Tech Phone

The website 148apps.com has reported that 10,000 applications have now been released to the general iPhone and iPod Touch-loving public within the App Store.

In a cool touch, the site has also created this tribute page that shows a micro-icon for every application available in the store. On this page you'll also find some interesting statistics concerning new submissions by month, app count by price, and app count by category. It was no surprise to me when I took a closer look at this page that the Games category was far and away the most popular, with 2,319 apps. The Entertainment and Utilities categories are next in line, with 1,109 and 1,009 apps available respectively.

Some other interesting tidbits to note… Roughly 24% of apps are free, 35% cost $.99, and the average cost of apps within the store is $3.12. What a cash-cow for Apple… and the developers. But mostly Apple

Well done to Apple and all of the very talented developers out there that have been working very hard on some fantastic (OK, and some are not very fantastic) apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I wonder how long it will take to hit 20,000 apps? 100,000 apps? Should be interesting to see where we sit at the same time next year.

Note: 148apps.com is so named because you can add up to 148 apps to your iPhone or iPod Touch. That'd be a lot of screens to swipe through, no?

It seems like TELUS is feeling pressure to make up for the huge amounts of money it has been pouring into marketing the BlackBerry Storm over the past month or so. According to one of our sources, Telus is at least 97.38% set to sell the BlackBerry Storm on par with the high price they’re charging for the HTC Touch Pro. Starting at $649.99 with no contract and $599.99, $549.99, and $299.99 on contracts ranging from 1 to 3 years, Telus is sure to rake in at least a decent amount of cash just before the holidays.

But is the price way too much to charge for a consumer device in a country where the economic projection has just shifted from “we’ll just avoid a recession” to “2009 isn’t going to be such a fun year”? If you ask us, yes, but that still isn’t going to stop a lot of mommies and daddies from putting a few of them under the tree this year. Just make sure you also get them a PC so they can upgrade the firmware - unless Telus plans to go with OTA updates like Verizon.

Apple has drawn some serious fire of late for their seemingly random iPhone AppStore application rejections. Apple supposedly doesn't allow applications that make un-supported API calls, like the one that Google's Google Mobile iPhone app uses to detect face-proximity for its voice-search feature.

Google has been reported to be using an undocumented API to call up the iPhone and iPhone 3G's proximity sensor, which goes against Apple's own rules. A future iPhone firmware update might just break Google's proximity sensor API, which would render the Google Mobile iPhone application's face-detection feature useless. Of course, Google is likely to find a workaround for the feature, if push comes to shove.

More to the point, Apple is struggling to keep pace with iPhone applications hitting the AppStore. With the volume of new applications Apple could be allowing rule-breaking apps through the AppStore gate in order to approve them in a timely manner. Apple could make it easier on their internal checkpoint procedures if they were to relax their rules and make iPhone application development a bit more open - like the Android OS.

Sony Ericsson today released the new T303 Daisy Edition mobile phone. This entry-level slider is currently available from T-Mobile UK for just £49.99. The Sony Ericsson T303 Daisy Edition supports tri-band GSM/GPRS connectivity and features a 1.8 inch 128 x 160 pixels TFT display, a 1.3MP camera, an integrated FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and 8MB internal memory. The Sony Ericsson T303 Daisy Edition might be a good Christmas gift for those who like fashionable mobile phone.

When it comes to watching streaming videos and other media on your mobile phone, there really aren't that many options out there. Sure, you could use Flash lite with a compatible browser, but laggy, choppy video streams are anything but ideal. For many, the Skyfire mobile web browser is arguably the best mobile web browser that can stream embedded videos. Indeed, Skyfire is the only web browser to feature built-in support for Flash and Silverligth, making it the mobile browser of choice for streaming media junkies.

Today, Skyfire is opening the doors to its Skyfire browser to the world. Previous versions of Skyfire required a US-based phone number in order to register a handset for use with the browser, and recently started accepting Canadian users. With Skyfire's new Skyfire v0.85, the company is hitting the global stage. Skyfire is now officially being offered in the UK, and Skyfire v0.85 is available for direct download to anyone with the know-how to sideload the application to their smartphone. Additionally, Skyfire no longer requires registration.

The Skyfire v0.85 release updates the Symbian and Windows Mobile clients, bringing with it "Client/Server performance enhancements" and new UK proxy servers to speed up web-page access for UK customers. And, since anyone can download the new client and install it to their Windows Mobile or Symbian smartphone, Skyfire is somewhat unofficially available globally.

Not feeling the drab, Fall-inspired Black and Bronze colors that T-Mobile has been offering with their T-Mobile G1? Not buying into the notion that "Bronze is the new brown?" Good news! T-Mobile has just made the White T-Mobile G1 official.

T-Mobile has announced that all T-Mobile retail channels are now offering up the decidedly lighter-hued T-Mobile G1 to round out the Black and Bronze G1 lineup. The White T-Mobile G1 commands the same $179.99 price tag (with two-year contract, of course) as its darker-colored brethren.

In the tradition of branded mobile phones such as the Prada and Armani, Hugo Boss has partnered with Samsung to come out with a Hugo Boss mobile phone. However, don't get too excited at the prospect of a brand new mobile device hitting the marketplace as the two companies have opted to take the easy route and just refashion the Samsung F480.

This rebranded Samsung F480 version will come with the standard features plus some additional Hugo Boss goodies tucked away inside such as wallpaper, icons and ringtones that embody the Hugo Boss lifestyle. It will also come bundled with a Hugo Boss styled Bluetooth headset.

The Samsung Hugo Boss F480 is expected to hit Hugo Boss retail outlets this December in Europe and will also be sold online by PhoneHouse/Carphone Warehouse for €479 (roughly $625). No word if North American Hugo Boss stores will also carry this fashionable touchscreen phone, but we're not closing the doors to that possibility.

While the XPERIA X1 is yet to become available in the North American region, Sony Ericsson has launched two new panels that you can download once you get your hands on their first Windows Mobile-powered smartphone: the Facebook panel and the Windows Live panel.

The Facebook panel provides you with an interface designed to keep you updated and connected with your Facebook account whenever and wherever you may be. It also comes with click to call contacts functionality which makes it easy to call your friends.

The Windows Live panel, meanwhile, allows you to sync and import your contacts from your Windows Live account to your XPERIA X1 phone book, and likewise provides easy access to Hotmail and Live Messenger. If you recall, the panels interface option is one of the more unique features of the XPERIA X1 and will definitely be one of its stronger selling points.

ASUS has just launched a new business PDA phone that it claims is the world’s fastest PDA phone featuring an 800 MHz processor - the ASUS P565 PDA Phone. Aside from being the fastest PDA phone, theP565 also features a touch-driven user interface called Glyde. The P565 is a stylish, leather-accented PDA phone which is capable of delivering graphics and system performance which is beyond anything else on the mobile phone market today. With Glyde technology, users can glide through resource-intensive tasks with easy and allow them to handle heavy multi-tasking well. Hence the ASUS P565 is an ideal phone for businesspeople who needs uncompromising performance and maximum speed from their productivity tools such as a PDA phone.The ASUS P565 also features a 2.8-touchscreen with 480×640 pixel resolution for a clear display when working on photos and spreadsheets.
Since the ASUS P565 is a business-oriented phone it is but necessesary for it to have business-orietend software and applications. And it does actually have push mail, business card recognition and Microsoft Office Mobile as well as other useful applications including Anytime Launcher and Multi-Home which allows users to view calendards, times of local and visiting cities, weather reports, online news and many more - through a tap slide or flick of the user’s finger. Design-wise the ASUS P565 emits an air of exclusivity as well with with its battery lid which is lined with black synthetic leather which contrasts well with the form factor and design of the P565’s body consisting of high-gloss face. The complete rundown of the ASUS P565’s features would give as the following: HSDPA 3.6Mbps/UMTS 2100, EDGE/GPRS/GSM/900/1800/1900 Class 10 network support, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional for OS, 250-300 hrs standby time with 3G on and 200-250 hours with 2G on, talk time is at 3 hours with 3G and 4 hours with 2G,2.8-inch TFT VGA Touchscren at 480 x640, Marvell Tavorp 800 MHx processor, 256 MB Flash and 128 MB On-board memory,microsSD and microSDHC support, Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth+EDR, WAP browser, SiRF Star III with InstantFix GPS, various business applications including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and more, 3MP camera with auto focus, and video recording at 24fps.

The Samsung Eternity is not a title of a movie. It is full-touchscreen mobile phone being released by AT&T with advanced features such as 3G connectivity, access to AT&T Mobile Music, AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T Mobile Music, a 3 Megapixel camera, GPS and slew of many useful and advanced features. In addition, the Samsung Eternity also has a 200MB built-in memory. One of the most notable features of the Samsung Eternity includes a uniqe onscreen QWERTY keyboard which users can access either in landscape or portrait mode with easy switching between the two modes. The Samsung Eternity’s 3.0 Megapixe camera allows users to take beautiful pictures with its digital zoom, brightness control, and video capture modes up to one hour. With the Samsung Eternity being released through AT&T, it enables the mobile phone to have access to AT&T’ Mobile Music through 3G connectivity. This allows users to play and dowload tunes and ringtones which can be stored on a microSD card which is supported by the Samsung Eternity. And keeping in times with standard navigation features of mobile phones today, the Samsung Eternity features GPS-enabled turn-by-tuyn directions, maps, traffic updates and many more. As a review here is a quick rundown of the Samsung Eternity Phone.
* 3MP Camera With Video Recording
* MP3 Player
* AT&T MObile TV
* Mobile Email
* 200MB Internal Memory
* 3.2-inch Touchscreen TFT display
* Quad-band - GSM850/900/1800/1900MH; Dual-Band - UMTS 1900/850MHz
* 5 hours talk time
* 250 hours standby-time

There has been a big hype surrounding the pre-release of the Blackberry Storm for one simple reason – it is RIM’s first Blackberry phone with touchscreen features. And by having that one feature, the Blackberry Storm was touted as an iPhone killer, if not one of iPhone’s many rivals. The release of the Blackberry Storm also completes the casting of touchscreen phone heavyweights. A few weeks ago, the highly anticipated Google Android Phone was released amidst spectators’ excitement and media hype. Although the Google Android Phone was successful in eliciting good comments and positive reviews, especially coming from the anti-iPhone camp, still there’s something lacking with the Google-powered Android phone that enables it to topple the iPhone. Hence, the Google Android Phone was put in the category of one of ‘em iPhone rival or iPhone killer wannabes. Would the Blackberry Storm suffer the same fate? Would its features and specs be enough to dislodge the iPhone as the most sought after, most popular mobile phone to ever arrive in the industry? Let’s take a look on the details, features, specs and anything and everything about the Blackberry Storm.
Blackberry Storm General Specs and Features:

• Wireless email
• Organizer
• Browser
• Phone
• Camera (3.2 MP)
• Video Recording
• BlackBerry Maps
• Media Player
• Built-in GPS
• Corporate data access
• SMS
• MMS

Just by a quick glance, you could immediately see that there are some features of the Blackberry Storm lacking on the iPhone. More particularly video recording, corporate data access and MMS. The Blackberry Storm supports various video formats such as MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H2.64, and WMV. But most importantly it can capture video which the iPhone is not capable of doing. Although the Blackberry Storm may have won this one over the iPhone, rest assured that it will just be a matter of time before a third party developer comes out with a legitimate application which would enable the iPhone to capture video as well. If you’re into Pwnage of the iPhone you should know that this is already available with jailbroken iPhone. But of course, we would not encourage you to do so as it will void your iPhone’s AT&T warranty.The same is true with MMS sending functionality. Again, the Blackberry Storm may have won this over the iPhone because of its native MMS feature; the iPhone however may soon have its third party app which can support this feature. In fact, there was an application that can do this already although it was not a direct MMS sending capability. But in time, we are positive that an application will be developed for this purpose. As for the Corporate Data Access, the Blackberry Storm well with the following email platform/clients:

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server for IBM Lotus Domino
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Novell GroupWise
• enterprise email account
• personal email account
• optional new device account

On this aspect, we’ve got to admit that the Blackberry Storm clearly win big against the iPhone. The enterprise support for the iPhone email client is yet to be fully explored and maximized. The best that the iPhone could muster is integration with Lotus Domino via an application which is still under development. For web-based email account though, we all know that the iPhone has a decent integration with web-base email platform such as Yahoo, Gmail, AOL and many more. Wait before you go out and proclaiming that the iPhone is inferior to the Blackberry Storm, be reminded that all Blackberry handsets have these features so it is not really unique with the Storm. For their other differences, the Blackberry Storm has a 3.2 MP camera against the iPhone’s 2.0MP.

Another thing to look into when comparing the iPhone and the Blackberry Storm is their touchscreen features. There’s no doubt that Apple has mastered the touchscreen feature when it comes to their iPhone. And Blackberry certainly could learn a lot from Apple on this department. It would be interesting to know from those who lined up for the Blackberry Storm when it was released by Verizon Wireless last Friday, whether the Storm’s touchscreen feature could match up with the iPhone.

Clearly, these two phones aside from having touchscreen features are two mobile phone bigwigs in their own separate league. The Blackberry Storm or any Blackberry handsets was always been geared for the corporate business professionals while the iPhone is targeted more for the general mobile phone using public. Each of these two smartphones have their respective pros and cons, it’s up to you to decide whether you’d opt for the Apple or the Blackberry.

Sonim XP3, the successor of XP1, presented as one of the toughest GSM phones in the world, is now available for purchase in the UK.

The handset is being sold unlocked, for £209 (+ VAT). You can find it here, in three color versions: black, grey and yellow.

It’s said that, just before Christmas, Vodafone UK will include the new Sonim XP3 in its line-up, offering it for free to those who get it together with a contract agreement.

So what’s this Sonim XP3 all about? Well, the device comes to redefine the term “rugged phone” and it’s built to endure anything, on any weather. It is MIL-910F certified, waterproof (IP-57 certification), it has durable mechanics and a shock resistant screen. No wonder it’s being sold with an unconditional 3-year guarantee.
The features of Sonim XP3 are modest when compared to the ones of a regular phone, but pretty good for a rugged handset:

*
Tri band GSM/GPRS connectivity, 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
*
128 x 160 pixels display with 65K colors
*
Bluetooth 1.2
*
WAP 2.0
*
Extra-loud speakers
*
Built-in Torch
*
Talk time: 5.5 hours
*
Stand by time: 220 hours
*
118.8 x 56.3 x 24.6 mm
*
140 grams

It may not be slim or beautiful (although it does look kind of cool), but if you want a worry-free phone, Sonim XP3 might be a good choice.

It looks like Motorola wants to add to the growing number of QWERTY-equipped devices such as the Samsung Cleo and LG Lotus that aren't really geared towards business folk. Their latest mobile phone, the Moto QA30, is living proof of this move.

The Moto QA30 is Motorola's first QWERTY slider. It comes with a 2.5-inch 320×240 display, 2-megapixel camera, 1x EVDO connectivity, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, Facebook access, email, USB 2.0 and microSD card support up to 32GB. Unlike previous Q series phones, the QA30 doesn't come with Windows Mobile which will definitely limit its overall functionality.

Details about its pricing and exact availability are still yet to be known although it's almost certain that it will be available on Alltel in the US sometime soon. Considering it's a CDMA phone, this could be offered by Bell or Telus if it makes it North of the border.

Giving us a preview of what we can expect in early 2009, Nokia has officially announced the 6260 slide.

It comes with a 2.4-inch 320×480 pixel display, 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and flash, secondary camera for video calls, WiFi, 3G connectivity with support for HSDPA and HSUPA, microSD card support, and runs on the S40 OS. The 15.4mm thin Nokia 6260 slide is also the first S40 mobile phone to feature GPS with A-GPS capabilities. The greatest limitation to this decently-featured phone is probably the S40 OS, but I guess it'll suffice for its target audience.

The Nokia 6260 slide is expected to cost €299 or roughly $386 before taxes and subsidies. Details on which markets this will become available is yet to be known and we've got no reason to believe that it won't be headed for the North American region as well. Anyway, just to be certain, we'll keep you guys posted on any developments concerning this new slider from Nokia.

One of the many flaws the iPhone has is the lack of MMS support. While there have been many 3rd party applications that have attempted to patch up the missing pieces to make the iPhone a really productive mobile phone, we have yet to see an MMS be made available through the App Store.

That's before Mobispine entered the picture. Unfortunately, no, they haven't released the MMS application yet, but they have, however, made it known that they're working on one and have every intention of making it available hopefully through the App Store. The app itself will be carrier-branded and it will be up to the carrier on how much it will cost. Unlike the traditional MMS service on most mobile phones, the one being developed by Mobispine will utilize push notification if and when it becomes available, but carriers can likewise make use of SMS notification for the time being.

While this bit of news will get any MMS-craving iPhone user excited, the company failed to lay down a clear time line on when it will become available to the public. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out for their ambitious MMS app and if it will one day see some airtime at the App Store.

I'm sure this is a very useful tools for you. Featuring a solar panel, our new device will allow you to charge any kinds of mobile devices like PSP, iPod, mp3 player, or your mobile phone. It delivers an output of DC5.0-5.5V/600mA, and comes with a battery of 1,350mAh. Here some time estimation for the charging process 3.5 hours to charge via an AC Adaptor, 5Hours via USB, and 15Hours via Solar panel. It comes with seven different colors : black, white, silver, red, pink, blue, green. No information about the price yet.

The Samsung Omnia. We've been waiting on Samsung to bring Windows Mobile 6.1 to their prolific touchscreen slate reference design, and it looks like the wait is almost over. With the Samsung Instinct falling just a bit short of competing on the same level as the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Storm, the Samsung i900 Omnia promises to give Windows Mobile fans a decent alternative to the two headlining touchscreen smartphones from the No. 1 and No. 2 enterprise smartphone vendors in the US.

Word on the street has it that the Samsung Omnia will be shipping as early as November 26, with Verizon Wireless brick-and-mortar stores getting stock around December 8. The Samsung Omnia features a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 3G data connectivity, GPS, WiFi, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, optical mouse, accelerometers (for screen-rotation detection), and either 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage - all powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 with Samsung's TouchWIZ UI riding on top.

With a feature set that essentially trumps the iPhone 3G, the TouchWIZ-toting Samsung Omnia could very well be the Windows Mobile enthusiasts' answer to Apple's handset. Look for the Verizon Samsung Omnia to kick off online sales on November 26 with a $249.99 (after $70 discount) price-tag when purchased with two-year contract.

Google’s catalogue of mobile products has gotten bigger than ever, and the amount of user questions the Google Mobile team fields every day must be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

I imagine having to face the difficult task of helping each and every single Google Mobile product user out of his or her predicament is a bag of hurt. So the fact that Google’s launching a dedicated user forum for such activities doesn’t surprise me at all.

The Google Mobile Help Forum, as it is so aptly called, is a community wherein members will be able to find answers to their mobile questions and help others find the answers to theirs. It’s an brand new platform that was built by Google entirely from scratch.
Here are the platform’s “exciting new features:”

- Q&A format to help you find answers quickly
- Improved search and integration with the Google Mobile Help Center
- Better spam detection and prevention
- Public recognition of Top Contributors and frequent posters (with more posting privileges as you make your way up)
- Ability to subscribe to ask questions and receive answers via email

To access the Google Mobile Help Forum, one simply has to go to http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile?hl=en on their browser. Not exactly the best URL ever designated for a forum, but hey, that’s why they invented bookmarks.

Meizu has launched their new site today with a product page for Meizu M8 miniOne. At the site, you can have a 3D 360°ree; view on the device. Unfortunately the English website is unavailable at the moment.

The Android web browser that powers the T-Mobile G1’s web surfing experience is a mighty fine browser in its own right. The G1’s capacitance-based touchscreen (like that on the iPhone) makes navigating web-pages almost as smooth and easy as with the iPhone Safari browser. And, with speedy page-rendering times, the T-Mobile G1 isn’t lacking in the mobile web browser department.

But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for competition. Following on word that Opera was working to port their proxy-server-assisted Opera Mini browser to the Android platform, the good folks from Norway have finally launched their browser-alternative through the Android Market. Opera Mini 4.2 for Android is now available for download and brings with it the usual fare - proxy-server parsed web surfing, skinning, bookmark sync, full-page view, and more.
Opera Mini 4.2 beta on the Android-powered T-Mobile G1 is everything you’d expect from Opera’s lean, mean web-parsing machine. Web pages load nice and fast. Web pages are processed through Opera’s proxy servers, so that page-rendering times are limited only by Opera’s super-fast servers. The proxy-servers push fully-rendered web-pages faster than any mobile browser tied to a handset’s CPU.

In the end, Opera Mini for Android requires a bit of getting used to, but with the speed and quickness that only Opera Mini can serve up, the Android browser has some tough competition in Opera Mini.

Slowly but surely, Motorola is easing away from the tired design of the old RAZR and looks ready to try something new. Their first QWERTY slider could be launching soon, in the form of the Motorola QA30, and now we find that the Motorola Attila, too, takes on a new approach in design.

If these leaked Motorola Attila pictures turn out to be of the real thing, that is. You see, while we here at Unwired View are as thirsty for new material as the next phone geek, we're not entirely convinced that Motorola will launch a robust, iPhone clone-like handheld like this one as their official iPhone killer.

We have faith left in Motorola, no matter how little, and somehow know that they won't (or shouldn't) come out with a monstrosity such as this, if their successful days with the slim and sharp RAZR taught them any good.

The fact that the second photo we've embedded here shows the alleged Motorola Attila with a very iPhone-esque theme doesn't help convince us either. With a theme like that, it might as well be just another clone, much like the Motorola Aura knock-off we spotted last week.

I’ve been hearing rumblings over the past little while. Rumblings that hidden somewhere within all that lovely code that makes up the Android OS is the capability to make multi-touch a reality on the G1. Low-and-behold, this morning when I got down to a little bit of work, developer RyeBrye has posted a proof of concept video on exactly that feature. Looks like he’s been busy. Check out the video above.
This is clearly just a starting point for multi-touch development on Android for the G1 (and hopefully other devices soon). You have to love the open-ended possibilities with an open-source OS like Android. Whether or not multi-touch will come standard out-of-the-box on new Android devices remains to be seen… Looks like a lot of development still needs to be done. Now that the proof of concept is out there, I can actually hear the developers clamoring to help on development of multi-touch for Android.

(Ok, I can’t actually hear them… But you know what I mean).

Why look what we have here: MOTO QA30, the very first Motorola slider that features a full QWERTY keyboard.

The QA30 has a pretty weird form factor, somehow resembling AT&T's Samsung Propel.

Unlike the Propel, however, which is a GSM phone, MOTO QA30 is a CDMA one that, according to the images found at Howard Forums, will be released by Alltel in the US.

Of course, we don't know yet when this will happen. We do have, though, most of the specs and features that MOTO QA30 will come with.

 

Here they are:

• 1x-EVDO connectivity
• 2.5 inch TFT display with 320 x 240 pixels and 65K colors 
• Threaded messaging
• Full HTML browser
• Facebook access
• Email, IM
• 3.5mm headset jack (nice!)
• Stereo Bluetooth 2.0
• USB 2.0
• 2MP camera
• MicroSD / MicroSDHC card support, up to 32GB

 

There are no details on the price of MOTO QA30, but the handset shouldn't cost too much. After all, it's not even a smartphone, hence it doesn't have Windows Mobile, like the latest official device from the Q series

The features and exact release date of the first Android-powered Asus smartphone could be anyone's guess for now, but one thing's for sure: it is in the works. With their roughly 800-person R&D staff, Asus aims to hit the smartphone scene next year with at least Android, and also Windows Mobile.

And if a recent report citing industry sources in Taiwan holds true, we may as well expect a battle royale between Asus and HTC next year, in the realm of consumer and business smartphones, of course.

It is said the Asus is currently beefing up its R&D in order to offer up to 10 new models in 2009, "almost all supporting 3G and a touch user interface." And all this is done to make rival smartphone maker HTC feel small.

Asus' estimated total shipment volumes for handsets in 2008 didn't even manage to hit half a million, but who knows? With the right mix of a good design, user experience, and smartphone platform (with either the Android OS or Windows Mobile, then), Asus could potentially dream of making sales like the iPhone's. Or the T-Mobile G1's, at least. We should know for sure in the coming months. Either way, it's good for the consumer.

Ah, yes. Another factoid to put under the "wipes the smile off an iPhone user's face" category. See, I don't have anything against iPhones, but I sure have trouble with people talking as if they're in some secret, privileged club. As it turns out, the 2G iPod Touch has an advantage of almost 100MHz over the rest of Apple's touchables, and that makes a major difference when you're talking games and almost certainly other apps.

The developer in this interview notes that they could put 500 more polygons on each player in their tennis game when coding for the Touch 2G, which also suggests that the graphics hardware has been clocked up as well. Of course, the Touch doubtless has less stuff taking up its RAM and cache due to not functioning as a phone and internet device as well. Makes me want one even more.

I’m pumped about this because I just got a G1. This video shows a pretty basic paint program tracking two inputs at once — it’s pretty hacked together but it clearly works okay. We knew it was possible technically, now we see it’s possible practically, and hopefully soon we’ll see it supported officially.

The Android OS-powered T-Mobile G1 has high aspirations. The first Android smartphone has its sight set on displacing the iPhone and iPhone 3G as the “gotta-have” touchscreen smartphone this holiday season. But, neither Android OS nor the T-Mobile G1 has an answer for the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail feature. Until now.

Visual Voicemail allows the user to see a graphical representation of their voicemail inbox, sorted chronologically by caller. The strength of visual voicemail lies is that it allows the user to actually see how many voicemails are waiting to be heard and from which caller each voicemail originated. Users can decide which voicemail messages are worth listening to and which can be left to review later.

Now, thanks to the creative developers at PhoneFusion, the Android platform and the T-Mobile G1 can now proudly say that they have Visual Voicemail capability. PhoneFusion will debut their Visual Voicemail application before the end of 2008, bringing Android users “the ability to centralize all of their voicemail boxes and see – right on the screen of their Android-powered mobile device – a list of their voicemail messages.”


Look for PhoneFusion’s Visual Voicemail application on the Android Market by year’s end.

Full press release after the break.


Free Visual Voicemail Application Lets Users Centralize Multiple Voicemail Boxes and Prioritize
Important Messages Right on their Android Device


Under the Radar: Mobility, Mountain View, Calif. – Nov. 12, 2008 – PhoneFusion™, an innovative provider of reliable, hosted communications solutions, will preview Fusion Voicemail Plus™ for Android smartphones today at the Under the Radar: Mobility event. This free visual voicemail application will provide users the ability to centralize all of their voicemail boxes and see – right on the screen of their Android-powered mobile device – a list of their voicemail messages. The service will also allow users to listen to their voicemails directly from their smartphone. PhoneFusion expects that
Fusion Voicemail Plus will be available on Android Market by the end of Q4.

PhoneFusion’s Fusion Voicemail Plus’ iPhone-like visual voicemail application is already available on any cell phone network for BlackBerry devices as well as smartphones running on Windows Mobile 5 and 6. Fusion Voicemail Plus provides a faster, more efficient way to listen to voicemail messages in the order people want, rather than dialing multiple voicemail systems and listening to the messages in chronological order.

“Our Fusion Voicemail Plus application is tremendously popular with our existing customers who wanted iPhone-type functionality on their favorite devices,” said Louis Libin, chief executive officer, PhoneFusion. “With the launch of T-Mobile’s G1, the first Android-powered smartphone, people have been looking for an innovative visual voicemail app that runs on this breakthrough device. We believe Fusion Voicemail Plus fills this gap, giving the Android community a better way to stay connected when it matters most. We expect this application will quickly become one of the favorites on Android Market.” PhoneFusion was hand-picked to take part in the Under the Radar: Mobility event as one of a select group of Graduate Circle presenters.

These companies are recognized as gaining momentum in the mobile space. In addition to previewing Fusion Voicemail Plus for Android, PhoneFusion will be showcasing its expanded portfolio of User Defined Communication solutions, including:
• PhoneFusion One - User Defined Communications suite
• PhoneFusion Call Center Edition - Virtual call center
• PhoneFusion Office Edition - Office phone system with UDC features
• PhoneFusion Notification Edition – Time-urgent messaging to mass audiences
• PhoneFusion Call Tracking Edition - Marketing campaign management suite combined
with data mining
• PhoneFusion Custom Edition - Mash-Ups, custom development and systems integration
• PhoneFusion White Label Edition - Enables virtual UDC providers, private labels all
solutions above

The iPhone 2.2 OS has been jailbroken via PwnageTool 2.2 and QuickPWN 2.2! But, you have to update your iPhone 3G using Pwnage Tool if you plan to someday unlock your iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 2.2 OS had gone live a mere day or so before the venerable and always reliable iPhone Dev Team released their iPhone 2.2 OS jailbreak solution. The Pwnage Tool jailbreak utility, that has been at the forefront of the iPhone jailbreak scene since its release, is now compatible with the iPhone 2.2 OS.

That means Joe iPhoneUser can now update their iPhone or iPhone 3G with a jailbroken version of the new iPhone OS. This is important because the PwnageTool-based iPhone 2.2 OS jailbreak is the only way to preserve your iPhone's older baseband firmware.

The iPhone's baseband firmware lies at the heart of the battle for a viable iPhone 3G software unlock solution. The iPhone Dev Team is working hard to discover an iPhone 3G soft-unlock solution, but be warned - you must update to iPhone 2.2 OS using PwnageTool if you ever plan to unlock your iPhone 3G. Of course, if you have and original iPhone, don't care about unlocking your iPhone 3G, or have a Windows machine and don't care about unlocking your iPhone 3G, you can easily jailbreak iPhone 2.2 OS using QuickPWN.

Follow this iPhone 2.2 OS jailbreak guide to ensure that your iPhone 3G's baseband firmware is preserved for any future iPhone 3G software unlock solutions (First-generation iPhones can be unlocked regardless of iPhone OS version, this guide can be applied to iPhone 2Gs):

Download the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware to your desktop (make sure to choose the appropriate version)

• iPhone 2.2 OS - iPhone 3G
• iPhone 2.2 OS - iPhone 2G (original)

Download PwnageTool 2.2

• PwnageTool 2.2- Mac OS X torrent file
• PwnageTool 2.2 - Mac OS X direct download

Fire up Pwnage Tool 2.2

Select "Expert Mode"

Select your iPhone version (iPhone 3G or iPhone)

Click "Next"

Allow Pwnage Tool 2.2 to find the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware that you downloaded to your desktop

Select the iPhone 2.2 OS firmware

• iPhone firmware filename - iPhone1,1_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw
• iPhone 3G firmware filename - iPhone1,2_2.2_5G77_Restore.ipsw

Click "Next"

Select the "General" category

Click "Next"

General Settings:

• If you have a legitimate iPhone contract with your carrier (for instance, and iPhone contract with AT&T), you will need to uncheck the box next to "Activate"
• If you don't have a legitimate iPhone contract with your carrier, you will need to ensure that the box next to "Activate" is checked - this will "Hacktivate" your iPhone or iPhone 3G for use on an official iPhone-carrier's network (note, this is not the same as unlocking the handset for use with un-sanctioned GSM networks)
• Change Root Partition size to 1000MB

Click "Next" (Keep clicking "Next" until you get back to the "Build" screen)

Select "Build"

Click "Next"

Save the custom restore file to tyour desktop

• The file should be named - iPhone1,1_2.2_5G77_Custom_Restore.ipsw

Wait for PwnageTool 2.2 to build your custom iPhone 2.2 OS firmware file

When asked if the iPhone has been Pwned before, choose the appropriate option

• iPhone 3G:
  • "NO"
• iPhone (never Pwned - No pineapple logo):
  • "NO"
• iPhone (previously Pwned - Has pineapple logo):
  • "YES"

Connect your iPhone

Follow directions to enter "Restore Mode"

• Hint: Press the "Power" button slightly before pressing the "Home" button. Remember, press "Power" just a tick before pressing "Home"
  

If you followed the directions correctly, you will be rewarded with a blue window exclaiming your success - this is a good thing

• Click "OK"

You will see "I Can Haz Success"

• Quit Pwnage Tool 2.2

Fire up iTunes

• You will be told your iPhone needs to be restored

• Click "OK"

Option+Click Restore (VERY IMPORTANT)

• Make sure you hold down the "Option" key on the keyboard while clicking on "Restore"

Choose the "iPhone1,2_2.1_5F136_Custom_Restore.ipsw" from your desktop

• Click "Open"

Wait

Wait some more

After some more waiting, you will be told that your iPhone that your iPhone has been restored

• Click "OK"

Disconnect iPhone AFTER iTunes recognizes it

Restore backup of iPhone data

Start enjoying your jailbroken iPhone or iPhone 3G running iPhone 2.2 OS!

When reviewing the G1 we found a lot to like, but a lot to dislike too. We knew that some of its shortcomings, like the missing headphone jack, were sadly permanent (free adapters notwithstanding), but hoped that it would just be a matter of time before some enterprising soul (with an enterprising compiler) would take care of another complaint: the lack of multi-touch. Lo and behold now is that time and Ryan Gardner is that coder, author of a little app that proves the inability of the G1 to accept a two-finger salute is not a hardware limitation. You can see for yourself in a video after the break, and once Ryan is done cleaning up his code he pledges to post that, too (don't forget those comments, man). Okay, so being able to cover your screen with red and yellow splotches isn't going to convert any spoiled iPhoners, but we're thinking the rest of you developers out there should be able to pick up this ball and run with it. So make with the running, already.

With the new iPhone firmware 2.2 release we expect a lot of changes to be made, one thing Apple will not be giving us is the ability to send MMS. Mobispine has set out to give the iPhone the "world's first true Multimedia Messaging for iPhone."

We already know there are third party "hacks" out there like Swirly MMS that kind of provide a fix for some. All of these methods require the users to jailbreak their handset in order for it to even work. Mobispine believes that the ability to send and receive MMS from any iPhone will give mobile operators the ability to drive sales and improve subscriber retention.

"Mobispine continues its strong track record of innovation and is proud to unveil the first true MMS service for iPhones. We are confident that global operators will find Mobispine's MMS service for iPhone easy-to-use and profitable," said Dusyant Patel, CEO, Mobispine. "This new offering will help operators generate revenue and differentiate their offerings in a highly competitive market."

The big hang-up that Mobispine faces is the need to brand the application to fit each carrier and then convince Apple to allow it in the App Store. There have been plenty of MMS applications that have been turned away in the past. Only time will tell if Mobispine will succeed in bringing much needed MMS to iPhone.