Crenk » mobile

VoIP Applications in iTunes App Store, But Why Is There Still No Google Voice?

Steven Finch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:17:16 +0000

It was just reported by Om Malik that Apple has approved yet another VoIP application. The application in question is Stockholm based Rebtel. Currently, Rebtel is now available to download from the iTunes store, as well as other VoIP applications like Skype.

Rebtel joins a growing rank of Internet telephony applications including Skype, Truphone, Nimbuzz, Fring and Vonage. Given that Apple and AT&T are giving the nod to almost all VoIP applications, Om wonders why exactly Google Voice isn’t getting the go-ahead?

I still think there is a distinctive difference between the VoIP service and what Google Voice offers. Google Voice offers free calls with no cost at all with the USA and Canada. However, on the VoIP service there is still a cost associated when calling phone numbers (only online calls are free). Thus, AT&T and other mobile carriers of the iPhone feel that VoIP services dont harm their call costs, because they think users are too lazy to open the VoIP applications then call, instead of just calling using their phone carrier.

Windows Mobile Ad: Windows 6.5 TV Campaign

Steven Finch — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:11 +0000

Microsoft has launched Windows Mobile 6.5, but their new TV ad campaign doesn’t emphasis the new version number, its more focused on just advertising “buy a Windows phone”.

Seattle blog TechFlash says the ad is a flop, calling it “downright strange” and lacking the impact of the successful Laptop Hunter series:

Am I missing something here? I’ve watched it three times now, and still don’t think it resonates. We’ve actually been impressed with Microsoft’s “Laptop Hunters” ad campaign — which appears to be making inroads against Apple — as well as some of the more recent Windows 7 ads. But this one is just downright strange.

I have to agree with TechFlash. I dont think the ad is focusing on the right areas, it seems as though they are just focusing on the fact that Windows mobile has apps for all Microsoft products and others.
However, dont they understand that the pretty much all other phones have the basic applications the average users wants on their phones (Facebook, Twitter, etc), and they are focused more on the business market with the Microsoft Office apps, but that market is dominated at the moment by Apple and RIM.

Nissan iPhone App Helps Drivers Be More Eco Friendly

Steven Finch — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:55:28 +0000

The iPhone currently isn’t very big in Japan, but that hasn’t stopped Nissan from developing an iPhone application for Yokohama City residents.

The app is called E1 Grand Prix and here is how it works: The app connects to your car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), and extracts information in real-time to determine how efficiently you’re driving (you know, from a saving fuel perspective). Step on the gas and then break too much, and you’ll get a low score; accelerate just enough to coast to the corner before the light turns red, and you’ll get high marks. The app connects to your OBD via in-car mobile Wi-Fi, and then spits back your results on your iPhone screen and via e-mail. The results are also uploaded to an online site, where you essentially compete with other folks to be the most ‘eco-efficient’ driver — hence the ‘Grand Prix’ name).

Nissan is still yet to announce if they will be launching the application in locations all over the world, but im sure it is only a matter of time.

Orange Makes Multimedia on Your Mobile More Accessible With the Launch of New Store

Steven Finch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:52:07 +0000

Orange have launched a new store in Milton Keynes, UK.

The first Orange UK Multimedia Store opens today in thecentre:mk, Milton Keynes
The world’s first Motorola DEXT™ with MOTOBLUR™* will be exclusively on sale at the new Milton Keynes store on opening day, before anywhere else in the world**
It is also the first Orange store to feature a giant 70-inch cinema style screen and seating area, bringing multimedia to life

Hercules Mobile DJ-ing Equipment

Dean Sherwin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:57:08 +0000

The hobby of DJ-ing, and even making it into a career has been around for ages – well, since the 70s anyway. Recently, it has gone digital with loads of gadgets released onto the market to replace traditional turn tables. Normally, these comprise of touch sensitive pads and buttons to replicate the scratching and mixing of tracks. Well now it’s gone portable.

The Hercules Mobile DJ Mp3 system incorporates two touch sensitive pads and loads of knobs, dials and buttons for the mobile DJ to work his magic. It works like an mp3 player – you load song onto it from your PC. Then, you can select multiple songs to mix and create your own tunes. There are various features such as the ability to add effects and to cue up tracks ready to be inserted when every you want. What’s more, there is no need for discs as it’s all saved on the Hercules’ hard disk.

Not bad for only $99 at samedaymusic.com .

AtMyNumber: Send Emails to Your Mobile Number

Dean Sherwin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:49:22 +0000

I have several e-mail addresses. One for work, one for personal, one for my social networks and three or four I have simply been forced to abandon due to unmanageable amount of SPAM. In fact, it’s a rare occurrence that you’ll meet someone with only one e-mail address to their name; not that you’d ask.

So remembering these addresses can be difficult. That’s where atmynumber.com comes in. Basically, you sign up for an e-mail address for atmynumber.com that matches your phone number. So if your phone number is 4526985478; then your e-mail address will be 4526985478@atmynumber.com. The service will then forward all incoming e-mails to your real account whether it’s Gmail, Yahoo or indeed…any account!

This eliminates the problem of forgetting your e-mail address due to the half dozen in your name and it’s also easier for people to send you a quick e-mail because chances are they have your number! One bad thing about this is that it’s only available in the US and Canada; looks like all us Europeans will have to make do.

HTC Tattoo Android Powered Mobile Phone To Lauch In Europe in October

Steven Finch — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:08:08 +0000

Formerly called the HTC Click, the HTC Tattoo will hit the European market in October and others a few months later. HTC hopes this phone will bring the loved-by-geeks Android OS to the masses; we’re not sure that will happen, but it looks like a good entry-level phone for the platform.

It’s called the Tattoo because you can adorn it with custom, patterned covers. Wrapped in those covers you’ll find a 3.2-megapixel camera, 512 MB of internal memory, a 2.8-inch touchscreen with a 240 x 320 resolution, GPS, Wi-Fi, a compass, and Bluetooth. Supported cellular networks include quad-band GSM and EDGE, and 900/2100MHz HSPA and UMTS.

HTC hasn’t named the price yet.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 Running Windows Mobile 6.5 and more

Steven Finch — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:33:25 +0000

Sony Ericsson has announced an all new XPERIA X2, which will run on Windows Mobile 6.5.

XPERIA X2 comes bundled with tons of features including QWERTY keypad, 8.1MP camera, a 3.2 inch sized screen with WVGA resolution and a wide variety of communication possibilities. X2 comes with 14 specially designed preloaded XPERIA™ panels and 16 more to download, users can work with no boundaries with the XPERIA™ X2. From Skype, Mytopia and Google, to games, CNN and Windows Live, the panels ensure users are up-to-date with what matters most to them.

Features include:

8.1 megapixel camera
Up to 16x digital zoom, Auto focus, Geo tagging and Image stabilizer
Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
Equalizer
Sony Ericsson media player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
Equalizer
Sony Ericsson media player
Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync®
Handwriting recognition
Windows Mobile® 6.5
Motion gaming
Video streaming
Video viewing
YouTube application
A-GPS
Google Maps
Modem
TV out
USB mass storage
USB support
Wi-Fi
Adobe® PDF Reader
Microsoft® Office Mobile

NextWorth: Trade In Your Old or Unused Mobile Phones or Cells

Steven Finch — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:09:46 +0000

NextWorth who is a leading player in consumer electronics trade-in and incentivized recycling programs, is announcing a new trade-in service for all mobiles. It has been reported that the average person purchases a new phone every 12 months with more than one hundred million working phones becoming unused every year. NextWorth is helping consumers keep the environment clean, reduce electronic waste, and make money at the same time.

NextWorth accepts mobile phones from every carrier and manufacturer, and after the trade-in value is determined the consumer can opt to have a check sent via mail or paid via Paypal. If the phone itself doesn’t hold any value at the time of trade-in then NextWorth will still provide free shipping to customers and disposes of the device through responsible recycling practices.

mBox Mail: Hotmail & Windows Live Push Mobile Mail App for iPhone and iPod Touch

Steven Finch — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:24:40 +0000

Microsoft are normally the slowest of the major companies to adopt new ideas and technologies and they are still yet to release an iphone application for hotmail. Hotmail competitors like Gmail have already released iphone applications with push technology. If your like me and you cant wait for a very long time for Microsoft to bring out a Hotmail iphone app, then get mBox Mail. mBox Mail is a fast, full featured Hotmail client for the iphone and ipod touch.

mBox Mail app also supports the following languages: English, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish

FEATURES :

- Handles multiple
Hotmail accounts
- Move messages between folders
- Add, edit and delete folders
- Mail is kept in sync with the web including read/unread flags
– Access
Windows Live Contacts
- Passcode protection to prevent unauthorized use
- Landscape mode support for all screens
- Message Search
- Support for large attachments
- Send and receive pictures
- Save pictures to photo album
- Embedded web browser
- Multiple language support
– Supports
Windows Live custom domains
You can download from the iTunes store here.

Google Mobile: Links Getting Shorter and Smarter

Augusto Alvarez — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:29:57 +0000

If you have some kind of mobile addiction and feel the necessity to constantly check your email with your mobile; I’m pretty sure that you usually get uncomfortable trying to use the small screen on your phone. Well this is not a revolutionary invention, but it keeps reminding me that Google is trying to keep things simpler: “Smart Links” automatically shortens long links and converts them into named links.

This is what you usually when you are reading an email with a long link:

And Smart Links converting it like this:

Of course these links, at least for now, will only work with Google related sites: Google Maps, Google Sites web pages and YouTube videos (but they are expecting to make it available soon for Google Docs as well).

There’s an important disclaimer about the use of this feature: only works with plain text emails.

Microsoft Opens Windows Marketplace for Mobile to Developers

Steven Finch — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:54:44 +0000

Today represents a significant milestone for Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and more importantly, the first big opportunity for developers. Microsoft are now accepting application submissions from all 29 supported countries and have launched a Race to Market Challenge to kick things off. It’s time to show us what you’ve got!

Registered developers and ISVs can now upload their application, game or widget to the Windows Marketplace platform and we’ll begin certifying those apps according to the process, policies and guidelines we’ve published. Microsoft will certify apps on a First In, First Out (FIFO) basis. Certification should normally take about 10 business days initially and you can always check on your application during the process through our Developer Dashboard. To better market your app, you can provide us with all the product information and promotional materials you’d like us to use to describe and showcase your application for the more than 30 million Windows Mobile devices out there.

Microsoft are aiming to create a global marketplace for Windows Phones where developers and users meet to sell and buy high quality and high value applications, so in other words an iTunes app store competitor

But it all starts today with the applications, and as I mentioned earlier we’re kicking this process off with a little contest we’re calling the Race to Market Challenge.

The Race to Market Challenge is just another reason for developers to get in on the ground floor of the new Windows Marketplace. While we do sincerely believe that everyone who submits an app will benefit from being among the first available when Windows Marketplace opens for business, we’re offering a few other prizes as well.

Aloqa: Localised Content Mobile App Launches with New CEO from Google

Steven Finch — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:49:49 +0000

We received a tip this morning that Aloqa.com will be announcing a new CEO tomorrow and it will be Sanjeev Agrawal (former Head of Google Product Marketing). The appointment will be announced at MobileBeat and it will state that Sanjeev is the new CEO as well as an Aloqa series A funding and limited Android beta.

Aloqa’s context-aware application has solved two problems for mobile users: 1) it takes away the need to type search terms into browsers or other mobile applications to find something, 2) it proactively pushes out recommendations about social network friends nearby and interesting local opportunities to users on the go. Wherever they are, users can simply glance at their phones and see which friends, favorite businesses, events like music concerts, local offers and other interesting places are close by, without having to launch a browser or search application. Aloqa takes into account the user’s location, preferences and social relationships to make these recommendations in real time.

Aloqa’s Twitter (http://twitter.com/aloqahq) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aloqa/93595048591) pages will become active once these announcements take place.

Nokia Deny Android Plans

Dean — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:50:29 +0000

Android devices seem to be the next big thing and are hotting up the market pretty quick with Google being the main warrior. However recently, there have been rumours that the old Finnish mobile giant Nokia were planning to jump into the Android platform and abandon its Symbian platform which the company actually owns.

The company bigwigs decided enough was enough and flat out denied any rumors that they would be releasing an Android phone onto the market at the Nokia World event in Germany this coming September. A report stating these predictions in The Guardian has been responded to by Nokia. “There is no truth to this story whatsoever. It is a well known fact that Symbian is our platform of choice for smartphones”, said Nokia in a statement to TechRadar.

For a company to make such bold statements about its own future in the mass media it’s almost a sure thing that Nokia won’t be using the Android platform anytime in the near (or distant) future, preferring to stick to its own developments. As for the meantime, Nokia are continuing in their development of a new platform of their own called Maemo OS for their internet tablets. Outsourcing is not one of Nokia’s favourite habits.

The New PSP Phone from Sony

Steven Finch — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:55:52 +0000

Dean this morning wrote a very interesting article about Sony turning their PSP into a phone. However, we have now found some very interesting information that I just had to show all our readers. Its the drawing of the product itself.

Intro to New Apps Thanks to AppGiveaway

Luis Sandoval — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:52:52 +0000

: Image by The Pug Father via Flickr

All of us with an iPhone or iTouch know the addiction of downloading applications. For those of us with the 1-click purchase mode have probably found ourselves just clicking away before we realize we’ve spent some major money on what we think are useful applications.

For the rest of us that don’t have that luxury and are happy to play with free apps, perhaps this site is for you. AppGiveaway is a site that offers you promo codes to get iPhone apps for free or at deeply discounted prices. This is a great site to be introduced to apps that perhaps don’t get a lot of press, or get lost in the shuffle. The site introduces its readers to unique games, productivity apps, financial apps, etc.

Give the site a try and explore what they offer. I won’t say every app they offer promos for are worth it, but it’s a matter of introduction and taste, what works for me may not work for you, and vice versa.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Blackberry Turning Soft?

Dean — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:18:55 +0000

There once was a time when if you wanted to surf the web, check you e-mails and text a buddy on the move you bought a Blackberry. They took care of everything for you and became so popular the brand name was a synonym for ‘Smartphone’. However, the competition has been heating up in the Smartphone market ever since the iPhone was introduced last year. Samsung are meeting it head on with their i900 and the Nokia N97 will give it a run for its money. With all these new releases, each one promising more than the other you’d expect Blackberry, the old giant of the Smartphone world to come out with a good model. You’d be wrong.

Instead, they throw the Tour 9630 out there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good phone. Good shapes like the Blackberry Curve, nice and wide, QWERTY keyboard and a 480×360 screen. It also has 3G, GPS mapping, good browsing speed and a 3.2 megapixel camera. However, I ask you – does any of this surprise you. When the iPhone came out everyone gasped when GPS mapping was so well incorporated, when the touch screen was so easy to operate and when the internet was just that – the internet. But the upcoming Blackberry Tour 9630 just doesn’t offer anything new.

In fact, it has taken away a few features including one very important one – WiFi. This will deter the typical consumer who doesn’t particularly want to pay 3G charges and use their home WiFi instead. For this reason, the 9630 is only really a good phone for the business person, not for the average consumer. I think that Blackberry has cut out a large chunk of the market by leaving out WiFi. Are Blackberry floundering under the pressure of a new Smartphone market or are they ramping things up for a big release? Let’s hope for the latter because it would be a shame to see a once strong giant disappear so quickly with barely a whimper from phones like the 9630

Bing Launching Mobile Search Product

Steven Finch — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:49:39 +0000

Bing has been receiving a huge amount of press and slowly even seem to be gaining marketshare on Google. Bing is now in the process of developing mobile versions of their search engine in which here are concepts.

Nokia Releases the N97

Steven Finch — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:46:12 +0000

The Nokia N97 has been released as scheduled. We previously stated that it would be released on the 2nd June and it has been launched a little later on the 10th June. The N97 will be available from flagship stores in New York and Chicago.

If you arent in the USA and not able to make it to these stores then head over to Amazon because they seem to have some in stock.

This release from Nokia comes right on the heals of the new and improved iPhone 3Gs announcement and adds some healthy competition to Apple’s reigning smartphone champion. The N97 sports not only a wide touchscreen display but also has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to add some ease and speed to your mobile communications. The internal storage capacity is boasted at a strong 32GB internal with an SD card slot supporting up to another 16GB. You’ll also find a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and the ability to shoot (and store) some nice-quality video.

Nokia has the price set at $699.99 and Amazon currently has $96 off of that bringing the N97 to just over $600.

RhoHub: Free Smartphone Development Framework

Steven Finch — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:21:53 +0000

Rhomobile and Rhodes smartphone development framework have announced the public beta of RhoHub. RhoHub is the world’s first Development-as-a-Service for mobile. RhoHub provides a web based service for both smartphone app development and hosting of mobile applications.

RhoHub makes native mobile applications easier to build, deploy and run on all smartphones including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian and iPhone.

RhoHub will allow developers to generate, compile and run smartphone applications through the web giving them flexibility in their build environment. With RhoHub no SDK is required thus making the build process faster and more affordable. The best part is that RhoHub is online so developers can work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Top Mobile Ad Networks

Steven Finch — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:12:59 +0000

Admob – AdMob is the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace, offering solutions for discovery, branding and monetization on the mobile web. Mobile devices are a critical media platform and we are building the tools to let every business on earth leverage mobile.

Jumptap – Jumptap leverages its mobile search technology and operator relationships to deliver advanced targeting intelligence for advertisers seeking the highest return on their ad spend. Our network of premium mobile sites combines high quality content with targeted advertising to create an experience that appeals to the mobile consumer.

Google Adsense – Google Adsense has to be the world most well known and popular advertising networks for publishers. Google offers their Adsense solution now for mobile devices. The ads are majority CPC but have also some limited CPM campaigns.

Third Screen Media – Third Screen Media is Platform-A’s mobile ad-serving platform and network that enables advertising on mobile devices. Its mobile solutions link advertisers, publishers and carriers on a common platform to buy and sell mobile advertising. Offering one of the world’s most-respected mobile advertising networks, Third Screen Media offers best-in-class content, including AOL’s popular consumer brands and mobile applications; the largest availability of carrier on-deck mobile inventory; and a mobile network of more than 70 premium publishers representing 100+ sites.

Google G2 Phone Coming Very Soon

Steven Finch — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:52:05 +0000

Since October there has been a lot of talk around the new G2 phone which is supposed to be the successor to the G1 phone from Google. The G1 phone was exclusive through T-Mobile but it has been rumoured that the new G2 phone has been secured exclusively by Vodafone. Previously it was thought that the new G2 phone would be release in the first quarter of 2009, however since we are already in April im sure we can expect this before the end of June.

The new device will feature:

Android OS
3G capable ( where available)
Full touch Screen
Enterprise Capable
WiFi capable ( no word about UMA)
5 Megapixel camera with aoutofocus and flash
Address Book
Calculator
Calendar
EDGE and GPRS
Games
Instant Messaging
Megatones, HI-Fi tones and wallpapers
Memory card Slot ( up to 16GB)
Mobile Backup
Music and Video Player
Phone Book
Photo Caller ID
Picture Messaging
Real web browsing
Speakerphone
Speed dial
Stereo Bluetooth connectivity ( finally)
Sync with PC ( better than air sync)
Task list
USB interface
Video capture and playback
Video Messaging
Voice Dialing
myFaves capable and T-Zones

MobilePress: Wordpress Plugin To Turn Your Blog Mobile Compatible

Steven Finch — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:35:15 +0000

MobilePress is a WordPress plugin that will render your WordPress blog on mobile handsets, with the ability to use customized themes. The plugin also allows specific themes for specific devices / mobile browsers, such as iPhone, Opera Mini, Windows CE Mobile and other generic handset browsers.

The plugin also allows WordPress theme developers to create custom mobile themes for WordPress blogs using the MobilePress plugin. Therefore, theme designers can create specific iPhone themes or generic themes.

MobilePress also features Mobile SEO which detects Google and Yahoo mobile search bots. These mobile search bots will see the mobile version of you blog which allows your blog to optimized and indexed on Google and Yahoo mobile search.

Hotmail POP3 Access Available Worldwide

Steven Finch — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:03:28 +0000

Hotmail has now made its POP3 email feature available worldwide to all Hotmail accounts. POP3 also called Post Office Protocol version 3 is an Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection.

Enabling POP3 access from Hotmail allows you to easily access your emails using the e-mail software on your computer (like Thunderbird, Outlook) or mobile devices such as a Windows Mobile phone, iPhone, or BlackBerry.

Here are the email client settings you need for starting POP3

POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
POP SSL required? Yes
User name: Your Windows Live ID (full email address)
Password: Hotmail or Windows Live password
SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25 or 587)
Authentication required? Yes (same POP username and password)
TLS/SSL required? Yes

Palm Pre Helps Palm Inc Raise More Funds

Steven Finch — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:00:11 +0000

Palm actually wants to get back into the smartphone race. Today the shares of Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) rose about 15%. The company increased the size of their secondary offering and raised $83.9 million as part of the process. The company sold 23.13 million shares as part of the secondary offering taking place between now and March 31.

Palm was initially expecting to sell 18.5 million shares being held by investor Elevation Partners. Palm added the extra 4.63 million shares at a price of $6 per share. Through the offering, Elevation Partners made about $49 million. Palm plans to use the capital raised to push the hype of the Pre in the smartphone market.

So far the Pre is looking great but is this one product really going to put Palm back on the map?