UberPhones

Pull My Finger App Rejected For iPhone

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:29:10 -0800

Apple has just recently rejected an iPhone application because it supposedly is a “limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community”. Said application does its best to simulate the classic “pull my finger” gag, where the person farts when his finger is pulled. While Apple may have rejected it, the developer is currently taking email addresses to help those who need his help to get hold of the application unofficially. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how Apple can approve the “I Am Rich” application, but reject this kind of application.

Touch Diamond Almost Released On Sprint

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:16:38 -0800

All the signs are pointing that HTC’s Touch Diamond should be released on Sprint sometime soon. PC Magazine is currently reporting that the Touch Diamond will be available on Sprint on September 14th, and will be going for $249.99 on a two-year contract, after a $100 rebate. The only thing that users might find irritating will be the red back plate, as some netizens are already complaining of the colour, though it looks rather classy (and different) in red.

Photostream For Android Announced

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:05:15 -0800

Android Developers has just announced a new open-source application for Google’s Android, called Photostream, which has been added to the apps-for-android project. Photostream is a photo browser and viewer for Flickr, and all you need to use it is a Flickr screen name or username. This application also acts as an example of several Android features and APIs:

Activity aliases
Adding custom shortcuts to Home
Adding a new wallpaper chooser to the system
Custom layouts
Custom XML attributes
Use of themes
Use of styles
Use of text colors
Use of
Use of bitmap and layer drawables from XML
Use of HttpClient
Proper interaction between background threads and the UI thread
Efficient display rotation (using the new onRetainNonConfigurationInstance() API)
Animations and layout animations
Cropping an image
Image manipulation

Samsung Omnia Firmware Leaked

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:54:43 -0800

Modaco is reporting that Samsung has released an official ROM update which bears the number DXHH1 for their Omnia. The bad news is that it’s only officially available from Samsung Service Centre’s, whilst the good news is that the ROM has been leaked and can be found online. Updating your Omnia will give have updated the PDA version number to i900DXHH1/DXHH1, while the phone will have the version number i900DXHH1. Some of the improvements supposedly include:

More haptic feedback, including for the XT9 keyboard (the last update removed this)
New Today widgets
More screen rotation animations
Updated core OS and application versions
‘Connected Home’ DLNA server
Updated Opera Mobile (build 1957)
Reduced memory usage
Better battery life

5m GBP Fund For Omnia Ads In The UK

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:52:14 -0800

Samsung has supposedly said that it will be spending just under £5 million in the UK to market its latest Omnia i900, which will probably involve touting the Omnia’s impressive specs that include a 5 megapixel camera, touchscren, GPS, media player, Windows Mobile. The Omnia looks set to go up against the iPhone and Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1. If the £5 million tag doesn’t sound like a lot of money, you might want to note that while the fund covers the press, online and outdoor advertising, there will be no television campaign for this phone. The global marketing campaign for the Omnia is expected to be just over £24 million.

Qik Supports More HTC Devices

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:47:06 -0800

Qik, who provides video-on-the-go, has been busily expanding its service to support a wider variety of handsets over the past few months, and now it’s supporting a rather star-studded list of HTC-sourced phones, which include the:

HTC Touch Dual
HTC Touch Diamond
HTC TyTN II
AT&T Tilt
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

If you’re going to stream video over your mobile phone’s data connection, just remember to make sure you’ve signed up for an unlimited data plan, unless you like to pay very expensive bills.

LG Prada II Specs Leaked

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:37:43 -0800

Fashion phones used to be pretty looking things without any useful features, but with the latest leaked specs of LG’s PRADA II handset, it looks like fashion and tech will meet. Aside from a sliding QWERTY keyboard, the PRADA II will also have:

Quad-band GSM/EDGE, dual-band HSDPA (850MHz/2100MHz)
950mAh battery
240×400 3.0″ screen
5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash and VGA recording
Bluetooth 2.1
Wi-Fi b / g
Infineon MP-EH + M180 chipset
Motion sensor
FM Radio
104.5 x 54 x 16.8 mm

BlackBerry Bold Now On Vodafone UK

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:17:26 -0800

Vodafone UK has announced that it's currently offering the BlackBerry Bold for free on a £35 ($62) plan with 600 minutes of talk time, and 500MB of monthly data, all tied to a two-year contract. Anything free is good, so expect to see lots of people snapping up this phone, though they’d probably still get it even if it were more expensive anyways.

BlackBerry Storm Delayed At Verizon

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:43:27 -0800

Boy Genius is currently reporting that the BlackBerry Storm has just gone into technical acceptance at Verizon, which should take around 3 to 4 weeks, which also means that the device has been delayed internally by about 3 to 4 weeks, resulting in a speculated mid-November launch date. Apparently the marketing budget for the BlackBerry Storm has been increased too, which probably means you’ll see more efforts to coerce you to get the Storm when it’s released.

Sprint To Launch Centro In New Colors

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:38:36 -0800

They may look official, aside from the “rofl” plastered on the picture, but there hasn’t been any official announcement from Sprint yet regarding the possibility of these new colors for the Palm Centro. With the popularity of Palm’s Centro, it’s certainly possible that Sprint plans to milk the Centro a little bit more by using different colors, just like Motorola reused their RAZR line over and over again. If you’re not willing to spend some extra money to change the color of your phone, keep your eyes peeled and hope for an official announcement.

Samsung Omnia Variant Visits The FCC

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:53:35 -0800

North American users are probably disappointed that Samsung’s Omnia only comes with UMTS 2100 MHz support only, which obviously means that you don’t get 3G. While Samsung hasn’t mentioned anything officially yet, two similar looking (and sounding) phones called the i910 and i907 have showed up at the FCC recently. The i910 is a CDMA phone with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and is expected to end up with Verizon Wireless. The i907 on the other hand looks different, but is rumored to be the Omnia for AT&T. Since there isn’t any official confirmation yet, we’ll just to have wait and see if this prediction will actually come true.

iPhone Coming To China Soon

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:33:33 -0800

Apple is apparently in the final stages of talks with China Mobile, which if successful, would see the iPhone paying an official visit to China. While China Mobile’s spokesman has declined to comment, it’s a no-brainer that if Apple were to succeed in the Chinese market, they’d make a big step towards taking their iPhone to (mobile phone) world domination. With China’s huge population, even if Apple were to capture 1% of China Mobile’s users, that would amount to 6 million users. There currently isn’t any news of whether they’re planning to bring in the original iPhone or the latest iPhone 3G, especially since China Mobile’s 3G network uses China-only TD-SCDMA technology, which obviously isn’t supported by Apple’s iPhone 3G.

Colorware Now Do The BlackBerry Bold

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:12:52 -0800

You’ve probably seen what ColorWare can do to phones like the iPhone, and if you were thinking of doing the same thing for the BlackBerry Bold, you’re in luck, as ColorWare has just added the Blackberry Bold to its list of supported devices. It currently offers two types of colors, which are metallics or solids, and will have a high-gloss, scratch resistant finish. If you’re willing to pay for ColorWare’s customization, it most certainly will set you apart from the people who use the “normal” BlackBerry Bold.

Treo Pro Gets Blue Tick Of Approval

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:47:49 -0800

Palm’s Treo Pro has the distinction of being the first smartphone on the Next G network to be accredited by Telstra with their Blue Tick of approval, which shows that the phone is recommended for handheld use in metro, rural and regional areas. Users who are always worried about their cellphone’s reception in rural areas will be glad that the Treo Pro gets this certification, and you have to admit, Telstra’s Blue Tick accreditation does look rather handy.

iPhoneFLO For The iPhone

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:16:13 -0800

We’ve all seen the many clones of the iPhone UI (user interface), not least the Meizu M8, but what about the iPhone copying HTC’s TouchFLO 3D? Well, the creators of iPhoneFLO definitely think that TouchFLO 3D is good enough to make it worth copying. You’ll obviously need a jailbroken iPhone in order to install it, but that’s not going to be a problem for the savvy iPhone user.

Neo Ellipse Launched

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:56:56 -0800

Neo DWC-LLC, the UK & Dubai based mobile phone brand has just launched their latest Neo Ellipse mobile phone, which has a rather unique design. They phone has a design that resembles a sculpture, and measures in at 110x44x15mm. This phone comes after Neo enjoyed quite a bit of success with their previous Neo 808i. The Ellipse has features such as:

2-inch screen
2 megapixel camera
1GB memory, expandable to 8GB
MP3 and MP4 playback
Email

Nokia N96 Unboxed On Video

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:53:03 -0800

With the news that Nokia’s N96 has started shipping (albeit in Europe), a video of the unboxing of this phone has been made available online, which will (probably) only serve to increase your desire to own this phone.

LG KC910 To Succeed The Viewty

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:14:45 -0800

LG has announced its latest KC910 handset, which is touted as the successor to LG’s current Viewty handset. LG is also currently bragging that the KC910 is the first 8 megapixel camera phone with a full touchscreen interface, and also that it’s the slimmest 8 megapixel camera phone, measuring in at just 13.95mm. Fans of feature-laden phones won’t be disappointed with the KC910, as it sports a large 3-inch WQVGA 400 x 240 pixel touchscreen input, A-GPS, 3G HSDPA support, Wi-Fi, 8 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach certified optics and Xenon flash. LG is currently keeping everybody in the dark regarding the pricing of this phone, along with the name that it will bear when it’s finally released.

BlackBerry Bold Sold Out In New York

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:21:56 -0800

If you’re jealous of other countries that are currently selling RIM’s BlackBerry Bold, you can only blame yourself, as the phone has already sold out in Manhattan! What? BlackberryBusiness.com is currently selling pre-release Bolds at a wallet-damaging $1,299 on their site. Apparently those phones are unbranded, which makes not being able to get it even all the more gut-wrenching.

Google Android SDK Easter Egg

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:42:18 -0800

Easter Eggs are a great way to take your mind away from the problems at the office, and Google probably think the same too, as evidenced by their Easter Eggs hidden (as usual) in the Android SDK. If you’ve been going through the constants for the accelerometer you probably will have come across rather interesting constants, namely:

float GRAVITY_DEATH_STAR_I 3.5303614E-7
float GRAVITY_THE_ISLAND 4.815162

Those two constants show that Star Wars and Lost are popular within Google (and the rest of the world), and the additional hidden Easter Egg also has a reference to “Office Space”. All you have to do is snap a picture and you will be shown a picture of Bill Lumbergh, which should be good for a laugh or two.

Motorola MOTOJEWEL Looks Diamond-like

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:28:47 -0800

While a lot of people sure don’t like the HTC Touch Diamond’s funnily designed backplate, it looks like the folks over at Motorola do, or think other people do anyways. The reason we say so is because Motorola has just unveiled its new MOTOJEWEL clamshell handset in the UK, which looks aimed at the fairer sex, complete with its own mini handbag, which can keep a few small items along with the phone itself. The MOTOJEWEL seems to share a lot of similarities with the U9 handset, with specs such as a 2 megapixel camera, music player, Bluetooth stereo support and hidden external display. The phone will have a “midnight quartz” color scheme, along with its purple keypad. The MOTOJEWEL will only be available for a limited time, and should start retailing in November on UK’s Carphone Warehouse retail chain.

Water Cube Phone

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:47:34 -0800

This Water Cube cell phone is very obviously influenced by China’s Water Cube building, which was one of the attractions of the Beijing Olympics. If you’re looking for a functional souvenir, this could be just the thing. The phone itself will be available in 6 different colors, and have Bluetooth, tri-band GSM and a 3D interface. The phone will supposedly be retailing for $175.

Motorola Q11 Coming?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:42:45 -0800

It may not be much to go by, but we’ll have to make do with it for the moment. It looks like the successor to Motorola’s Q9h will be the Q11, and nobody is really sure why they skipped the Q10. The Q11 leak can be traced back to a filing at the Bluetooth SIG, who as usual, didn’t provide very much information regarding the Q11, aside from the tiny bit that it will be running Windows Mobile 6.1.

Pantech IM-S350

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:25:19 -0800

Sky, which is a brand of Pantech has introduced their new slim HSDPA slider phone, the IM-S350 Hush. The phone should be popular with people who like slim phones, as the phone is only 9.9mm thick. The IM-S350 will be equipped with DMB TV functionality, noise cancellation technology, 2 megapixel camera, microSD card expansion and MP3 playback capabilities. The IM-S350 will be available in black, champagne gold and silver, and will be going for about 500,000 won in the second-half of September.

Verizon Rebate Sheet Leaked

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:06:18 -0800

Leaked documents are often exciting, and are a great source of information that you aren’t supposed to know about. This time, the leak from Verizon, which was sniffed out by Boy Genius, doesn’t seem all that earth shattering, but it’s still a leak. Some of the more notable phones that will be hitting stores soon will be:

Motorola Krave ZN4 in lovely Titanium
Samsung Sway, a.k.a the Samsung SCH-u650. A 2 megapixel Bluetooth-equipped slider
Samsung Knack
LG VX8360, mid-range flip phone
LG VX5500, low-end Bluetooth-equipped handset

Is There A Sub-$100 iPhone Market?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:57:20 -0800

Is this a rumor about a sub-$100 iPhone? Unfortunately not. Though it sure is food for thought. Analyst Mike Abramsky commented that he believes that Apple is exploring the possibility of an “entry level, low cost” prepaid iPhone that could go for less than $99 subsidized. Seeing how crazy some people are for the iPhone, if Apple did provide a cut-down low-cost iPhone, it probably would be a big hit. We might not see a sub-$100 iPhone anytime soon, but you can definitely dream about one!

Apple And AT&T Sued Over iPhone

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:49:49 -0800

While the iPhone isn’t bombarded with lawsuits, it isn’t totally immune to them either. Now a second lawsuit has been filed regarding the iPhone, and it’s targeted at Apple and AT&T. The problems described in the lawsuit are problems that iPhone 3G users have probably faced before, such as users being dropped to an EDGE-based 2G network, when 3G coverage is guaranteed. The user obviously isn’t too happy with the speeds he’s getting on his iPhone 3G, and is complaining that AT&T misled customers about the practical speed of EDGE with the original iPhone. The user is trying to seek class action status, so Apple and AT&T might want to pay a little more attention to this lawsuit.

Samsung BlackJack II Update Is Back Up

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:20:42 -0800

While we reported that Samsung’s BlackJack II was getting the Windows Mobile 6.1 treatment a short while ago, the update was surprisingly pulled from the site after that. Fortunately, it’s currently back up, though you can’t really be sure how long it’ll be there, so you might want to get the update as soon as possible, and decide whether to install it or not later.

AT&T Data Outage Hits East Coast

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:14:44 -0800

You may not have woken up to the best of news, or you might not have received the news at all, as it seems that AT&T’s wireless data network is down in certain parts of the East Coast. An AT&T spokesman has said that they’re looking into the problem. So far the problem seems to be occurring in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois and Missouri. Voice service hasn’t been disrupted, as the problems are mainly related to data. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the outage reports came from iPhone users, a sign that users are very inclined to browse the net or use data services on the iPhone.

Phone Charger Causes Expensive Blaze

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:02:36 -0800

After reading this article, you might want to be more careful the next time you buy a cheap electrical product. A fire supposedly caused about $30,000 worth of damage to a mobile home in Delaware, fortunately no one was home during that time. The culprit is supposedly a “malfunctioning cellphone charger that ignited the wall covering in a bedroom”. Since there aren’t any fingers being pointed at any manufacturers, you can’t really be sure which brand charger screwed up, which isn’t very comforting. It will probably be safer to unplug your electronic devices when you’re not around, just to be sure.

Samsung Agrees To Sell Symbian Stake

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:45:22 -0800

Nokia has announced that Samsung has agreed to sell its stake in Symbian. Samsung has agreed to sell-out along with the rest of the other Symbian shareholders to Nokia for $410 million. As a few Samsung phones are currently using the latest version of Symbian, it’ll be interesting to see what operating system they’ll be using in the future. Of course, it’s very likely that Samsung will be active in the new Symbian Foundation.

Nokia Starts Shipping Their N96

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:29:04 -0800

Users who have been eagerly awaiting Nokia’s N96 can now rejoice, as Nokia has started shipping the phone in Europe for €550 (before tax). Of course, the phone itself won’t be a surprise to anyone, as details of it have been around the internet for quite a while now. With the 5 megapixel camera and 16GB of storage that the N96 has, it really shouldn’t be too hard to persuade users to break the bank for this phone.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA SDK Released

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:04:45 -0800

If you thought the Windows Mobile 6.1 SDK was enough for you, you might want to think again as Sony Ericsson has released the SDK for their upcoming XPERIA X1. While it may not sound like it’s any different from the Windows Mobile 6.1 SDK, this will allow developers to create custom interactive panels for the X1’s interface. Sony Ericsson will also be offering a panel download service in the future, which will showcase all the panels for the phone, which sure sounds like an AppStore clone of sorts.

Samsung Knack On Verizon

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:47:19 -0800

Verizon will be releasing the Samsung Knack in stores on October 14th. The Samsung Knack sure doesn’t have your average keypad, with dedicated keys for 911 and ICE (In Case of Emergency) it sure looks like its focusing on emergencies. The port covers on the side also sport the colors of the American flag, with blue, red and white colored covers. The phone will be going for $39.99 if tied with a two-year contract.

Samsung a237 On AT&T

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:56:24 -0800

AT&T has launched Samsung’s a237 phone, which is a basic model, with entry-level specs at best, by today’s standards. Features such as EDGE and a VGA camera aren’t going to make you the life of the party, but if you’re looking for something that looks good and does a decent job of making phone calls, you’ll want to check out the a237.

BlackBerry 8320 In Sapphire Blue

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:44:04 -0800

If you’re into darker colors on your mobile phone, you’ll be glad to hear that AT&T will be introducing a Sapphire Blue colored BlackBerry 8320, which is targeted to be launched in the last week of September. The BlackBerry 8320 will also be launching with OS 4.5. With the inclusion of Wi-Fi, users will be able to surf at the 17,000 AT&T hotspots, and more connectivity options can only be a good thing.

Concealing Phones Is Not Healthy

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:19:35 -0800

While a lot of people are addicted to their cell phones, even most addicts wouldn’t try to stuff their cell phones up their rear end, though that’s just what 37 prisoners in Pakistan did recently. Unfortunately for them, the prison officers managed to find out about it, and put a stop to it all. Only 30 of the prisoners were able to remove the phones naturally, whilst the remaining 7 required surgery. It’s quite confusing as to how they planned to use the phones, seeing that surgery was needed to remove it, but they probably have a way of doing so, not that you’ll want to know.

Nokia Comes With Music Coming To UK

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:12:25 -0800

Nokia’s much-anticipated “Comes with Music” service will be launched in the UK by Carphone Warehouse, and they will be the exclusive UK pre-pay channel offering Nokia’s 5310 XpressMusic “Comes with Music” edition until December 31, 2008. They’re currently accepting pre-orders for it via their web site. The interesting “Comes with Music” service gives users unlimited access to tracks in Nokia’s Music Store, and unlimited downloads (with the option of keeping all downloads) for a year. It will be really interesting to see customer response to this innovative new service.

LG Keybo Now In Red

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:31:47 -0800

Someone at Telus probably realized that the LG KEYBO’s QWERTY keyboard was a great tool for messaging, and that girls didn’t always like black. In light of that realization, the Canadian CDMA carrier has decided to launch a new color for the KEYBO, namely pomegranate, which looks aimed at the ladies. The specs and price of the pomegranate colored model are the same as the standard black one, with the usual QVGA screen, Bluetooth, music player, GPS, microSD card slot, and will be going for CA$49.99 on a 3-year contract.

Nokia E66 NAM Arrives At Flagship Stores

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:29:51 -0800

It looks like Nokia’s E66 NAM has finally made its way to Nokia Flagship stores. In case you forgot, Nokia’s E66 NAM is a quad-band GSM slider phone with dual-band WCDMA (850/1900MHz) supporting AT&T’s 3G network. Other features include a 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS and WiFi. The phone will be going for $540 and is currently available in the Grey Steel color scheme.