Mobile, Internet, etc

Filed under: Handsets, Others

One of our favorite intellectual property rips of recent months is without a doubt the SciPhone Dream G2 from China. Having completely missed the point of Google’s open-source OS being, well, open-source and thus free for SciPhone’s use, the company instead chose to hack the G2’s “proprietory” OS to look like Android. The charger, however, built to look like the iconic Android mascot is pretty damn cute; enough so that the idea of paying $150 just to get our hands on the 100-240V USB charger has crossed our minds. See the Android’s naughty bits after the break.

[Thanks, Steven]

Continue reading SciPhone Dream G2 Android charger is best ever

SciPhone Dream G2 Android charger is best ever originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Nokia

Turn your portable telephony nostalgia up to 11 and join us on a journey down Nokia memory lane. Nokia Conversations have filmed a collection of 100 phones charting the progression through the last 20 years of the Finnish manufacturer’s history. Sadly, this Nokia retrospective doesn’t stretch so far back as to include galoshes and bike tires, but you can still spend an inordinate amount of time trying to identify handsets just from their profile. We advise caution: this video features some seriously happy people, and our diligent research has failed to determine a cause for this dysfunction. Faux warnings out of the way, read on for the full video.

Continue reading Nokia looks back on its history, admires what it sees

Nokia looks back on its history, admires what it sees originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless

Looks like Verizon’s got a winner here. That leaked promotional graphic was right on the money, as the carrier’s just replaced its BlackBerry Tour teaser with a pre-order page and, lo and behold, it’s indeed coming July 12th for a penny under $200. We’re still waiting to see if Sprint’s whispered July 20th date pans out, but regardless, if you want a Tour before anyone else, looks like VZW’s the way to go.

[Thanks, Jeff]

Update: She’s official. The press release says so.

Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour coming July 12th, pre-order page now live originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: China Mobile

China Mobile officially kicked off commercial 3G services on China’s homegrown TD-SCDMA standard way back in January of this year and it’s sparing no expense to build it out, but so far, only 3 percent of new subscribers — that is, those that could easily get a 3G line and hardware if they wanted to — are opting for the service. It’d be totally cool if 3 percent of China Mobile’s total subscriber base were on 3G, but in reality, only about three-quarters of a million folks were signed up by the end of May — and when you consider that there are nearly half a billion subscribers on the carrier, that’s a drop in the bucket. Part of the problem could simply be that TD-SCDMA is unique to China, which limits hardware selection; its competitors are deploying HSPA and EV-DO networks, which may have a better chance of broad acceptance. Either that, or Chinese just hate fast wireless, and we’re doubting that.

China Mobile says 3G isn’t winning hearts and minds yet originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute — partnered with project HYPOLED — have created an OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones. Unlike many previous iterations of similar technologies, this new prototype doesn’t need an additional illumination system, instead relying on a lens system to project images produced by an OLED onto a screen or wall — making it both smaller and more energy efficient. The prototype currently displays a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter, and color images with a brightness of about half of that. The lenses are also made of glass at this point, though cheaper and simpler plastic ones are in the works. No word on when we might see these prototypes hitting the streets in actual projector phones, though.

[Via Gizmag]

OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Sprint, iDEN

Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile got first dibs, but now it’s the parent’s turn — which means Sprint proper will be taking delivery of the Motorola Clutch i465 for its Direct Connect iDEN network this summer. No exact release date was given, but interest parties are welcome to sign up now to be informed when they can drop the cash — $39.99 on contract, to be exact, after the application of a total of $70 in rebates on a new two-year agreement. The little beast gives you full QWERTY (a Motorola first for iDEN), mil-spec 810F compliance for withstanding the worst you can throw at it, Bluetooth, GPS, and a VGA camera that isn’t likely to win you any photography awards. Of course, if you want it that badly, you could just make the leap to Boost today — but otherwise, stay tuned.

Sprint follows Boost, gets Motorola Clutch i465 this summer originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, webOS

Alright, so you’ve no doubt seen plenty of Palm Pre reviews by this point (even if there’s only one you really need), but we’re guessing you haven’t seen one quite like this one from PreCentral forum user Michael Bunker, who has been using the phone completely off the grid for the past three weeks (if you don’t count the cell service, that is). Among other things, Bunker found that the Pre was particularly helpful for selling cows over the internet, keeping watch on any oncoming tornadoes, checking for the cheapest gas prices in the nearby towns, and catching up on the odd TV show (since he doesn’t have an actual TV). Of course, he does also have a few complaints about the phone, including the familiar refrain of hoping to “see some more apps.” Hit up the link below for the full review.

[Via PreCentral.net]

Palm Pre finds fan off the grid originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, CDMA

We’re hearing a couple interesting tidbits of information from the same ultra-reliable tipster with regard to the Samsung Strut — an LG Lotus-esque QWERTY clamshell that would fill a form factor gap in Verizon’s lineup (albeit a form factor that didn’t really exist a few months ago). First off, the tipster tells us that he’s starting to see accessories flow in that specifically list Strut compatibility; this doesn’t necessarily mean anything since none of the accessories are exclusive to the Strut, but it’s interesting nonetheless. On the flipside, he also tells us that the Strut firmware in Verizon’s system is nearly a frickin’ year old, which is pushing the boundaries of a phone that the carrier would still be planning to release. At this point, it’s entirely possible the phone got canned at some point along the way — but it’s also possible it’ll launch any day now. Anyone super excited about it either way?

Samsung Strut still coming to Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Palm, webOS

We don’t know exactly what’s new yet, but Palm’s released firmware version 1.0.4 for Pres on Sprint (not to say there are any other Pres out there at the moment, anyhow). Stay tuned for details.

Update: Looks like the only changes here address security vulnerabilities — and interestingly, Palm gives a shout-out to Townsend Ladd Harris (a Pre homebrewer no less) who helped find them. Cheers to that.

Update 2: Sadly, Palm’s plugged the hole that allowed homebrew apps on the phone without a jailbreak, though software you’ve already installed on the phone will continue to work. The hole that’s been plugged was admittedly dangerous to leave open (installing apps via a link in email), though rooting and installing otherwise remain unchanged as far as we know.

Palm Pre gets upgraded to 1.0.4 (update: homebrew installs via email dead for now) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Features, Software, Android

With home screen widgets, an on-screen keyboard, great notification management, and hands-down the best Gmail experience of any platform, Android 1.5 finally makes it easy (or easier, anyway) to love Google’s foray into the mobile world. Of course, if you’re coming from an iPhone — as some users inevitably will be — there are a few features that’ll be sorely missed as you make the transition. For us, a biggie was visual voicemail, and after a little trial and error, we found a cool way to add it into our device without even leaving the Google ecosystem — and even better, it’s totally free. Follow the break for the full story!

Continue reading Hack: use Google Voice to add visual voicemail to your G1, Dream, or Magic

Hack: use Google Voice to add visual voicemail to your G1, Dream, or Magic originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Messaging, Apple, iPhone OS

Way back in the heady days of 2007, there was an iPhone without 3G data (hard to believe, we know, but trust us — we were there). This iPhone, though revolutionary in some ways, was marred by the love-hate relationship its users suffered for missing out on some very basic features that they’d grown used to on mobiles of yore. One of those missing features, of course, was MMS — and now, some two years later, here we are with a truly integrated MMS experience courtesy of the all-powerful hacking community. Granted, there have been MMS apps available for ages, but there’s a difference: this is the same action 3G and 3GS owners are getting in conjunction with OS 3.0, which Apple curiously decided to hold back from original iPhone owners. As you might imagine, getting this going on your own phone is marginally more complicated than downloading from the App Store, so here’s the question, you non-upgraders: just how badly do you want it?

[Thanks, Paul]

Stock-looking MMS support hacked onto 2G iPhone originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile

We still think that the Saga is one of the better portrait QWERTY WinMo phones currently on the market — the optical mouse is awesome and global roaming is a more-than-welcome capability — and it’s only gotten better with the release of an official update from Samsung. The new build features Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile 6.1 AKU (1.5.1, if you’re curious) and adds the capability to send MMS messages when you’re roaming on GPRS, but most importantly, it unlocks GPS so that third-party applications can take advantage of it. This is a trend that Verizon’s been pursuing full-force this year, and needless to say, it’s a welcome one.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Verizon’s Samsung Saga gets updated with new AKU and unlocked GPS originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Telstra, HSUPA

Want to run a Miley Cyrus fansite over a data card? We might recommend you emigrate to Australia, where Telstra has just upgraded its already-impressive HSPA+ network to a whopping 5.8Mbps on the uplink, which it estimates means that customers could see speeds as high as 3Mbps in real-world use. In conjunction with the upgrade, the carrier’s also letting customers know that its Turbo 21 USB modem can be updated to take advantage of the higher data rate, which refreshingly means you won’t have to plunk down for any new hardware. Cheers to that.

Telstra keeps pushing, moves to 5.8Mbps on the uplink originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Accessories

While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone… where’s the catch?

Nokia, Apple, RIM and others agree on micro-USB phone charger standard for Europe originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Vodafone, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Somewhere along the line, some higher-up at Samsung clearly said “I’ve got it: geometry-themed d-pads.” The rest, of course, is history — Samsung ran with that theme, giving birth to the Jet and the Omnia II. But wait — what if you could go back in time, take something like the S5600, and facelift it just a bit to give it a similarly unusual appearance? That’s exactly what Vodafone has chosen to do in launching the midrange full-touch featurephone, apparently working with Sammy to add in a diamond-shaped nav pad and rechristen it the fierce-sounding “Blade.” With a 3.2 megapixel cam, HSDPA, and GPS, it’s nothing to sneeze at; whether it’s worthy of a name as awesome as Blade, though, is another story altogether.

[Via Unwired View]

Samsung S5600 morphs into Blade for Vodafone originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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