Next we have a flip phone, the S5150 Olivia. Olivia has a slim body, smooth interiors and a stunning face. Yes, I am talking about the phone. It has the same diamond shaped texture on its front as the S7070 and there it has a camera and a secondary (looks like OLED) display. Just look at the live photos gathered by GSMArena. The main display on the inside is 2.2inch with a QVGA resolution. The camera is 3MP. It is likely to appear around the same time as the S7070.

As you can guess from a name like Diva, these are phones that are designed to attract the fairer sex. Yeah so you might think about gifting one of these to your lady love. Or if you are the lady, just talk a lot about how much you like the phones. If he still does not get it, hit him on the head with your netbook with this webpage open. Let him figure it out with an icepack over his head. You got time though, the release does not happen till early next year. No word on the pricing yet but I have a feeling that they would be priced similarly. [read]

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It was a fine day in October and everything was humming along as usual. Then, a leak happened.

In October this year, an internal roadmap was leaked which showed Motorola’s plans for the next two quarters. It had the Sholes on it and the Motus too. Thus far, that leak has turned out to be quite accurate. [read]

And then, a day came early this month when a new Motorola phone hit the FCC. Of course, it made its way to the blog world like all other big findings before it. It is a triband HSPA device and it carries the name Motus. As we all know by now, the Droid was already already looming over us at that point. [read]

Then yesterday, we had the first leaked photo. So lets take a close look at it. It is a typical candybar smartphone with a slide-out full QWERTY keypad. The keys look flatter than even the Droid’s keys if anything. It reminds of the chemically etched keypads of the RAZR days. They used to be pretty flat out too. The picture is quite hazy, so there isn’t much more to talk about, except that it somehow looks pretty thin. [read]

And just a while ago, we had more news of this. The details have been leaked and it is apparently heading for AT&T. It is triband alright – 850/1900/2100MHz, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3.1” capacitive touchscreen display with 480×320 resolution. There’s also an expansion slot supporting microSD cards and a Qualcomm CPU clocked at 528MHz. And this is an Android phone. Motorola is on a roll here. I wonder what the Zeppelin is going to be like.

it also has been named as the Backflip, probably. There has been a tip off that the phone includes features such as a reverse flip keypad and rear directional touch pad. With all this ‘rear’ I wonder what it will look like in person. [read]

Still, I think Motorola has gotten stuck in a rinse-repeat routine. They are constantly bringing out phones that are not really all that different from each other. Some are just better made with better features (like the Droid) and some are simply stripped down versions of those better ones. The overall design concept remains the same – put in candybar form factor, add slideout keypad, use Android OS, decide on how expensive it will be, done. Droid, Cliq, Dext and now Motus/Backflip.

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According to the report published by Arrington, Google has been in the process of making a smartphone that follows the company’s directions to the T. That basically means they have a handset manufacturer who is working with them and following their specifications. In fact, the latest buzzword there is probably ‘Google Says’. So what does Google say?

That is something we don’t know yet but we do know that this new phone is not going to compromise on anything at all. It is being made to deliver what Google thinks a modern smartphone should be like. So this is not just a Google Experience phone but the true Android vision that Google has. It is meant to show their customers exactly what Google means by a smartphone.

But therein lies a problem. Google is not supposed to make an Android phone. They have too many partner companies who are making their own Android phones. Google’s handset would compete with theirs and that is not how you maintain a healthy relationship. So how do you maintain it and still get what you want?

Arrington has an idea. He suggests that the device will not be a true phone but merely a VoIP device. That way, it will get to have everything awesome that Android has to offer and yet will not compete with the offerings from their partner companies. If they are really making such device, why not just make a tablet? I am sure they see the vast potential in that. What is the use of giving someone a phone shaped MID that has VoIP instead of GSM or CDMA?

May be this is Google’s idea of the future – everything based on the Internet. It does tie in with what Google has to say about practically everything that involves technology and communication of some sort – move it online! Case in point – the Google Chrome OS. It takes your standard Linux OS and turns it into a mere client for all sorts of cloud services. As a result, you get to forget about backing up, maintaining, cleaning and generally thinking about how to get it to work and stay working.

However, the viability of such device depends greatly on one thing. This is that one thing that Google cannot move online – the very means to get online! You have many other carriers all over the world who have the fasted 3G network just like AT&T does and also the spottiest coverage, against just like AT&T does! And worst of all, they may be the best carrier in some countries! What use will be the phone then? We are still far away from a truly global coverage on mobile data networks, especially in countries that are no fully developed.

The current Android Super phone

However, if Google chooses to work with an existing partner who agrees to play ‘Google Says’ – will it harm them all that much? We already have Google Experience phones. So now we can have the Über Google Experience phone. In any case, Google has at least realized the age old truth – if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. Dear old Steve knew that decades ago and now look where he is. Google has done things their own way so far (Search, Ads, Mail, Wave, etc.) and that has led to exponential growth. So why stop now? They have done it with the Chrome OS, where they will be strictly controlling what hardware it is running on. And I am sure they have been disappointed with some of the recent Android phones. So it makes sense logically to make their own version of the Android phone. Wouldn’t you agree?

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The HTC Dragon AKA HTC Passion, is going to be the toast of the Android community if it really has everything that it seems to have. Even though details have been scanty, imaginations speculations have been running pretty wild after the screenshots and live shots were revealed.

Now, Techcrunch claims that the phone has been on the prowl at Android headquarters for quite some time now and top Android people are already using it. It has been undergoing a lot of testing and it is likely that a release is imminent.

It is said to be a lot slimmer than either the Droid or the iPhone. Of course, it won’t have a keyboard so being slimmer than the Droid is nothing to talk about. But the 1GHz Snapdragon processor is. It will blaze through everything that the OS has to offer and will certainly help you with multi-tasking. HTC has recently shown with the HD2 that they are really good at making phones. If they can make Windows Mobile into that good a phone, they should logically be able to make a killer Android phone.

So Techcrunch is of the opinion that this is the next super phone that will carry Android and we agree. If Google is taking a personal interest in it, it has to be something special. I don’t think the top Android players carry and test every Android phone that comes out.

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I am referring to the fact that it is carrying an ARM Cortex A8 chip inside or so the rumor mills say. That chip is supported with a hefty Dose of RAM – whole 256MB of it. Then there is the PowerVR graphics processor – Kurara has one inside it.

All of this has been made possible by the machinations of one Mr. Eldar Murtazin, the one who runs the Mobile Review website. He promises greater details will follow soon. But his overall impression of the Symbian 80 OS on the Kurara is that it is extremely fast.

Well, if you intend to run a slightly older OS on a comparatively newer processor, you are likely to get good results.

Kurara was previously taken to be the little brother of the Sony Ericsson Aino, having a smaller camera size and over all slower components. But now it looks like the Kurara is poised to take over the higher end of the mid range section. If the UI is palatable and the phone runs without problems, a lot of people will snap it up as a budget phone because logically it shouldn’t be as expensive as the Aino or the XPERIA phones. Over all it is likely to be closer to traditional phones than the modern smartphones even though Symbian has third party apps and this is a full touchscreen phone. Whatever happens, we will be watching you Kurara. [read]

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Magellan Sails Over To The iPhone, Finds It Flat

Magellan has finally gotten in on the whole iPhone game with their new Magellan iPhone app. And it works for the iPod Touch too! It does so in the same way that the Dual XGPS300 works to give the iPod Touch aGPS. Magellan has a car kit like the one from TomTom that does same the trick for the iPod Touch.

Also, while your iPhone or iPod Touch is plugged in they will be charged. Plus, you will be able to enjoy a sound that is slightly louder than the ones on your device thanks to the built-in ones on the car kit.

And so Magellan begins sailing the seas of iPhone turn-by-turn navigation. But will it and the others be able to stay afloat as Google continues to follow their ‘get it for free’ business model? Stay tuned. [read]

TouchDJ

So here’s another thing that you can do with your iPhone – dj-ing. After some problems getting approved for the app store, the Touch DJ app is finally here. There’s a lot do on the app. For example — you can get your mixing done visually, do live remixes with the onboard sampler, drop fx and you also get to pre-listen tracks before dropping – full on professional dj style. And what if you suck at putting tunes together? You will suck in a more sophisticated way than you ever have through your iPhone. [read]

Star Wars Trench Run Game

Do you want to relive every moment of the climactic sequence of events that led to the destruction of the Death Star? Better yet, do you want to be the one who destroys it? Well guess what? Now there’s an app for that! Called Star Wars Trench Run, this game drops you right into the thick of the action with hordes of TIE fighters chasing you.

You are to steer the X-Wing and make that narrow route through the thermal exhaust port to hit the weak spot. In the mission mode, you are led through the cinematic effects with dialogues from the movie. In the arcade, you get to choose your poison and take on the baddies in a classic space dogfight. Go ahead, knock yourself out and may the force be with you! [read]

Google Earth Update For iPhone

Google has been rolling out the 2.0 update to their iPhone Google Earth app and the new features are pretty exciting. Of the many new things, you can finally make custom maps on the app by syncing Google My Maps to it. [read]

ShopSavvy For The iPhone

ShopSavvy has been Big in Japan where everyone uses their phone to do everything including shopping. ShopSavvy has also been on Android for over year now, letting the green robot’s followers shop at ease through their phones. Now iPhone owners can do the same.

Okay, so the developers are called Big in Japan but ShopSavvy does scan the barcode of an item to give you all the relevant information and also deals. So if you are in a shop, hunting for a big pack of wipes, you might be informed that a shop two blocks away has a better deal. But even though that means shop owners might lose business it does make shopping easier for their customers, so they are supporting this app. [read]

Fit Or Not

Here’s a lesson in why you should just skip some of the apps in the app store. This new app called ‘Fit or Fugly’ passes judgement on your beauty. Yes, it actually tells you if you look good or bad or fugly. Yet another app that taps in to the everlasting well of human vanity. Meh.

Ravensword: The Fallen King

Fans of RPGs, gather round your respective monitors. This is the story that you are all familiar with. A really great RPG game is now on the iPhone as Ravensword: The Fallen King. This is one game that RPG geeks cannot afford to miss on their iPhones. And if  you have never played an RPG before, this can be a great one to start with. This is not a classic RPG board game like Settlers of Catan for the iPhone but a well made 3D Fantasy RPG.

iPhone App For In Store Appointments

Apple has declared that they will be making an app that will allow iPhone users to schedule in-store appointments for Apple Stores from wherever they are. Now that’s a nice way to integrate the shopping experience with the iPhone. [read]

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The N900 has intrigued the tech community and people in general with its bevy of features ever since it was first announce. But when you look at it closely enough, it seems like it is too little, too late yet again. Reminds me of the N97 really.

On the surface, N900 is an attractive package. When it was first announced, the decent sized capacitive resistive touchscreen, the new interface, large internal storage, QWERTY keypad and TV out features made quite a splash.

From the images, it also seems like there are sensors in the front. So far I have not found out what they are meant to do but they are likely to be a front facing camera and related sensors for video conferencing.

Maemo5’s interface looks good, I will tell you that. If you are looking for something that that really catches the eye and something that is different from everything you have seen so far – you have got to try this out. It supports gestures but in a few instances Nokia has gone too far in its bid to be different from the rest. Take the spiral gesture for zooming for example. I would say that the pinch-to-zoom is simple enough and if you are only mimicking a gesture, there should be no shame in it. After all, you are only making a phone like this because of the entire computer-in-touchscreen-mobile-phone craze that hit the market post the iPhone.

The way you switch between things makes me think of Exposé in the Mac OS. You get to see thumbnails of the of the things you have open and you can touch to switch to the one you desire.

Feature-wise, N900 has everything you might want. Well, almost everything. You get a 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash that takes video. FM-tuner is built-in. The screen is 3.5inches with a resolution of 800×480, which is very nice. That should make watching movies a pleasure. Talking about watching movies, you get a kickstand too for propping it up when you want to. The TV via Nokia’s proprietary cable is the feature that may of use have wanted ever since our phones could carry multiple entire movies and play them back smoothly.

It supports the full meme of a formats for both audio and video, including – AAC, eAAC, mpeg4 , etc.  You get full data connectivity support via GPRS Class A, EDGE, multi-band WCDMA and HSPA, WLAN (802.11b/g). Network-wise it is a quadband GSM and tri-band WCDMA phone. Full specs at the website.

But my enthusiasm starts to wear off when I look deeper into the hardware specifications. It is powered by an ARM Cortex A8, which they clock at 600MHz. Application memory is a combination of 256MB RAM and 768MB of virtual memory. If you ask me, for a phone that is so very multimedia rich, 600MHz is going to be sluggish at multitasking. There’s a reason why the iPhone restricts full multi-tasking. N900 will allow you to multitask but it will definitely slow you down. And with 1GHz Snapdragon-toting phones already in the market, this is going to seem real slow real soon. Also, the new big screen is 4″ or more. But at least it has OpenGL ES 2.0 for graphics. I guess they will be pushing it for handheld gaming.

Next is the OS that fails to excite me. It is good looking and sounds promising too but any new mobile OS that comes out now – after 2.5 years of the iPhone OS and about 2 years of the Android OS – is going to be dealt with a healthy bit of skepticism. Can Nokia’s toddling Maemo5 or Samsung’s newborn Bada match up to the raw numbers of Android and iPhone users? Then why should developers bet on them? I found 50 applications on the Maemo website. There’s obviously more but only 50 chosen applications? May be Nokia is betting too much on the openness of the OS.

Developers want to sell as much as possible, so they are going to look at the user numbers and the future growth potential. The two giants are already in top gear. So the late starters are likely to stay that way.

The Nokia N900 Maemo5 phone is now on preorder from the website for $649. Availability is at end of this month (November ’09). Comes only in Black.

Update: One of our readers  has identified one of the sensors as a way to turn off the touchscreen when you are talking on the phone. So it’s basically a proximity sensor like the one on the HTC Touch Pro 2. Also, the touchscreen is not capacitive but resistive, I stand corrected. Thanks Daniel and Manojlds.

-

What do you think about the N900. Would you choose it over a similar Android phone or the iPhone 3GS?

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As for the iPhone of the present, we now have the first truly malicious iPhone malware going around while Apple continues to grow in the smartphone business, posting more profits that the Finnish giant Nokia.

iPhone Malicious Code Now A Reality

For those who paid no heed to the first ever iPhone worm, here’s a much scarier piece of a news. While the first worm never really did much other than change your wallpaper to rickroll you, there’s a new piece of code that has truly malicious intents for your iPhone.

It attacks the same way as the last one does but instead of making its presence known, it will silently steal all the personal data that it can find on the iPhone and inside the apps. Thankfully, just like the last worm, this malicious program can only infiltrate jailbroken iPhones that have open SSH sessions and have not changed their default root password. So to all those who are jailbreaking their iPhones, do take your time to understand exactly what you are doing and close this gaping security holes. [read]

New iPhone May Be Verizon Only

After the rumors of the next generation iPhone going worldmode surfaced, we now have rumors about the iPhone being made solely for Verizon. This is the result of a confusion regarding reports from chip-maker Qualcomm who have been making new CDMA chips for their parters, including Verizon. [read]

Famous iPhone Dev Quits, First Of The Many To Follow?

After enduring Apple’s shenanigans with the app store approval process, the famed developer Joe Hewitt (creator of the Facebook app)  has officially declared that he is quitting iPhone development. And he makes no bones about being vocal about why he quit, clearly stating that his decision “has had everything to do with Apple’s Policies”.

With so many other developers also complaining about Apple’s policies, Joe’s move may be taken as an example and followed. And if that does happen, Apple will be losing the most important part of what makes the iPhone tick — great apps from great developers. [read]

iPhone Now Has 17% World Smartphone Market Share

Apple is fast closing in on the others in the global mobile Handset Market. After being in the market for barely two and a half years, Apple now constitutes 17.1% of the total global smartphone market.

This is a 50% growth for Apple in recent times, showing exactly how fast a company can grow with the right steps and a brilliant product. The other reason why Nokia is so very important is because it is also one of the largest sellers of smartphones. Its smartphones are the reason why Symbian still holds such a large share of the market. Blackberries may have been very popular in different pockets (RIM is on the wane) but nothing beats Nokia’s worldwide reach. Nothing until now it seems. [read]

Want More Bang For Your Buck? Try The App Store

Analysts have shown that iPhone users have more than just the highest number of Apps to choose from. They also have more value for money when calculated on dollar for dollar. [read]

Apple Creates More Profit Than Nokia

In the last quarter (Q3), Apple made much more money than the world’s number one mobile handset maker – Nokia. And the difference is significant too. While Nokia made $1 billion, Apple made $1.6 billion. [read]

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Apple Adds App Approval Status Tracker

Apple now allows app developers the peace of mind of at least knowing what stage of the approval process their app is in. A new feature added by Apple gives the status of apps as they go through the approval process.

You and I might not think much of it but this translates to a bit more clarity for the developers. They have always complained about how tough it is to communicate to the iPhone app reviewers. So instead of leaving them in the dark, this tracking feature tells them how tantalizingly close they are to approval. Hopefully, Apple is feeling the pressure to streamline and organize the process now that the app count has reached 100,000. As more developers race to get a piece of the action, Apple will be forced to make the process easier on them to and that means having to handle less complaints and queries and clarifications. [read]

Punch Him In The Face With Your iPhone

We all have that annoying friend who we would love to haul over and roundly beat up. But you obviously cannot do that in real life without falling out with your friend and/or getting thoroughly beaten up yourself in the process. The answer is in a new stress/anger/frustration management iPhone app called FaceFighter.

The app lets you kick, punch and block your opponent, all the while seeing bruises and bandages appear on his face. You can also knock out his teeth. To get started, you have to take a picture or choose one from your camera roll. Then you follow the app’s instructions to line up the face with the cut out, zoom in, zoom out and all that. Then you are ready to knock the living day lights out of that guy, virtually of course.

This is not much of a game although it is not as simplistic as that app that lets you shoot things that your camera is seeing. Still, if you do not want to spend $0.99 for the paid version, you can download Face Fighter Lite, which is free. [read]

Universal Studios Can Has iPhone App Too

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the latest big name to have released its own iPhone app. This is not a stand-alone app that lets you borrow their titles online but it will enhance your Blu-ray movie viewing experience.

The latest group of Blu-ray releases from the company – American Pie Presents, 9, Inglorious Basterds, etc. are going to come with two BLU apps. These BLU apps can be used by iPhone and iPod touch users in conjunction with certain Blu-ray players.

The pocket BLU app allows you to remotely interact with your Blu-ray player through a sleek iPhone interface. It features advanced remote control features, a pop-up keyboard and more. Social BLU allows you interact with Facebook and Twitter if your Blu-ray player is connected to the Internet.

Premiere League On iPhone Via Sky TV

You can now watch the Premier League and more on your iPhone through the newly launched Sky TV app for the iPhone. For £6 per month, users will be able to access live TV channels that are part of the Sky Sports bundle including Sky News, Sky Sports channels and ESPN channels.

The app currently works only over WiFi and not 3G and that is because O2 forbids its customers from using any such app in its T&C. That’s because the carrier has their own similar services to protect. Existing Sky subscribers will have to pay separately for this service and new customers will have to apply for a Sky customer ID. [read]

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Ding! First Round Of UK iPhone Battle

As you might know, Orange UK has recently started selling the iPhone and in response to this new competition Vodafone and O2 have gone in to defense mode. To keep more customers on its side, Vodafone sent out an email to all those who had registered with the carrier prior to the iPhone release, in which they claim that their’s is the network that is the fastest for the iPhone.

In a slightly surprising move, O2 has begun offering an unlocking service for the iPhones. No, they are not going to hack any iPhone you bring in but they will unlock their own iPhones at the end of a contract. They are going to charge a £15 fee for it and they are also warning that the process might take some time, as long as up to 14 days. Even though they are charging for it, it would seem like they are trying to ring up some customer good will by doing this. Once they have unlocked the iPhones, the customer can insert any SIM card in to their iPhone and start using it legitimately.

O2 has also asserted that they have seen tremendous growth in their data network. According to the company — data usage on their network has grown 20 times in the last 12 months, doubling every 4 months. They are also offering free home broadband to people who buy into the tethering option to use their iPhone as a wireless modem.

Analysts have also been quoted saying that the iPhone is the best way to make customers pay more, even in this recessive market. But Vodafone is surely on the right track because what iPhone users mainly want is network strength. They are paying an awful lot to get the connectivity and hence they expect a lot in return. [read]

Orange has only just started selling the phone, so it is too early to say anything about them. But as far as the response goes, it has been extremely positive. The company has tweeted saying that they have recorded more than 30,000 iPhones on the very first day. For a phone that has been launched months back, this is really good indeed. The Droid has sold 100,000 units through the first week and it is a newly launched phone that has gotten positive reviews. Orange’s free film-themed app has also received a lot of success, hitting the number on spot in the entertainment category and the number two spot on the free apps category.

Hilton iPhone Apps To Give You More Choices

Guests of the Hilton hotel might soon be able to check in remotely and have food waiting for them when they arrive through multiple apps being launched by Hilton. I say might because once they reveal the app, it will still have to go through the App Store’s approval process. These apps are going to give you many more options and will “help you manage your stay.” [read]

Taptu Goes Real Time

Taptu is already well loved for their friendly mobile-searching app and now they are about to kick things up a notch. They have partnered with the real time search engine OneRiot to bring you search results as they are unfolding across the web. [read]

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First iPhone Worm Rickrolls Jailbroken iPhones

This has been the main worry about everything Mac, They do not have viruses now, true but as they start to get more popular they will attract the attention of malware creators. So in that vein of paranoia, we have news of the first ever worm for the iPhone.

You can cut out the screaming and the deep breathing exercises because it is a) completely harmless and b) only effective on jailbroken iPhones. It does things like change the wallpaper and rickrolling users, so it is not exactly destroying your iPhone yet. A worm on a jailbroken phone is a worm on a device that has already been tampered with. So you can wait for the first ever worm on legit iPhones before you hit the panic button. [read]

Complete Car Control Via iPhone

Okay, this is certifiably crazy. In fact, we should probably start a ‘gHacks Certifiably Nuts’ award just for these fellas. But I must admit that what they are is doing is pretty cool. We know that the iPhone can already be used to start your car remotely but fully driving with the iPhone kinda takes the cake.

So what you do is you take some electronic control circuits, hook them up to control your steering, acceleration and brakes and then control them wirelessly. If you want a less vague and more accurate description, check out the videos. It is quite nicely done and I especially love the fact that they are using the accelerometer to control the steering.

The result is pretty 007-ish — that you can drive your car through your iPhone. Look M(a), no hands! [read]

HD Radio Comes To The iPhone Via Gigaware

Now that the Zune HD is out, your least favorite co-worker who loves to make fun of your liking for Apple has probably been going on and on about how his Zune HD does HD radio and your iPod Touch does not. Setting aside the all important the question of how many good HD radio stations are there near you, you can now get back at him saying “there’s an app for that!”

But that would be kinda half true because even though iBiquity has made an app that plays HD radio on your iPhone, you still have to get an additional hardware for accomplishing the feat. The device is called Gigaware Navigation Controller and is essentially an HD tuner with iPhone integration. It allows you to seek and auto tune as well. Plus there is Facebook tagging and iTunes tagging.

Works with the latest iPhone and the iPod Touch. Available on RadioShack. [read]

Sparkz Projector For Your iPhone

Do you want to spend a lot of money on a pico projector that will work with your iPhone/ iPod Touch/iPod Video? If you do, you can now have the Sparkz dock that lets you connect any of those devices and more to it so that you can project your favorites onto a nearby screen. It will support a/v and VGA inputs too.

Other than this extended support for inputs, it has a resolution of 640×480, stereo speakers and a 60-inch viewing area. It charges your docked device while it is projecting and it comes with its own tripod. The price so much goodness? A mere $495. Hey, I did say a lot of money. [read]

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Balloon!

There’s a new app on the app store and it is called Balloon! It is sort of a ‘message in a bottle’ meets social networking kinda app that lets you set off random bits of text with an image into cyberspace. These bits are called balloons and they directed at no one in particular and you have no control over when, where or whom they reach. So where is the fun part?

You can catch balloons that others have set off, add some text to them and let them go again. This way, balloons go on drifting, collecting text and slowly building up interesting stories of their own. Things like these get better with time and participation, so in a bit you might start catching very interesting balloons of your own.

But the most fun part and also the crux of the app is the tracking ability through which you can track your balloon and see whom it has reached and what has been written on it. And the developers have very intelligently made this a paid-only feature. So when you download the free version, you can do everything except tracking. The paid version is for $2.99.

UI seems light-hearted and cartoonish, so I think most of you will have a lot of fun using this app. [read]

Shazam Goes Premium with Shazam Encore

The popular song identification app has finally released their ‘premium’ version as promised earlier. And as everyone was anticipating, this new app is a paid for app.

They do add some new features to make this upgrade worthwhile for you. You can now have songs recommended to you based on the songs that you have tagged for indentification, see what is popular and search for music through the app. Another major part of the upgrade is a performance speed boost. There is also a car mode in this premium app and it apparently allows you to operate the app even when you are driving a car.

If there’s one thing we don’t need in this world – it is another thing to distract drivers.

The new premium app is called Shazam Encore and it has been released alongside a new free version of the Shazam. This new free version does less than the original version and its users will be limited to only five track identifications per month. Those who have original Shazam app can keep on using it as it is. The Encore is going for £2.99, €3.99 or $4.99. [read]

Knocking Away MMS

You can finally stop whining and cursing about AT&T’s broken promises and lame delays in rolling out MMS because now you can do more than what MMS allows you to do through a new app called Knocking.

With this app you can share up to 100 photos almost instantly with another Knocking user. MMS does not allow you to share entire albums at once but Knocking lets you do that. And the app works over both 3G and WiFi, all the more reason to love it. Other than those obvious advantages, there is another greater advantage that MMS will never be able to give you.

You can control what the other person is seeing through the app, making it much easier to share what you really want to share. Knocking had Facebook connect and through that you can share your ‘knocks’. If you hurry, you might be able to get it for free for yourself and others because this app is free only till the first 50,000 downloads. If that seems a lot, you have to remember that this is the App Store we are taking about. It might reach that number extremely fast. [read]

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The process requires some manual work at the beginning as the program will only accept wav audio files for input. This means that the user either needs to have a wav file of the future ringtone or convert an audio file into wav format before the creation can commence.

The user needs to add the paths to the Nero AAC Encoder executable and the iTunes library to the portable program upon startup. The program will then check the locations and if they are valid open a file browser to select a wav audio file from the computer system. That wav file will then automatically be converted into the m4r ringtone format. It is then copied to the iTunes library and the ringtone folder of that library.

The process is fine for users who want to created iPhone ringtones every now and then. It could be made more user friendly by adding support for mp3 files and the creation of multiple ringtones at once. It is – as of now – only possible to select one wav file at a time. Not very handy for users who want to create several ringtones for their iPhone. The portable software iRingtones is available for download at the Codeplex website. It is compatible with most versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system and requires the Microsoft .net Framework.

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Overall, the reviewers have liked it and from what I have seen of it, I like it too. But whether that liking will germinate into a purchase is completely up to the individual and I can’t really advise for or against it. To me it is a mixed bag and you have to take your pick.

Here are reasons for choosing it.

That Display

You gotta admit it, that 854×440 display looks really great compared to the iPhone’s puny 480×320 display. And the screen looks positively gorgeous. If I wanted a great smartphone to watch movies on, I would definitely choose this.

Google’s Got Your Back

When you have a company like Google making applications for you, you know you will have things to like. Google’s minimalist approach, tight online integration and great web presence makes it the perfect giant to have backing you up in your connected life.

One of the main features of new Android OS is the Navigation feature on Google Maps. People liked it so much that everyone predicted it being the future and the death of all standalone devices and expensive apps. Best of all, the service is free and integrated with Google Maps. It does have some hiccups but I am sure they will be cleaned out soon enough.

iPhone’s lack of an integrated Instant Messenger app really lets it down and the presence of the very same thing lifts up the Droid. From what I read about the user experience on the Droid regarding this and other Google apps, you folks are going to love ‘em to death.

And if there’s one thing that we all love about Google, it is Gmail. It is what I use for my personal account and it is also what I use on my own domain through Google Apps. Gmail on the Android 2.0 is like a perfect little version of the actual Gmail, complete with full labels and threaded emails. If you like Gmail, you will like it on Droid.

Also, the Wave is coming and the Android might have something special for the Surfers.

NOT AT&T

Not having to put up with AT&T’s finicky (and frustrating) network and working on the best network in the country will really help you love the Droid. Imagine a (almost) headache free network experience… makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

It’s Android!

Some people will choose it simply because it is the first Android 2.0 phone and has the best Android experience so far. Some will also choose Android because of Android’s (mostly) open source philosophy. But that is not a very practical reason. The multi-tasking however, is a very practical reason and Droid does it quite well thanks to Snapdragon and Android.

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And now for the other side of the debate.

Multimedia Meh

If you want agreat multimedia experience, stay on the iPhone. It’s not like the Android cannot play media but the experience is just not the same. It’s like the latest Linux and the Mac OS. One does it and the other does it well.

iTunes Baby!

I refuse to believe anyone who claims that they have it better without the world’s largest mobile app and digital music store. Not to mention movies and the other things that are rumored to be coming. If you have used it, you will miss it on Android and there are no comparable replacements for this. Nothing compares to iTunes.

Show Me 10,000 Apps And I Will Show You 100,000

The Android Marketplace over 10,000 apps and there are quite a few apps there which the iTunes Store does not have. But the iTunes has ten times as many apps at over 100,000. Do you still need me to spell it out for you?

Also, since the Droid runs a standard Android install, it does not do much out of the box You will have to download various apps for doing things like viewing PDFs and different mail attachments, etc. Sure the apps are free but you have to find them and install them. With the iPhone, you can hit the ground running.

Other customized Android phones come with these apps pre-installed though.

Security

You cannot lock the screen with a pass code. There is also no support for a remote wipe. You can get that through another app but nothing as integrated as the Find My iPhone Feature. Plus, you can install apps from sources outside the Marketplace.

That’s a good thing right? Yes but you will also be vulnerable to malicious apps that can cause some serious damage. You will receive a warning if you try to install from outside the Marketplace but it can be done.

Tough Keyboard, No Multitouch

One of the few complaints with the physical parts of the phone is the keyboard. Reviewers and users have been reporting having a tough time with the keyboard. As for the virtual keyboard, it is all good except for the fact that there’s no multitouch. Multitouch has been intentionally disabled on the Droid as per agreements between Motorola, Google and Verizon.

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So there you have it, the most popular pros and cons laid out for you. Choose for yourself and choose wisely.

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If you want to know more about the iPhone, head over to this week’s Saturday Apple Pie at Otaku Gadgets.

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This time around, the iPhone gets awarded the ‘Worst Phone Ever Award’, gets a new 3GS rumor, gets completely unlocked and a lot of other things. Not to mention some great new apps, which is business as usual for the App Store.

If you want more Apple news, tune into the weekly Apple round up on Otaku Gadgets tomorrow.

News:

iPhone Devs Farm Phone Numbers

Seems like iPhone Devs have been farming app users’ telephone numbers again. This time it is Storm 8. Storm 8 makes games, the ones that you see above. And all of them have been accused of carrying a special code that collects the user’s phone number without permission. This has been revealed in a lawsuit and Storm 8 has (sort of) acknowledged that the apps do this. [read]

$99 8GB iPhone 3GS For Christmas [?]

Boy Genius Report claims that they have insider news about a new iPhone offer that will hit AT&T before Christmas. They claim that the iPhone 3GS 8GB model will start selling for $99 only. Before you get into a tizzy, remember that there is no proof of this right now. Not even a suspicious looking flyer. [read]

RFID On The iPhone [?]

So there is this rumor that says Apple is testing out next-generation iPhones that have an RFID chip. What Apple intends to do with it is unknown at this point though. They might enable using the iPhone as a credit card. It might become the new way to shop at (Apple) stores. It might also enhance the Find My iPhone feature. Whatever it does, it will probably be an industry-first. Do we know another RFID-enabled consumer phone? [read]

iPhone China Sales Disappoint

The iPhone Sales In China have disappointing, really so. The first week after the launch saw only 5000 phones sold. The high price and the other factors are being blamed for this. [read]

Quirky’s Beamer Flashes The iPhone

Quirky is a company that has been coming up with really interesting accessories for the iPhone. They now have a new case on sale that adds a much-wanted feature on the iPhone – a flash. Not Flash as in Adobe, but an LED flash that can be switched for a 10-second period (single button press) or can be kept on as a flashlight (double button press). The case itself comes in two parts and hardly adds bulk to the device. Handy for shooting in low light. [read]

Aussies Love The iPhone

A survey by Millward Brown suggests that the iPhone is perceived as the biggest phone brand in Australia. [read]

CNET UK Hates iPhone

CNET UK has all of a sudden award the Worst Phone Ever editorial award to the iPhone. According to the editor, the iPhone is a great computing great device but it fails at being a great phone. [read]

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Apps:

App Store Has More Than 100,000 Apps Now [Official]

Apple has confirmed officially that the App Store has reached over 100,000 apps. Woot! So now you have that many more reasons to love/hate the iPhone. If you just hate having that much competition as a dev or having to trawl through all that as a user, you know you are not alone. [read]

Louvre App Coincided With Louvre Apple Store

The new Apple Store at the Louvre Carousel, the first French Apple Store ever, will open on the 7^th of this month. Coinciding with this is the introduction of the Muée Du Louvre’s very own iPhone app. Through it, visitors can soak in the beauty of the artwork and take a virtual tour through the museum. Best of all, it’s free! [read]

App To Cure Fear Of Flying

Are you afraid of flying? Don’t worry, there are a lot of other people out there who suffer from the same fear. Thankfully, now there are people who help others overcome their fear of flying. Virgin Atlantic has been helping those who are too afraid to fly through various seminars called Flying Without Fear. Now they have an app that will help do the same for iPhone users. It provides helpful tips and is modeled on the successful strategies that are used at the seminars. [read]

iPhone App Acts Like TiVo for Radio

We already have a lot of radio apps for the iPhone but this one does something new. Called the Public Radio, it allows iPhone users to record their favorite NPR programs and then listen to them in their own time. [read]

Stacks For The iPhone, Springload Your Apps

For those who have an unlocked iPhone, here’s a way to better utilize the four app slots on the iPhone’s home screen. Much like Stacks in the OS X Dock, the Stacks app for iPhone allows you to pin multiple apps one slot. This can be done for any or all slots. The is currently in alpha. [read]

Unlock iPhone OS 3.1.2 With Blacksn0w

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and it is finally here. Available on Cydia, the Blacksn0w app lets you unlock the new iPhone OS 3.1.2 and the new baseband. [read]

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Right after Sony Ericsson made the XPERIA X10 (AKA Rachael/X3) official, the rumor mill threw out another leak at us. This time it is as model called the Kurara. Kurara seems to be the basic version of the flagship model Satio. For those who don’t know, Satio is a new phone from Sony Ericsson that centers around a 12.1megapixel camera and a 3.5inch screen 16:9 aspect ratio. Over all, it is pitched as a multimedia phone that has a great camera and a great screen that allows you to immerse yourself in the experience.

So the Kurara offers an experience that is more like a toned down version of what you get on the Satio. The rumors peg the camera on this phone at 8.l megapixel and screen is said to be 3.5inch. The other interesting part about this phone is the fact that the screen is apparently AMOLED. The OS is Symbian S60 5^thGeneration, again as per the rumors.

The camera is apparently capable of recording HD video. I agree with SlashGear’s Chris Davies here – it probably means that it does 720p video. From the side, you can see the phone has an oblong shape, plus there are dedicated buttons that make it look like a point and shoot instead of a phone. The teardrop profile also makes it look pretty sleek and stylish. That is one thing that Sony has always tried to keep up through almost all its phone – good looks.

The big question is what the UI would be like. Sony Ericsson has already declared that they are making a whole new line around the X10. They have also said that the new UI and UX (User Experience) is going to be cross-platform, so that means it is coming to their Symbian phones as well.

So, to make two plus two, this phone might have the new UI built into it. Won’t that be fun – to have a nice amd basic camera phone with the new fangled UI. In any case, the Kurara does seem like it will be ready for a show ‘n tell at the WMC (World Mobile Congress) 2010.

Sony Ericsson has declared that the Satio will not receive any updates and hence will remain excluded from this new UI endowment. One more bad news is that it looks like the Kurara will not have an USB port. That means yet another phone with the proprietary port. It is called a Universal Serial Bus for a reason you know.

After the initial leak, the phone got a new set of photos where its size was put into perspective by propping it up against a beverage can. The close up of the device further confirms the HD imprint on the back of the device.

Whether these leaks are hurting SE’s development cycle can only be speculated about. It did look like the company was hurried into announcing the X10. Since they are going to bring it out way after the holiday season, there was no reason to make it official so soon. They could’ve taken their time and sprung a more finished product on us.

But our expectations tend to get pretty wild with such continuous leaks and that can hurt the product instead of help it. So companies are always forced to taken some kind of measures to curb the unreasonable expectations. Apple seems to have done that by intentionally hinting at things about the tablet without really leaking anything. So SE perhaps thought it best to let everyone know what they were doing, set an ETA and then get back to working on it. All in all, this year’s WMC is shaping up to be a promising one device-wise.

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So here we have some of the more high profile Snapdragon phones that are coming our way.

HTC HD2

After that big a whispering campaign courtesy of the leaks and the high anticipation during the launch, there is no way you can forget this mobile phone. Arguably the first device to bring the processor to the limelight, this is the phone that in a way started it all.

If you are not too impressed by the 4.3inch screen, then you might be impressed by the custom UI made by HTC. The UI has been demoed on video and it looks really great and responsive. The acceleration, the transitions and the rendering – all look smooth and fast. That is definitely where the Snapdragon shines its brightest.

But the phone might fail to generate the traction and sales that it deserves simply because of its platform. It is a Windows Mobile device and it runs Windows Mobile 6.5 underneath that great UI. What that means is a (ridiculously) low number of apps and low third party interest, which again translates to a not-so-good user experience when compared to the fast-moving Android or the trend-setting iPhone OS.

HTC Dragon/ Passion [?]

This was rumored to be the Android version of the HD2 but now it has been (almost) ID’d as the new HTC Passion. This would be more like a CDMA version of the HTC Dragon, which is a GSM phone. It has also been revealed that the HTC Passion is heading for Verizon and we could be seeing it in the flesh metal by the end of this year. Well, if they want to sell something this year they have to bring it out before Christmas.

But if this phone does materialize, this would be another Android phone that will be jostling for space at the top rung of things. Now that we have the Droid and the X10, this would likely become the third super-specc’d Android phone. [read]

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10

If you still do not know about the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, you are clearly not coming out from underneath your rock often enough. The XEPRIA X10 was leaked and discussed frenetically before it was finally unveiled on November 3^rd.

It features a custom UI on top of Android and it is know as the ‘Open OS’. The features to be highlighted are the Timescape and Mediascape features, that give you smarter ways to stay connected with your contacts, communications and media. If you want a hands-on review of a pre-production unit, you can check out this post. Over all, Sony Ericsson has something that is pretty sleek and stylish. If they can deliver on their promises (Timescape and Mediascape), this might become THE Android phone to get. Hopefully it will be up to Android 2.0 when they finally get around to selling this phone in the first half of next year.

Acer Liquid A1

Acer’s Liquid A1 is the company’s venture into Android smartphone field and it has so far received a lukewarm response at best. After announcing the Snapdragon processor and the Android OS base, it became the first phone to bring those two together.

However, as we have seen and heard from the folks who got their hands on the device  – Acer is clearly lacking on the UI development. Plus, the physical design of the phone leaves much space for improvement. Acer’s inexperience in the smartphone category shows through too clearly for this to be a compelling device. Sorry Acer but it looks like you need to step up your game here. [read]

Unnamed Nokia Smartphone For AT&T

Nokia is rumored to be making a new smartphone for AT&T that will be powered by Snapdragon. It is not the N900 and it is something that will be up against the likes of the Droid, the HD2 and the X10. This is a little sliver of a rumor, so more details are currently unavailable. [read]

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New iPhone Safari Bug Could Drive Your Bills Through The Roof

It has been a while since we have seen a major bug in Safari on the iPhone that users could themselves trip. So imagine our intrigue when we came across this bug. Apparently, if the user visits a site that uses Motion-JPEG (a format used mainly by security cameras) and then closes Safari – Safari continues to run in the background and continues to feed that stream into your iPhone.

The user is not notified of this in anyway and at the end of the day, you could end up with huge data bills or over usage charges. [read]

More Macs Online After The Windows 7 Launch

This might seem a bit hard to digest but it seems like the truth. We now have more Macs online  after Windows 7 has been released. In fact, Windows’ share of the Internet is on the decline. This could get interesting. [read]

Snow Leopard Update To Block Atom

Looks the latest build kernels of Mac OS 10.6.2 lacks support for Intel’s Atom. While the intention on Apple’s part is not entirely clear but we may be looking at yet another cat and mouse game here after the current Palm Pre sync thing.

If this build goes live, then netbook hackintosh makers will face a pretty challenging situation where there is no built in support for Atom. Since removing the support does not really contribute to the further streamlining of the Mac OS, blocking hackintosh makers seems like the logical intention here.

It would make sense too, with Apple trying to convert as many people has possible from the PC side of things. However, they won’t be able to keep at it for that long because you can bet that hackers on the case already and it won’t take them long.

Endless Racing Game For iPhone

I have not tried out the endless racing game but the video sure looks fun. If you are up for a simple racing that reminds of the old days, this one might be just the thing you are looking for. [read]

SquareSpace App Goes Live On The App Store

The popular hosted web-service called SquareSpace finally has its own iPhone. If you have an account over at SquareSpace, you will be able to access it securely over the app. The app does not take you through the website. It is a self-contained thing that is directly hooked up with the SquareSpace service and it lets you see everything about your website. You can see the stats, post on your blog, edit your blog, etc. [read]

Wadia’s High-End Dock For The iPod

Wadia has a high-end in audio and video solution for the the iPod, sort of. They have an iPod dock called the 170iTransport. Once you plug in your iPod, the device will act as a media server. It can stream your iPod digital output over an S/PDIF co-axial cable and it also has component video for all your movies. Going for $380, this might be a nice addition to your home theatre rig. Of  course, the quality will be as good as the original files, which will likely be compressed. [read]

Orange To Offer The iPhone In the UK From Nov 10, Bans Media Streaming Apps

Orange has declared that they will start selling the iPhone from November 10. But there is a problem here. [read]

It seems that Orange’s terms and conditions dictate that you cannot use your iPhone for other activities. These activities include making using the phone as a modem, using non-Orange Internet-based streaming services, VoIP and more. That means you will not be able to use apps like Spotify, YouTube, AudioBoo, etc. – all of which use Internet-based media streaming to deliver content on demand.

But Orange has clarified on BBC that iPhone users will be allowed to use these apps as long as they are within their monthly usage limits. I really hope they stick to that, because you will be signing the contract. [read]

iPhone OS 3.1.2 Unlock Coming On Nov 4^th, Unlock iPhone 3GS and More

It has been cracked folks!

Come November 4^th, i.e. tomorrow, you will be able to unlock your iPhone 3GS and other devices that are running iPhone OS 3.1.2. The hacker who made cracks of the previous iPhone OS versions has done it again. The crack is coming as blacksn0w  from Geohot. [read]

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Yes people, say hello to Sony Ericsson’s first ever Android phone – the XPERIA X10. Not named X3 after all and thankfully not Rachael, the X10 is exactly what we have all been hoping for. And since this is Sony, you can expect stellar aesthetics and build quality.

Update: Found a hands on video. Embedded below.

Update 2: UK Unlocked price – £460 on pre order. [read]

When I refreshed the page today, I knew the X10 was here because it started redirecting me to a complicated URL that looked like a product page. Sure enough, I saw the X10’s name pop up on the title bar moments before the page became visible. The photos that we have been showing you so far have been absolutely accurate, down to the last details. It looks like Sony has been sitting on the finalized version for quite some time now.

So what is it like in person? I wouldn’t know because I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet but on the surface of it, the thing’s a stunner. The screen is 480×854 pixels (WVGA) but for some reason, it displays only only16,536 colors.

As for the form factor, the thing is pretty thin – only half an inch. The dimensions are 4.7”x2.5”x0.5”. So you can imagine how large the phone is. It is almost like an MID in your pocket. A rather slim one at that. The actual screen size has not been provided individually but according to my calculations it should be around 4.0″-4.1”. The online stores are listing this as a 4″ screen. Now that is a large screen!

Features include a capacitive touchscreen, the impressive Mediascape media browser that reminds us of the Zune HD’s UI and face recognition in photos integrated with your contacts. It has an 8.1-megapixel camera with auto focus, face recognition, flash, smile-detection and video recording with video light. Most of the Sony Ericsson phones that I have seen and reviewed have had above average image quality when came to the camera. So I would bet on this one being a pretty good camera as well.

As we had been informed by the rumor mill, the infinity symbol is part of the X10’s UI. It signifies the Timescape feature. Timescape is a feature that consolidates your conversations and communications with a person. Be it on Facebook, text, phone or email, you can view them all in one place per person using Timescape. I personally like this feature because it sounds like something we all need. I hope it has threaded SMS conversations. Given the myriad communication platforms we use today, features like this one are fast becoming necessities. Although, I am not sure of how well Timescape works. If you have tried it out, let me know in the comments section below.

For those of you who were hoping for a physical QWERTY keypad – sorry to disappoint you. As I had mentioned in my X10 round up some time back, there is no way this thing is hiding a QWERTY keypad in that slim a profile. And the images would’ve shown it off anyway, given the amount of excitement that surrounded this phone.

As for the overall performance of the phone, I will be betting on the side of great rather than just good. That is my confidence in Android, which this phone is running beneath all that custom UI.

The Internal memory is 1GB minus whatever the software is taking up (not announced yet). You can put in a MicroSD card, which come in a maximum of 16GB right now. They include a 8GB card when you purchase it.

Networks supported are – GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900,            UMTS/HSPA 900/1700/2100. It has aGPS, Bluetooth A2DP, Google Maps and WiFi. No word on the processor, although we are pretty sure that it is the Qualcomm Snapdragon. The clock speed is unknown at this point though.

As for price, I could find only one website through Google. It has the X10 listed at $799. Check out the search right here. the official product page is here.

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Do check out the XPERIA X3/Rachael rumor round up while you wait for SE to release the thing already.

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