Tag Archives: Cell phone

MMS feature coming to iPhone in 12 days

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The long hoped for feature for the iPhone finally gets a date of arrival: the Multimedia Messaging Service feature will be enabled on all iPhone 3G and 3GS devices (sorry, original iPhone users) on September 15.  For those of you not in the know, MMS is the feature that allows you to send and receive picture/video messages to other cell phone users.  Up until now, iPhone users have been stuck in the dark ages, only able to send and receive texts (and more recently audio and contact files).  MSS will be enabled through a required software update via iTunes.

What took so long, you ask?  Put simply, AT&T’s service is sucky and they believed that their cell tower structure was not ready to handle the heavy traffic of iPhone users sending pictures to each other.  After having plently of time to fix and upgrade things (and breaking a promise of a Summer MMS release), AT&T is confident in saying:

“We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.  …  We want you to know that we’re working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.”

Note that there was no new information divulged about tethering.  It was only mentioned that it will be supported “in the future.”

[Via Engadget; AT&T]

Nokia N900 shows off new software dubbed Maemo 5

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Check out the Nokia Maemo 5 Internet Tablet.

According to Engadget: “The specs include a 3.5-inch 800×480 pixel (resistive) touchscreen, sliding QWERTY, 32GB of on-board storage expandable to 48GB via microSD, GPS/A-GPS, FM transmitter, TV-out, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, 1320mAh battery, and 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash…ARM Cortex-A8, up to 1GB of application memory, and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration…Nokia promises [it] will be a “PC-like experience on a handset-sized device.” It also brings a Mozilla-based Maemo browser with Adobe Flash 9.4 support.”

Looks cool.  Maybe Maemo can salvage what’s left of my interest in Nokia from the dark abyss that is the Symbian OS.

[Via Engadget]

Leaf, the wearable, solar-powered cell phone

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Leaf, Solar Charging Mobile Phone by Seungkyun Woo & Junyi Heo

Designed by Seungkyun Woo & Junyi Heo, the Leaf was inspired by our good friend, photosynthesis.  The concept is simple, and genius.  Where ever you are outdoors, your cell phone is charging.  The Leaf contains solar cells on its front panel, allowing the sun to keep the battery at full levels on a consistent basis.  And of course, if it happens to be a dark and gloomy day, you can use a trusty electric source to charge the phone in a more traditional way.  The phone itself is very basic; it does calls, messages, and that’s it, really.  And yes, it is made of flexible materials so it can bend to your wrist.  However, the main objective of the phone does not lie in its functionality; its aim is to “remind people that they can contribute to energy efficiency.”

[Via Gizmodo; Yanko Design]

Sony Ericsson readying for battle

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With the Apple iPhone, HTC G1 (the “Google phone”), and Blackberry devices taking over the smartphone industry by storm (no pun intended, Blackberry), it’s time for Sony Ericsson (SE) to step up to the plate and offer a sleek device with updated hardware and a state-of-the-art user interface.  And from the looks of it, it seems as if SE has done just that with their new handset code-named Rachael.  Although the actual images of the cell phone may be artist rendering (or fakes for all we know), the user interface revealed in the embedded video above is very real and very exciting.  The SE Rachael will run of Google’s Android open-source platform, with its own customized user interface layered on top.  The polished UI seems to include a “unified messaging interface that displays Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS, and calls all from one screen.”  Now all we can do is wait patiently for SE to officially announce the new handset and sleek UI; they better do this quickly because smartphone platforms like the iPhone are not slowing down their progress anytime soon.  Look after the break (click “more…”) for images of the Rachael device. Continue reading Sony Ericsson readying for battle →

I smell new Chocolate, I can almost…

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LG is teasing the latest iteration of its Chocolate handset.  The LG Chocolate series of phones is LG’s most popular and best-selling handset to date.  Officially, LG has only unveiled shadowy images the “second generation LG Chocolate.”  More information will sprout between now and its supposed August release.  Engadget was told: “The new LG Chocolate will be a disruptive force in conventional mobile screens in an effort to maximize usability while inheriting the original minimalist-inspired style and iconic design of its predecessor.”  Sounds delicious to me.

Update:  Engadget has received word of some specifications from the usually reliable source Tweakers.net:  “[The LG Chocolate] will become the first of its kind with a 21:9 aspect ratio display.  We’re also told that the model number will be BL-40, the screen resolution will be pegged at 800 x 345, the display itself will be over 3-inches diagonally, the inbuilt camera will be 5 megapixels, and HSDPA will be included.”  Check out some additional (and official) images after the break. Continue reading I smell new Chocolate, I can almost… →

Exclusive: Palm Pre Unboxing & Hands-On

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Palm Pre front

On June 6th, Palm will be releasing its brand new smartphone device called the Palm Pre.  It will be available for Sprint for $199.99 after you sign up for a 2-year contract.  I got a sneak-peak hands-on with the Pre this afternoon.  To sum it up, the Palm Pre is simply the first cell phone that will truly rival the Apple iPhone.   Both the exterior and the UI are extremely sleek and modern.  Although the physical keyboard is rather small, the keys are bouncy and raised to make typing with them not too much of a hastle.  I was able to run a number of apps including Calendar, Email, SMS, Photos, Camera, Music, the browser, SprintTV, AmazonMP3, Google Maps, and YouTube.  The App Store was open, but I was unable to download apps from it.  Synergy, Palm’s signature way of bringing together everyone’s contact information into one entity, is quite impressive.  When you search a contact name, you get more than a picture of them, their phone number, email and address information.  Tagged with their name is also their AIM, Facebook, and other social networking services, if they have them, of course.  Think of it as a a bundle of ways to contact a person, all found in one place.  The “cards” are very fluid in motion.  You can easily flick an open app to the side for later use, or up and out of the way to exit it.  All in all, I am very excited for the launch of the Palm Pre on Sprint.  According to some rumors, the Pre will soon be available on other networks, such as Verizon, in the coming months.  Here’s hoping Palm will make a move Apple did not take advantage of–opening their device to a number of networks, to get a Pre in as many hands as possible.

Check after the break for the gallery of pictures.  They include the front and back of the device, as well as the official packaging of the phone. Continue reading Exclusive: Palm Pre Unboxing & Hands-On →