone from AT&T themselves.
A memo was sent out today to employees restricting vacation requests for the period between June 15 and July 12, 2008 "to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch."
I don't know about you, but that smells quite strongly of 3G iPhone. This is especially prescient given that at around the same time last year, AT&T also sent a memo to the same effect ahead of the original iPhone's launch.
I know what I'm going to be doing with my piece of the Economic "Stimulus" Package...
AT&T Blocking Out June 15-July 12 for 3G iPhone Launch? [MacRumors]
Right on the heels of the AT&T free hotspot access announcement for iPhone users comes news that AT&T is now offering a package for deaf and people who are differently abled for the iPhone (I work in Higher Education for the day job, so "people who are differently abled" has been hammered into me.)
The Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) will cost users $40/month and provide them with unlimited text messages, web browsing, data, and "simplified e-mail access" (a custom e-mail client?)
Users looking to use the TAP plan will need to fill out a few forms and submit them to AT&T's National Center for Customers with Disabilities at the link below.
Having had a few friends in my lifetime who are deaf (and the person who I considered my second mother was also hearing impaired), I'm very glad to see these kinds of initiatives on the part of mobile phone providers. Deaf people want to play with cool phones too!
Text Accessibility Plan for iPhone [AT&T]
[via: Gearlog]
The day iPhone users have been waiting for ever since we learned Starbucks dumped T-Mobile for AT&T has come: (legit, AT&T subscribed) iPhone users now have free access to all of AT&T's WiFi hotspots.
This includes Starbucks and Barnes & Noble locations, as well as 71,000 other locations including airports across the nation.
In order to access the free Internet goodness, you merely connect to an AT&T hotspot using your iPhone's WiFi, and you will be presented with the screen seen in the picture (photo by Ars Technica), where you merely enter your phone number to verify your iPhone account, and voilá! Free WiFi!
Those of you with more nefarious minds can also rejoice: the free gateway works by identifying the iPhone's User Agent tag, which means that if you spoof the User Agent data (say, by using Safari's hidden debug menu) then you can get access to the same screen using your laptop. Then you merely need the phone number of a real iPhone user to enter, and you'll also gain free WiFi access.
Happy surfing!
AT&T Providing Free Wi-Fi Access to iPhone Users [Updated] [MacRumors]
Have you ever wanted to make a bold statement of independence with just your MP3 player? Do you have the burning desire to outwardly display all of your likes/dislikes on your sleeve for the world to see? Do you have a penchant for turning desired mates away with useless trivia about minuscule characters in the plot line of a comic-book-arc-turned-movie that just didn't make the cut for the adaptation? Well my friends, we have just the piece of swag you've been looking for!
The Batman MP3 Player will be launched the summer, just in time for the release of the new Batman pic, The Dark Knight. For just about $80, you can own this sleek looking MP3 player, innocuously shaped like the classic Bat Signal. With this one gig MP3 player, you can show the world your devotion to the Man-Bat all day long, and do the double duty of warning potential suitors that they will be subject to droning conversations about the relative merits of the Dick Grayson vs, Jason Todd(Conversely, this could endear them to you).
Regardless, this is a relatively sleek looking device that is sure to please BatFans the world over, as well as BatProducers and Bat-Royalty-Collectors the world over.
Batman: The Dark Knight Series 1 [Pop Box Collectibles]
[via: Coolest Gadgets]
The rumour mill is starting to heat up as we get closer and closer to the upcoming release of the 3G iPhone, with the latest news coming out of Fortune: AT&T may be subsidising the cost of the 3G iPhone for as much as $200 for customers willing to sign a 2 year agreement.
MacRumors points out that the writer of the rumour, Scott Mortiz, doesn't have a good track record with Apple rumours, but seeing as other countries such as the UK and Germany have seen similar discounts by service providers with Apple's blessing, it's not difficult to see a similar offer happen here in the US.
Previously, Apple had been rumoured to be strongly against the traditional subsidies that mobile service providers give customers who sign contracts, but the UK discounts have led to a large uptick in sales of the iPhone in England, so this could turn out to be a good business move. It must be noted that the discount would only be given to customers purchasing the 3G iPhone from AT&T, and would not be available at Apple stores (maybe they could establish a rebate programme for Apple store customers?)
Also in Fortune, they mention that the new 3G iPhone would look similar to the current iPhone, but be 2.5mm thinner (a prediction I agree with), and would be released in late June (which also agrees with my own predictions of near June 29, the one year anniversary of the original iPhone's release.)
I just want my 3G, damnit.
AT&T to cut the price of Apple's new iPhone [Fortune]
[via: MacRumors]
And girls who like girls who like fembots!
Gadget of the Week
Show-stopping "half-VGA" screen and HSDPA/UMTS support, gorgeous video playback: Bold, Bold, Bold!
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