Mystery Caller: Social networking

Mystery Caller decided it was time he took his ‘stalking’ habits to the next level. He wanted the best social networking phone out there for 30 a month

6: O2

“I was ringing for advice and he didn’t seem that keen to give it to me”

Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 0/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 0/5
Clarity – 2/5
Overall – 1/5
Total – 5/30

5: Three

I didn’t see how insight into his personal life was going to help me in my search for a new handset

Manner – 2/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 1/5
Helpfulness – 1/5
Clarity – 2/5
Overall – 2/5
Total – 10/30

4: Virgin Mobile

She asked again if she could call me back, which became downright annoying. I also didn’t appreciate her throwing services I hadn’t requested at me

Manner – 1/5
Understanding – 2/5
Knowledge – 2/5
Helpfulness – 2/5
Clarity – 2/5
Overall – 2/5
Total – 11/30

3: T-Mobile

Rachel handled me efficiently, answered my questions and didn’t attempt to thrust anything on me without my asking

Manner –4/5
Understanding – 4/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 3/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 22/30

2: Vodafone

Was the music an investment by Vodafone to soothe its customers? It should be

Manner – 4/5
Understanding –4/5
Knowledge – 3/5
Helpfulness – 4/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 23/30

1: Orange

Like an old sturdy car, Orange spluttered to life, but then cruised down the highway at full steam

Manner – 4/5
Understanding – 5/5
Knowledge – 5/5
Helpfulness – 5/5
Clarity – 4/5
Overall – 4/5
Total – 27/30

Summary

Once again the network CSAs had an open chance to take this week’s challenge and run with it. Some did just that, but others simply weren’t bothered.

Stephen from O2 resembled an old school teacher who is fed up with life and doing his best not to bite someone’s head off. Mark from Three, while slightly more polite, could easily have done better. Grace from Virgin was OK at first, but her persistent hawking almost tipped me over the edge. Rachel from T-Mobile was a breath of fresh air, genuinely seeming to care, while Dan from Vodafone had enthusiasm like no other. But it was Ms Orange who stole the show, with a truly intelligent display from someone who clearly knew what she was doing.

Full review in Mobile News issue 483 (February 28, 2010).

Beleaguered Huawei encourages US government to investigate it, quotes two presidents in the process

When you're the second-largest supplier of communications infrastructure in the world and your president is an ex-member of the Chinese military, suspicions of espionage -- warranted or not -- are pretty much a foregone conclusion. Indeed, Huawei has suffered a couple of high-profile business setbacks in the past year over vague concerns that the company could be some sort of Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence, and they're fed up: after being pressured into shelving a planned acquisition of server virtualization firm 3Leaf Systems' intellectual property by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, they've published a lengthy open letter that implores the government to fully vet the company to put to rest any concerns or fears it has.

The gist of the letter is that Huawei is owned by its employees, not the Chinese government, its loans are commercial, its products are continually audited by third-party companies for security, and the tax breaks it gets from the government are consistent with what private corporations in other countries receive. Huawei also manages to quote both Obama and Lincoln in the letter -- just to make sure it has both Democrats and Republicans covered, we suppose -- and concludes by saying it believes that "any thorough government investigation will prove that Huawei is a normal commercial institution and nothing more." Sounds like a challenge to us.

Vodafone break-in shuts down signal

Break- in at technical centre causes signal drop, but operator maintains customer privacy not compromised

Vodafone customers are experiencing a loss of network signal following a break- in at one of the operator’s technical facilities last night.

The company issued a brief statement confirming the incident and to say voice, text and internet services were down in some parts of the UK.

It also maintained customers private information was safe and had not been compromised.

A Vodafone spokesperson said: “We had a break- in last night at one of our technical facilities which resulted in damage done to some of our equipment.

This means that some customers may be experiencing temporary loss of voice, SMS and internet services.

“We are working quickly to restore these and will be back to normal as soon as we can. There has been no impact on the privacy of customers’ data.”

Vodafone said it would issue an update on the situation later in the day.

More to follow.

T-Mobile Slaps Apple iPhone 4 With Infographic

It appears that T-Mobile likes rubbing it in that they have 4G enabled smartphones running on their HSPA+ network while the Apple iPhone 4 doesn’t play nice on any 4G network, we’ve seen T-Mobile’s slaps at the iPhone in past videos.

And now according to an article over on Engagdet by Vlad Savov, it appears that T-Mobile is continuing its campaign against the iPhone by posting a “State of the Smartphone” infographic, which rubs it in further and reminds everyone that the iconic Apple handset is only a 3G phone.

Of course T-Mobile emphasizes their own 4G capabilities although some say HSPA+ isn’t true 4G anyway, but conveniently forgets that both Verizon and AT&T also offer 4G enabled devices.

Having said that, one does have to wonder if T-Mobile’s vendetta against Apple and the iPhone is simply due to the fact that Apple hasn’t allowed T-Mobile to offer the smartphone so far, so perhaps it’s a bit of the “we don’t care about the iPhone” syndrome setting in at T-Mobile.

What do you think, isn’t it about time T-Mobile came up with another angle to tout their HSPA+ network rather than continually slapping down the iPhone, even if they are correct and the iPhone 4 is limited to 3G?

Apple Join Venture Plan Possibly Launching Same Day as iPad 2

The word is that Apple was in secret meetings on Sunday with their retail employees with a view to delivering a new enterprise service plan Apple is calling “Join Venture,” and apparently this new plan may be launched on March 2nd, the same day as the unveiling of the Apple iPad 2 at Apple’s event.

According to an article over on Apple Insider, unnamed sources “in attendance” say the Sunday meeting did involve an “internal unveiling” of Apple’s new Joint Venture plan, an apparently “sources” have come up with some details of this Joint Venture.

Those details are that the Joint Venture plan will be offered to small businesses when buying a new Mac and cost some $500 per year and apparently said plan will cover up to five systems, and if additional systems are to be added it will cost a further 99 bucks a year.

Apparently a key selling point to the Joint Venture plan will be the option to use Apple Genius techs to install and configure Microsoft Exchange at setup, and those enrolled in the plan will get priority service at the Genius Bar.

As for the launch of Apple’s Join Venture plan, the service will be launched on the 2nd of March in the USA and the day after on the 3rd of March in the UK.

Android Gingerbread Heading for HTC Desire, Z, HD, Incredible S in Q2

For anyone owning a European Handset of the HTC Desire family or the HTC Incredible S you just might like to hear that your Android smartphone should be seeing an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread in the not too distant future.

According to an article over on the Boy Genius Report, the guys over at Slash Gear are saying that HTC has informed them that the HTC Desire, HTC Desire Z, HTC Desire HD and the HTC Incredible S handset will be updated from Android 2.2 Froyo to Gingerbread sometime in Q2.

Apparently HTC officially announced… “We are excited to announce that the Desire HD, Desire Z, Desire and Incredible S will receive the Gingerbread update in Q2.”

So there you have it, at least over here in Europe we don’t seem to be having as many delays with operating system updates as they do over in the good ole US of A. So any of our Desire toting readers excited about getting Android 2.3 Gingerbread?

Android Gingerbread Heading for HTC Desire, Z, HD, Incredible S in Q2

For anyone owning a European Handset of the HTC Desire family or the HTC Incredible S you just might like to hear that your Android smartphone should be seeing an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread in the not too distant future.

According to an article over on the Boy Genius Report, the guys over at Slash Gear are saying that HTC has informed them that the HTC Desire, HTC Desire Z, HTC Desire HD and the HTC Incredible S handset will be updated from Android 2.2 Froyo to Gingerbread sometime in Q2.

Apparently HTC officially announced… “We are excited to announce that the Desire HD, Desire Z, Desire and Incredible S will receive the Gingerbread update in Q2.”

So there you have it, at least over here in Europe we don’t seem to be having as many delays with operating system updates as they do over in the good ole US of A. So any of our Desire toting readers excited about getting Android 2.3 Gingerbread?

5 ways to blow your hard earned cash on a Droid X

If you are one of the beautiful people who own a Droid X, you are already experiencing life in the rarefied air of enlightened living. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But as you walk apart from the common man who still has to actually type his texts and pay for tethering, don’t think your journey of enlightenment is complete.

Here are five ways to further enhance your sanctimonious existence and live permanently beyond the unwashed:

1. The cost of replacing a Droid X is considerably more than the subsidized price you already paid. So protect it with a case from Otterbox.com. Otterbox has earned a reputation for engineering cell phone cases that are crazy protective and fashionable. The Defender Series Case for the Motorola Droid X is no exception. The Defender Series case offers three layers of protection: clear protective membrane, polycarbonate shell and a silicone skin. Priced at $49.95 and available in any color as long as its black, this is the kind of case you’ll want wrapped around your expensive phone.

2. Droid X owners know that sometimes a 4.3 inch screen simply won’t do. They want to share what they see on their phone with friends. That’s where the the Motorola Multimedia Docking Station for the Droid X comes in. The docking station charges your Droid while displaying a customizable dock screen that, for example, provides the time and weather. Best of all, you can connect the cradle/phone to your television via an HDMI cradle and show YouTube videos, photos and much more.

3. As a Droid X owner, you don’t stop being superior just because you have to drive in your car. The BlueAnt S4 hands-free car speakerphone can enhance your ego whenever you’re mobile. The S4 is virtually hands-free due to its voice trigger system. It also integrates Bing-411 and Vlingo to enhance hands-free interaction. Imagine having caller ID information read to you when a call comes in, or having the S4 tell you where the next gas station is, all without having to touch the device or take your eyes off the road.

4. You don’t need no stinking WiFi! Create your own hot spot for free anywhere your carrier provides service, using PdaNet. PdaNet is a powerful app that allows you to connect to the internet using your Droid X’s carrier network, without incurring additional charges. To non-Droid X owners this must sound so remarkable.

5. After a day of being superior is so many ways to so many people, its time for a break, and a little fun. Jet Car Stunts is one of the most visually stunning games available at the Android Market. Available in a free and paid version, Jet Car Stunts maximizes your phones accelerometer, screen resolution and processing power to bring you a truly fun game you want to play often.

Well Droid X users, if you thought you were 2.0 and all that before, arm your bad self with these items and your ego will be 4G in no time.

Motorola Xoom Zooms Apart in Latest Teardown

The “I’ve got to see what’s inside that device” guys have been hard at it over the last couple of days, with a teardown of the Motorola Atrix 4G followed by a teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and now the new Motorola Xoom tablet has been torn asunder.

According to the guys over at Intomobile, those busy guys over at iFixit have wasted no time at all in grabbing the Motorola Xoom and taking the Android tablet apart screw by screw to have a butchers at what it is made of.

The Motorola Xoom teardown cover three pages all with numerous pictures of each stage of its dissection to find such things as a Qualcomm MDM6600 with HSPA+ support, Tegra 2 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Samsung K4P4G154EC DRAM, Toshiba THGBM2G8D8FBA1B NAND Flash, Broandcom WiFi, Bluetooth and FM tuner along with a Broadcom single-ship AGPS.

When it comes to reparability, the iFixit guys say the Android 3.0 Honeycomb Motorola Xoom is fairly easy to repair and give it a reparability rating of 8 out of 10 with 10 being the easiest and the Xoom has 57 screws in total either T5 or T7.

So there you have it, you can check out all the images of the Motorola Xoom baring its innards by heading over to iFixit if you enjoy seeing device internals on display.

4G LTE Apple Gear Coming Eventually Says Verizon Boss

When it comes to 4G LTE tech it appears that Android is taking the lead with the latest technology with the likes of the Samsung Epic 4G, HTC EVO 4G, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, Samsung Galaxy S 4G, HTC Thunderbolt, and so on, but those in the iOS camp that is Apple seem to be somewhat timid in taking the leap to 4G.

However that may change at some point in the future, as according to an article over on Intomobile by way of Phone Scoop, the CEO of Verizon, Dan Mead, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, stated…“You’ll see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it.”

Just what 4G LTE Apple gear may come eventually isn’t known, perhaps a 4G LTE iPhone 6 in 2012 as one analyst claims which we reported on (here), or maybe we will see a 4G LTE enabled Apple iPad sometime next year.

To be honest it isn’t all that surprising 4G Apple gear will be making its way to the mobile space sooner or later especially as LTE will probably dominate the mobile arena before too long and I’m fairly sure Apple won’t want to be resting on their laurels with an outdated iPhone technology for too long.

We all know that 4G is the future of mobile devices, Android is already ahead of the game while Apple looks to be falling further and further behind in the uptake of 4G, thus although the iPhone 5 probably wont have 4G tech, the following iPhone more than likely will otherwise Apple runs the risk of falling way behind rival Android.

What do our readers think on this matter, is it about time Apple delivered a 4G enabled device, or will Android be left to dominate the 4G LTE mobile space?

HTC Freestyle for AT&T hands-on

Last time we checked in with the Freestyle back at CES, we couldn't turn it on -- but things are a little different here at our luxe meetup in San Francisco this evening. Honestly, the phone looks and feels great, doing a great job hiding its Brew MP-based, not-quite-smartphone underpinnings; pricing is still a concern, but the month-to-month dumbphone data is a bonus, and you've still got a full HTML browser plus a capacitive display at your disposal. Check shots below -- video after the break!

HTC Freestyle for AT&T hands-on

“Feature Phone”, “Sexting” and “Rumor Mill” added to the Oxford Dictionary

As anyone who’s been reading MobileCrunch for a while knows, I refer to the rumor mill in just about every other post. Usually it’s when I’m decrying the rumor mill as a cruel, cruel vixen, hell bent on crushing our spirits by setting our hopes on itty-bitty candy-powered iPhones, only to smack us in the face with silly things like logic, feasibility, and whats-actually-happening.

Sometimes, I worry that new readers won’t know what the rumor mill is. Will they think it’s a real place? Will they try to go to there? Fortunately, I can now just send them to the Oxford Friggin’ Dictionary, which added the term to its catalog today.

The Rumor Mill, according to the Oxford Dictionary:

used to refer to the process by which rumors and gossip are originated and circulated among a group of people:
the rumor mill says that he was reimbursed to the tune of $25 million

Sure. That works. We also would have accepted “user to refer to the ambiguous, impalpable source of sometimes-true-but-often-not blurps of information”, or this image.

Two other mobile-ish words added to the dictionary today: “Sexting“, and “Feature Phone“. They also added the term “fnarr fnarr“, which has absolutely nothing to do with cell phones but is absolutely glorious regardless. fnarr fnarr.

[Via MSNBC]

HTC Merge first hands-on! (video)

HTC just rolled in to set up for our San Francisco reader meetup tonight, and what's this? They brought a brand-new HTC Merge with them. No one's talking about what carrier this interesting Android slider is going to launch on yet, but that Verizon-red earpiece and search button aren't exactly coy. Apart from that, it's pretty much exactly the device we've seen leaked all over for months now -- a really nice landscape Android slider with a solid keyboard. More pics in the gallery, and a video after the break!

HTC Merge first hands-on!

LetsTalk goes out in a blaze of glory, sells Atrix 4G and Laptop Dock bundle for $250 as AT&T partnership ends

We can totally picture how this went down: AT&T appears to have made it not worth LetsTalk's time (or Wirefly's time) to sell its phones anymore, which means they're parting ways staring next month. LetsTalk -- wishing to end its AT&T relationship in the most spectacular fashion imaginable -- has elected to sell the Motorola Atrix 4G / Laptop Dock bundle for $250 on contract after rebates, essentially half of what you'll pay through AT&T directly (LetsTalk runs Walmart's wireless store portal, which we've linked). The fire sale might not fix some of the dock's flaws... but it certainly makes them a little less painful.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Block’em Stereo 3D Game App via Android Market

If you can’t wait until LG releases the first mobile phone with a stereoscopic 3D screen… you can always give this 3d Tetris clone a go: Block’em 3D. A fun retro game, with or without the funny colored glasses.

Before you think “3D Tetris, what a novel idea!” it’s not. Way back in the day an MS DOS game called BlockOut did exactly that. Still it’s always nice to see old idea’s revamped in a retro package, which is just what Block’em 3D is. An addictive and fun way to kill the time and even test and develop your special recognition skills.

Prepare to look silly though, walking the streets with red/cyan glasses, but it really does work well. I do recommend only using it that particular feature at home though. You’ll need either one of these three possible glasses to see the real stereoscopic 3D: Red/Cyan, Red/Green, Red/Blue or Green/Magenta. Maybe you still have a paper one lying around from a magazine or from one of those older 3D movies. If not, you can get them online for next to nothing.

Even if you don’t use the stereoscopic 3D, it still is a fully-fledged game on its own. With the addition of Nukes, Chain bonuses, Online highscore and many different controlling scheme’s, this game can keep you busy for hours and addicted in minutes.

Available through the Android Market as a free LITE version and the FULL version for €2,50.

Dell Venue Pro Review: Superb Design, Extra-Large Size

The Dell Venue Pro was an instant standout during the initial Windows Phone 7 launch last year.  It's unique form factor, extra large display and portrait slider QWERTY really separated it from the bunch.  Does the actual handset live up to the positive knee-jerk expectations, though?

Physically, it’s one solid piece of hardware with a sturdy build and really premium touches.   The extra-large size (4.8 inches tall and half an inch thick!) can automatically eliminate it as an option for some, though.  Display is a 4.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen (480 x 800 resolution) with rich colors, excellent brightness and plenty of sharpness.   Viewing from a variety of angles is no trouble, although it washes out just a bit under sunlight (still plenty usable, though).

The slide-out mechanism for the keyboard is sturdy, so it remains firm even when you're using the keys and holding the phone upright (no awkwardness, unlike I originally imagined).  Because of the portrait layout, there isn’t much spacing between the keys, but it's still easy to use.

As a phone, the Dell Venue Pro makes for good calls.  Audio isn't as rich as some of the better ones we've used, but voices sounded clear and there was little distortion.   Those on the other end reported an even better calling experience.   Expect 6 to 7 hours of talk time before the battery conks out.

Since there isn't much customizations available for manufacturers on Windows Phone 7, your can just read our WP7 Review to find out how the platform works.  Do note that with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor at the helm, the handset responded snappily to everything we used the software for.

The Dell Venue Pro is a quad-band world phone, with plenty of calling options, as well as a whole host of basic and advanced messaging capabilities .  It's also got all the standard smartphone connectivity -- WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS and3G.  Do note there were issues earlier when connecting via WiFi to secure networks, so make sure it's fixed on your unit if you get one.

Media playback is solid, especially for movies with the large and gorgeous AMOLED display.  It also comes preloaded with T-Mobile's bloatware (errr… "services"), although you can remove them, unlike with other platforms.  The 5.0 megapixel camera takes sharp images with good colors -- getting steady shots feels more challenging than usual, though, so expect plenty of blurry captures.

Overall, the Dell Venue Pro is an excellent WP7 phone.  That is, if you can live with the bulky size.  We love the price, too, which is currently $99.99 (8GB) and $149.99 (16GB) on a two-year agreement with T-Mobile.

HTC Incredible S Currently Available on Pre-Order in the UK on Vodafone and O2

Just before a couple of days it was officially announced by HTC during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the HTC Incredible S can already be pre-ordered in the UK. However the phone courtesy of Mobiles.co.uk, a Carphone Warehouse-owned retailer that works with all the major UK mobile network operators.

Currently they have the Incredible S with O2 or Vodafone contracts. Depending on which contract you choose, the Incredible S may be free, or it may cost you up to 319.99.

There are a variety of price points in between these extremes as well. Smartphone is all set to ship on March 3. Perhaps the cheapest contract that will get you the Incredible S for free is a 25.53 per month affair from O2. To get the phone for free from Vodafone, you’ll need to select a contract that’s at least 30 per month.

There are many options, so to make sure you pick what’s best for you, head on over to Mobiles.co.uk now and pre-order your HTC Incredible S.

Source: Unwiredview

Telefonica posts 30.8 per cent rise in profit for 2010

Operator says strong growth from UK contributed to profits, but a weak performance in Spain and Ireland saw a drop in Q4 revenues

Telefonica has announced a 30.8 per cent rise in net profit for the year ending December 2010 to €10.2 billion following strong performances in the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic and Latin America.

Consolidated revenues reached €60 billion in 2010 – an increase of 7.1 per cent year-on-year , while operating income rose 21 per cent to €16.5 billion for the period.

Telefonica said its global customer base reached 56.3 million at the end of 2010 – 14.3 per cent higher than in 2009 after it added 7.1 million customers throughout the year.

However strength in the company’s home market of Spain was worrying – revenues there fell 5 per cent to €18.7 billion.

Telefonica blamed the dip on the economic crisis as well as a 20 percent unemployment rate in the country, government austerity measures which have affected consumer spending and strong price competition.

There was also a weak performance from O2 Ireland where year- on- year revenues slipped by 6.3 per cent to €848 million.

The performances in both these markets contributed to Telefonica posting a 45 per cent drop in Q4 profits to €1.3 billion, down from €2.4 billion for the same period in 2009.

In the UK revenue growth accelerated in Q4 to total €7.2 billion at the years end with revenues from mobile services topping €6.5 billion – an increase of 5.6 per cent on the previous year.

The continued growth of non P2P- SMS data revenues were highlighted by Telefonica, it said its UK business saw a growth in this market of 31.7 per cent year-on-year.

This meant total data revenues as a proportion of mobile service revenues stood at 40 per cent in 2010.

Telefonica Europe chairman and chief executive Matthew Key (pictured) said: “Strong results in a highly competitive environment fro Telefonica O2 UK were underpinned by the growth of mobile broadband and customers upgrading to smartphones, which now account for 70 per cent of new contracts .”

Telefonica said it predicted overall revenue growth would increase by 2 per cent in 2011.

Samsung Galaxy S 4G T-Mobile Intro Video

Looks like T-Mobile isn’t just claiming that they have the largest 4G network in the good ole US of A, even thought technically their HSPA+ network isn’t 4G, T-Mobile is now claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S 4G is the fastest phone running on the 4G network.

T-Mobile makes the claims in their latest promotions video for introducing the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which we have for your viewing pleasure below courtesy of the guys over at Daily Mobile and by way of the T-Mobile YouTube page.

The video last the usual slot for a promo video and features the T-Mobile girl and someone who is apparently a blogger who’s impressed with the Android 2.2 Froyo running smartphone that also comes with a copy of Inception preloaded.

According to the Daily Mobile article the reason the Samsung Galaxy S 4G is T-Mobile’s fastest device on their network is because the device offers 21+ Mbps speeds while previous smartphones such as the T-Mobile myTouch 4G and T-Mobile G2 are both limited to 12.4 Mbps speeds.

Anyway, for those who may be considering picking up the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, head on down, hit that play button and check out T-mobile’s intro for the device…enjoy.

Sprint’s First Windows Phone 7 Device, The HTC Arrive, Launches March 20th For $200

And it all comes to a head. After a few days of teasing out of Sprint’s Twitter account with promises of a big unveil today, they’ve confirmed what we all suspected: they’re finally getting a Windows Phone 7 handset, and it’s the HTC 7 Pro (albeit dubbed the “HTC Arrive” in this case).

Look for it to hit the shelves on March 20th for $200 bucks after a mail-in rebate (yeck!) and a 2-year contract. Want to know what’s inside? Check out the specs after the jump.

SPECIFICATIONS
• Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
• Dimensions 4.63 inches (117.6 mm) x 2.32 inches (58.9 mm) x 0.61 inches (15.5 mm)
• Weight: 6.5 ounces (184.27 grams)

• Main Display: 3.6-inch (91.4 mm), 800 x 480 WVGA capacitive touchscreen with multitouch
• Internal Memory: 16GB
• Battery: Standard 1500 mAh Lithium-ion
• Talk Time: up to 6 hours
• Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g/n)
• 5MP camera with flash, autofocus and digital zoom and
720p HD camcorder
• SRS WOW HD surround sound
• Media player with 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
• Stereo Bluetooth® 2.1 (+ EDR)

iFixit tears apart the Galaxy S 4G, sets it on fire

Us gadget-lovin’ folks are a weird lot. As much as we love shiny new toys, we also love to see shiny new toys get torn apart. We also, as I’ve learned today, seem to have an odd fascination with watching them burn.

That’s why the latest in iFixit‘s series of gadget-stripping teardowns is particularly wonderful. They’d heard that part of the new Samsung Galaxy S 4G was made of magnesium — and as any kid who had a more adventurous teacher in High School could teach you, cool stuff happens when you burn magnesium. Specifically, it burns white. Really, really bright white. As in destroy-your-eyes bright.

For all the burninating (and other discoveries, like that the Galaxy S 4G’s face is constructed somewhat poorly but that the sliding micro-USB slot is built quite cleverly) you can find iFixit’s teardown right here.

Virgin Mobile Confirms Samsung Intercept Froyo Update

Virgin Mobile has confirmed that its own Froyo update for the Samsung Intercept will be rolling out around the 25th of March, after months of anticipation from owners on the virtual operator. This follows months of questions and demands after Sprint rolled out its update for the Intercept last December.

T-Mobile bumps myTouch 4G, G2 prices to $250

It started as a leak on TmoNews earlier today, and T-Mobile's now made it official -- the carrier is bumping the prices of both the T-Mobile G2 and MyTouch 4G from $200 to $250 on a two-year contract (with no mail-in rebate). That, of course, follows the T-Mobile's little "mistake" last week with its pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which was first listed at $150 before being changed to $200 a few days later. A number of other more inexpensive phones have also seen some minor prices changes -- hit up the link below for the complete rundown on those.

AT&T's brewing HSUPA-gate: the inside story

Though it really came to a head with the recently-launched Inspire 4G, users have noticed that there really aren't many phones in AT&T's stable that deliver stellar upload speeds -- the Atrix 4G is suffering the same sub-megabit performance, as are older devices that should seemingly support HSUPA like the Samsung Captivate.

We've chatted in the past few days with a source who offers an interesting explanation: AT&T currently requires that all handsets that it sells "handshake" with the network as 3GPP Release 5 devices, the last official set of 3G specifications that lacked support for HSUPA. That feature -- also known as EDCH, or FDD Enhanced Uplink -- was added in Release 6. Though AT&T is apparently working on permitting the bulk of its handsets to handshake Release 6, presently only the iPhone 4 (and presumably all of its recent data devices like USB modems, which may also use Release 7) are allowed. Neither we, nor our source, know why this is. Our source believes that the Release 6 certification may happen within a "month or two," which would explain why some AT&T sales reps in "live" HSPA+ areas are telling customers that the "4G network" isn't live yet.

You can form your own conclusions as to why AT&T might be imposing this arbitrary limitation, but we do know that "enhanced" backhaul figures prominently into the company's 4G story; there may be concerns that flipping on HSUPA for everyone right now would overwhelm its legacy infrastructure. At any rate, it sounds like this could all be solved soon through a combination of network changes and possibly firmware updates for individual devices, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows Phone 7 Update Goes Live

Microsoft has announced that the first update for its Windows Phone 7 operating system is now available for download.

However, before you get too scorching under the lapel, this isn’t the much anticipated update which will bring copy and paste functionality to your Windows Phone7 handset. As the Windows blog states: This first update for Windows Phone is designed to improve the software update process itself.

So while it might not sound exciting, it’s still important because it’s pavestone the way for all future goodie-filled updates to your phone, such as copy and paste or improved Marketplace search. Perhaps the reason it doesn’t sound exciting is because it isn’t, and the very fact that it makes copy and paste sound positively exhilarating says it all. Though the updates have started, in the usual way, being rolled out in stages so you might be green with envy as you see your co-worker getting this before you, however be patient and you should see it appearing in the next couple of days.

Source: Pocket-lint

Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: handsets alter brain activity -- scientists don't know what that means

Cellphones are bad, mmkay? Or at least that is what many want us to believe, what with all these warning labels and studies telling us that mobile users will end up with brain cancer and kidney damage. Not to mention the dangers of phone addiction -- horror of horrors -- for our youth. Now, the National Institutes of Health have shown that radiation from your phone's antenna turns you into a supergenius increases brain activity. Using positron emmission tomogrophy (PET) scans on 47 individuals with a muted phone on each ear (to prevent aural brain stimulation), the study found a seven percent increase in brain activity in the area closest to the phones' antennas when receiving a call. The catch -- scientists don't know "whether this is detrimental or if it could even be beneficial," so don't go trading your Cell-Mate in for a Bluetooth headset just yet.

Samsung Captivate update to Froyo pegged for tomorrow, February 24th (update: HTC Aria update coming 'very soon')

One false alarm is bad enough, but two would be positively evil, wouldn't it? We're cautiously optimistic that Samsung and AT&T are serious this time about posting the Captivate's update to Android 2.2 starting tomorrow, another step in Sammy's long, drawn-out road to getting all of its promised Galaxy S upgrades out the door. We're sure owners are going to appreciate some of the simple pleasures in life that Froyo (and Gingerbread) owners have come to take for granted like being able to move apps to external storage... and it's all just hours away. Can you feel the excitement?

Update: in an official Facebook video just posted, AT&T mentions that it's already in the process of testing a Froyo upgrade for the HTC Aria as well -- and it should be coming "very soon."

T-Mobile Launches Samsung Galaxy S 4G

As expected, T-Mobile has launched the successor to the Samsung Vibrant in the Samsung Galaxy S 4G Android smartphone. The phone features Android Froyo, front facing camera with support for Qik, HSPA+ radio for faster download speeds compared to the Vibrant, microSDHC expansion slot, 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720p video capture. Pricing has been corrected from its initial announcement and is now set at $199.99 after new 2 year agreement and $50 mail-in rebate.

Samsung Galaxy S 4G – T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S II first with MHL port for dual-purpose USB or HDMI out (video)

There's a small but important fact about Samsung's newest Android flagship that slipped under our radar last week at Mobile World Congress. The Galaxy S II is the first smartphone to feature an MHL port. MHL, as you'll recall, was first announced in 2008 as the Mobile High-Definition video Link "standard" for mobile devices promoted by a consortium that includes Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, and Silicon Image. So yeah, another mobile interconnect standard just like DisplayPort, mini-HDMI, or Light Peak. Essentially, the micro-USB shaped MHL jack at the base of the Galaxy S II features internal circuitry that recognizes USB or MHL impedance and then automatically switches the phone into USB data / charging or MHL audio / video / charging modes. A special 5-wire micro-USB to HDMI cable lets you send video and audio to existing HDMI-equipped displays. Unfortunately, the TV won't charge the Galaxy S II during playback unless you insert a phone charger adapter between the GSII and TV or wait for MHL-enabled TVs to begin shipping later this year. Once connected, you can then use your TV's HDMI-CEC compatible remote to navigate and control the Galaxy S II's media interface. The GSII is just the first MHL device with a half-dozen phones, at least one tablet, and a few TVs coming this summer. More details are available in the video interview after the break.

HTC Thunderbolt Price Departed Up At Best Buy

Well, there’s a bad news for all the Android fans who were hoping to pick up the HTC Thunderbolt at Best Buy. Last Week, reports suggested that the Best Buy ad was listing the Thunderbolt at $249, but now it seems that no longer the case.

However latest ad, listed in Best Buy’s online buyer’s guide, now shows a $50 price increase to $299 on a two year contract with Verizon. With an unsubsidized price of $749 as well, are smartphones reaching a point where they’re just too expensive?

Thunderbolt has been troubled with its price issues, slipped release dates, failed Skype video chat support and even public Wi-Fi issues. But it’s not exactly motivating that this new 4G phone would be even more expensive than it was originally listed. So, will Android fans colt up the additional $50? Or will they move on to the Atrix, or even wait and see if there’s a 4G iPhone.

Source: AndroidCommunity

MyVoucherCodes Moneysaving App for iOS and Android Devices

Let’s face it everyone love to save money no matter what they purchase, and in today’s tight economy everyone’s looking for money off deals such as coupons and vouchers, well if you are in the UK and own an iOS or Android device there’s an app for that.

The MyVoucherCodes app enables user to find moneysaving vouchers so they can take advantage of great offers, and the company behind the mobile app have analysed user data to find out the top 5 purchases customers simply refuse to pay the full price for.

Those top 5 are…25 percent of vouchers downloaded using the MyVoucherCodes app were for restaurants, while 18 percent was for fashion retail, 13 percent was for takeaway grub, 9 percent was for coffee shops and 7 percent was for health and beauty.

Apparently in 3 months the MyVoucherCodes app for Android and iPhone has saved users in excess of a whopping one million quid. The app uses GPS tech to deliver current discounts and promos from retailers in the user’s local area.

The chairman of MyVoucherCodes, Mark Pearson says…“When your phone suddenly becomes like a discount card for more than 2,000 restaurants and retailers across the UK, it’s no surprise that people just don’t like paying full price anymore.”

The MyVoucherCodes mobile app can be downloaded to the iPhone, iPod Touch or Apple iPad as a free app from iTunes, and to Android devices by hitting up the Android Market.

Impromptu Samsung Corby II S3850 Strikes the FCC

Samsung S3850 Corby II has been recently approved by the FCC, which concludes that the Samsung has the green light for launching it in North America.

Last year, the South Korean company released three Corby handsets in Canada, so that’s where the new S3850 may be headed, too (since the US isn’t a market where this little fellow would be well received).

FCC confirms some of the Corby II’s features, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GSM/EDGE connectivity. We still don’t know when the Samsung Corby II will become available, and neither for what price. Anyway, I assume it won’t be long until Samsung officially unveils the phone. We’ll report back as soon as this happens.

Source: Unwiredview

Motorola Atrix 4G Gets Torn Down To The Underground

Our little buddy @grg is working on his Atrix review as we speak but that didn’t stop the kids at iFixIt from tearing down the 4G model for us all. Inside they found what they call “microchips” and a “battery cell,” all of which combine to offer telephonic communication with outside parties.

The most important chips include the Tegra processor and a cavalcade of stars including:

Qualcomm MDM6200 supporting HSPA+ speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps

Hynix H8BCSOQG0MMR 2-chip memory MCP

Elpida B8132B1PB. According to Chipworks, the Elpida package contains 1 GB DDR2 RAM, but also covers the Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU/GPU residing underneath the package.

Broadcom BCM4329 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

AKM 8975 Electronic Compass

iPhone 5 Now Reportedly Hit by Delay As Well

Earlier today I reported that there may be a possible delay to the release of the Apple iPad 2, you can check out that article by hitting up (here), and now apparently there are rumours hitting the net waves that the iPhone 5 may be delayed as well.

According to an article over on iPhonefaq, reports are saying that due to component shortages and a last minute change in design, the next generation iPhone, commonly being referred to as the iPhone 5 have resulted in pushing back the device release until September.

Well I guess that kind of smarts for all you iOS faithful out there that have been banking on picking up the iPhone 5 in June/July.

Not too sure where iPhonefaq got its news from as they don’t list a source, however according to an article over on Time, according to Business Insider, FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger said in a note…

“For the iPhone 5, we continue to hear that a July launch is unlikely, with various casing suppliers and touch suppliers still ramping up, with some chip vendors not having yet received firm iPhone 5 orders, and with other sockets like the image sensor (most likely going to Omnivision exclusively, but with some potential for Sony to split that socket) still in flux. Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple’s traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone.”

So there is, if true the iPhone faithful can expect a long wait for the next generation smartphone to fall into their waiting hands, annoying isn’t it?

Orange defends 36 month contracts as new EU law looms

With new EU laws expected to come into place in May – banning three year phone contracts- operator says 36 month deals were “good value”

Orange has defended selling its customers 36 month contracts despite confirming its plans to scrap them in order to abide by new EU legislation, expected to come into place on May 1.

The new laws, first proposed in November 2007 and confirmed at the end of last year, outlaw contracts longer than 24 months and force operators to offer consumers 12 month deals.

Figures released this week by price comparison website uSwitch showed over 3,300 people signed onto 36 month contracts in 2010 – a figure it called “alarming”.

The same figures, which were compiled by a survey which polled 4,000 mobile phone users also found that 39 per cent of all phone users were locked into 24 month contracts while only 12 per cent had a one year deal with their operator.

uSwitch technology expert Ernest Doku said 36 month contracts in particular were not consumer friendly – something Orange disagrees with.

“It’s alarming to see how popular 36 month deals have become,” Doku said.

“It’s no bad thing that the EU is culling these in their infancy – three years is a lifetime in the world of tech.

“Consumers could easily find themselves saddled with a an obsolete phone, not to mention a contract that no longer suits their needs.”

Orange said 36 month deals were part of offering its customers a variety of contract options.

An Orange spokesperson told Mobile News: “We introduced our 36 month mobile tariffs on June 1 2009 to offer customers some of the best value pay monthly plans available – starting at just 5 a month.

“Although we appreciate that these 36 month tariffs aren’t for everyone, they’ve proven popular with customers who don’t want to go through a top up process, are happy to commit to a contract and want the security of knowing they won’t run out of credit.

“We also include a phone as part this package at no extra cost and customers can replace this half way through their contract so they don’t need to worry about their handset wearing out.”

Orange said depite this, it would remove 36 month contracts from its product basket by May 1 in order to comply with the the EU regulations.

It also pointed out it offered 12 and 24 month contracts.

12 month contracts

IHS Global Insight research analyst Peter Boyland believes the the new EU laws are a step in the right direction but doesn’t believe forcing operators to offer 12 month contracts will change the type of contracts consumers currently chose.

He said 24 month deals, whilst producing large revenues for operators do offer consumers good value for money.

Boyland said: “I think most people will look at all the options if they want to upgrade to a smartphone – they will look and see how much it costs on a 12 month plan and how much it costs on a 24 month plan.

“Its important to remember that contracts are affected by other terms and conditions and perhaps by one thing in particular – mobile broadband.

“At the moment people are looking at unlimited use so I think that is going to have as much of an effect on on the take-up of contracts as the actual price of the contract.

“There is no point taking out a contract on 12 months for a device like the iPhone 4 and getting say, a kilobyte a month of data because you are not going to get the best out of the handset.

“On a 12 month contract you are basically paying for the privilege of only being locked in for only one year.

Vodafone, Three and O2 were not available to comment.

First Microsoft Windows Phone Update Causing Issues for Samsung Windows Phone 7 Owners

Not long after Microsoft announced the first Windows Phone update yesterday, owners of the Samsung Omnia 7 have spoken up about issues with the update.

The update, meant to prepare the devices for the larger March update which will enable copy/paste as well as CDMA support among other features, is experiencing completion issues on the Focus and Omnia 7, leading to bricked devices.

For its part, Microsoft is now suggesting pulling the battery and turning the phone back on, or performing a hard reset should the battery pull not work. Microsoft will then notify affected users in three days to download and apply the update again and is warning against applying the update before being prompted. Before the update can be applied, Microsoft is also recommending updates to the Zune software on PC and the Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac OS X to ensure a smooth process.

Can You Fail Massively Now? Verizon Looking Into Failed 911 Calls During DC Snow Storm

The FCC are currently investigating Verizon’s “mass call event” problems related to recent snow storms in DC and Maryland. The carrier failed to patch through multiple 911 calls during recent weather events, resulting in trapped motorists in dangerous conditions.

Some parts of the Baltimore-DC area received up to 12 inches of snow on and around January 26 and the resulting traffic problems, flight back-ups, and dangerous conditions resulted in a snarl of traffic on the highways and some casualties.

Why Verizon got singled out is beyond the scope of the hearing but presumably they were the only carrier overloaded enough to fail that evening.

via Bloomberg

Samsung develops mobile DRAM capable of 12.8GB/sec data transfers, making all other memory jealous

Much like clockwork, Samsung's memory labs are cranking out yet another innovation in the mobile DRAM sector, with the goal being to make the next (next) generation Galaxy Tab -- and any other mobile device relying on Samsung memory -- faster than ever. This go 'round, the crew has developed a 1Gb mobile DRAM module with a wide I/O interface for smartphones and tablets, enabling it to transmit data at 12.8GB/sec. For those keeping count, that's an eightfold increase in bandwidth compared to LPDDR2 DRAM chips, and the company has also managed to trim power consumption by 87 percent all the while. In order to boost the data transfer rate, Samsung's new wide I/O DRAM uses 512 pins for input and output, dwarfing the 32 pins used in the previous generation. Following this, Sammy's hoping to provide 20nm-class 4Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM sometime in 2013, but we're hoping to see this particular development sashay into tablets that hit the market long before then. Sadly, there's no specific word on when, but you know we'll be handing that information over just as soon as we get it.

Show full PR text

Samsung Develops Mobile DRAM with Wide I/O Interface

SEOUL, Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the development of 1 gigabit (Gb) mobile DRAM with a wide I/O interface, using 50 nanometer class* process technology. The new wide I/O mobile DRAM will be used in mobile applications, such as smartphones and tablet PCs.

"We will continue to aggressively expand our high-performance mobile memory product line to further propel the growth of the mobile industry."

"Following the development of 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM (low-power DDR2 dynamic random access memory) last year, our new mobile DRAM solution with a wide I/O interface represents a significant contribution to the advancement of high-performance mobile products," said Byungse So, senior vice president, memory product planning & application engineering at Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to aggressively expand our high-performance mobile memory product line to further propel the growth of the mobile industry."

The new 1Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM can transmit data at 12.8 gigabyte (GB) per second, which increases the bandwidth of mobile DDR DRAM (1.6GB/s) eightfold, while reducing power consumption by approximately 87 percent. The bandwidth is also four times that of LPDDR2 DRAM (which is approximately 3.2GB/s).

To boost data transmission, Samsung's wide I/O DRAM uses 512 pins for data input and output compared to the previous generation of mobile DRAMs, which used a maximum of 32 pins. If you include the pins that are involved in sending commands and regulating power supply, a single Samsung wide I/O DRAM is designed to accommodate approximately 1,200 pins.

Following this wide I/O DRAM launch, Samsung is aiming to provide 20nm-class* 4Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM sometime in 2013. The company's recent achievements in mobile DRAM include introducing the first 50nm-class 1Gb LPDDR2 DRAM in 2009 and the first 40nm-class* 2Gb LPDDR2 in 2010.

Samsung will present a paper related to wide I/O DRAM technology at the 2011 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) being held from February 20 to 24 in San Francisco.

According to iSuppli, mobile DRAM's percentage of total annual DRAM shipments will increase from about 11.1 percent in 2010 to 16.5 percent in 2014.

For more information about Samsung Green memory, visit www.samsung.com/GreenMemory

O2 Nokia N8 Software Update Problems & Reviews

All O2 users of the Nokia N8 were blessed with the new software update (013.016) that adds a few new features such as performance and usability improvements.

The Nokia N8 software update brings 3 preloaded new games, you can get easier access to the app via the OVI Store, O2 customers who own the Nokia N8 smartphone will also get improved social networking, better video and picture sharing, respond to meeting requests and a new version of Quick Office.

We are calling out to all O2 Users who uses the Nokia N8 to come forward and let us know all about the new software update.

There are many questions we would love answered and we would love for you to send in your personal review about this N8 update, did the update run smoothly? Did you come across any problems? What is your best feature?

For the download please visit Nokia N8’s website, you can also visit the O2 Blog for updates. Whilst we are here we might as well ask how you are getting on with the Nokia N8 smartphone itself.

Top 5 Good Blood Pressure Monitor iOS Apps

In this modern day and age of hectic lifestyles and the day-to-day stress people suffer from; it is always a good idea to keep tabs on just how your blood pressure is doing so you know when it’s getting a bit low or too high.

So with this in mind and thinking of the health conscious smartphone owner, we have come up with our list of the top 5 good blood pressure monitor apps for those who use an iOS device, so let’s get right to it…

First up we have the BP Tracker Lite – Blood Pressure Tracker app for the iPhone, iPod Touch or Apple iPad, and is the most powerful blood pressure tracking tool in the App Store enabling the user to log their BP, medication, HR and other information.

The BP Tracker Lite app offers good graphing which delivers the users weekly/monthly/quarterly trend and also supports taking a snapshot which can be sent via email along with scrolling support, and includes a facts module of tips to enable the user to maintain a normal blood pressure. The BP Tracker Lite app can be downloaded for free from iTunes.

Next we have the iBP Blood Pressure app for iOS devices, a blood pressure tracking an analysis tool that uses coloured icons to show when the users blood pressure is normal, high or hypertension, and delivers an interactive graph so the user can show their weekly/monthly/yearly along with time of day.

The iBP Blood Pressure app features easy data input via dials rather than keyboard, a CSV data restore capability, allows multiple users, user configurable colour ranges, multiple email addresses, passcode protection, and weight units if Lbs or Kg. The iBP Blood Pressure app can be downloaded from iTunes to your iPhone, iPod Touch or Apple iPad at a cost of just $0.99.

Halfway we have the IBPTouch blood pressure tracking and reporting app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, an app that delivers to the user an easy to use interface so they can track, chart and report their blood pressure readings.

The IBPTouch app features no limit blood pressure readings for storing on the database, multiple blood pressure entries a day, readings auto-timestamped with entry date and time, reports can be emailed and if charts are saved as an image they can be emailed as well. The IBPTouch app is available from iTunes at a cost of $0.99.

Almost there we have the HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker app, an iOS app that is one of the highest rated and reviewed apps in the App Store due to the app’s easy of use for quick tracking and recording of the users blood pressure, weight and resting heart rate.

The HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker app allows the user to track systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate (Pulse), and weight, auto- calculates mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and body mass index, exportation of fully formatted report in text or spreadsheet format, and importation of existing data from other apps. The HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker app can be downloaded to your iOS device for $0.99 from iTunes.

Last but not least we have the Health Tracker PRO app one of the most comprehensive and complete health tracking apps available in the App Store, enabling the tracking of blood sugar, blood pressure including systolic, diastolic, resting heart rate, and mean arterial pressure, and a body mass index.

The Health Tracker PRO app features a simple and intuitive interface; colour codes values and indicators, track weight and height, health trends graphs, and customisable export to send reading records to yourself or doctor. The Health Track PRO app is available for the Apple iPad, iPos Touch and iPhone from iTunes for a price of $3.99.

So there you have it, 5 good blood pressure applications for iOS devices that enable the user to keep a close eye on their blood pressure and thus stay on top of the game when it comes to their health.

Verizon Xoom teaser ad will eat you up (video)

Verizon's first Xoom ad is out leaving little doubt about how the company plans to market Motorola's new tablet. While the Honeycomb slab might lack the Droid branding, VZW looks set to maintain the overtly machismo tone that helped sell so many Android handsets over the last year while dismissing any of that cerebral nonsense preferred by Motorola. And really, who amongst us, man or woman, can resist the temptation of strapping on an $800 jetpack come thursday?

Today’s Mobile News in Brief (Feb 21, 2011)

As reported here on Cell Phones Etc. and across the Web, here’s your daily brief on what happened in the world of mobile phones this Monday, February 21st 2011.

Microsoft releases its first Windows Phone 7 update (no copy/paste support)
Everyone Windows Phone 7 users is looking to the “copy and paste” update that Microsoft promised, but before that’s released, there’s one that slated to come out first. This one will reportedly “pave the way for the NoDo,” and is actually already rolling out WP7 handsets beginning today. Apart from stability issues, what else it has to offer, we don’t know, but if it’s true that it’s out today, then we won’t have to wait long just to find out.
BGR

First Video of a Real BlackBerry Monaco (aka Storm 3) Emerges!
Here’s a first look of the upcoming BlackBerry Storm 3 live in action. This baby reportedly comes with 1.2GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera with flash, image stabilization, 720p HD video recording, mobile HotSpot capabilities, 768MB RAM with 4GB on-board memory. Surprisingly, despite its kick-ass hardware, it looks a little sluggish in the video. Hopefully, it’s just because of unfinished software, because if not, this would just be another huge disappointment.
Crackberry

7.7mm NEC MEDIAS E-04C Android smartphone bests chubby Arc and Galaxy S II
Move over Xperia arc and Galaxy S II, there’s a new slim Android phone in town, and its goes by the name NEC MEDIAS E-04C. Its name may not be catchy, but its ultraslim profile is. Measuring a mere 7.7mm thin, this Android 2.2 Froyo phone is undoubtedly the world’s thinnest Android phone. Too bad, though, that it’s doubtful it’ll be released elsewhere aside from Japan.
Slashgear

BlackBerry OS 6 now available for the Virgin Bold 9700 and Curve 9300
The title, I guess, already says it all. BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Curve 9300 owners on Virgin Mobile can now download the much awaited BlackBerry 6 upgrade for their respective RIM handsets.
Mobilesyrup

Facebook Messenger iPhone app gives you yet another VoIP option, Zuckerberg yet another good idea
Want to call your friends on Facebook via Facebook chats? There’s now an app for that. Aptly called Facebook Messenger, this app allows users to place free VoIP calls to any Facebook user across the globe, and also keeps tabs on chat history. Don’t be fooled by its name though. This isn’t an official app from Facebook. There’s also some significant lag when making a call, but if that still isn’t enough to dissuade you from trying out this app, be prepared to fork over $2.99 as this app isn’t free to download.
Engadget

Facebook Phone HTC Salsa Handled on Video

Can we really call the device a Facebook phone as the HTC Salsa isn’t really a real Facebook phone but rather an HTC Android smartphone sporting a dedicated Facebook button, which deliver instant access to the social networking website.

Anyway whether you call it a Facebook phone or not, we have some hands on footage of the HTC Salsa for your viewing consideration today, which comes our way courtesy of the guys over at Daily Mobile and by way of Passionemobile, and by way of the T3 YouTube page.

The HTC Salsa Facebook phone hands on footage lasts just over a minute and a half and gives us an up close butchers at the new Android 2.3.3 sporting handset ad shows how that dedicated Facebook button works.

Spec wise, according to Phone Arena the HTC Salsa Facebook phone measures 109.1 x 58.9 x 12.3mm with a weight of 120 grams, features a 3.4-inch capacitive touch screen, 600MHz Qualcomm processor, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, 0.3 megapixel VGA front facing camera, AGPS, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, and microSD expansion up to 32GB.

So with all that said and done all you need do now is jump on down, mash that play button and check out the HTC Salsa Facebook phone, and feel free to shout out if you are considering purchasing one…enjoy.

HTC Thunderbolt Price with Best Buy Confusion

The upcoming HTC Thunderbolt price is causing a little confusion at the moment and in that we mean with Best Buy, we have seen two different prices for the same smartphone with the same online store.

If you look at screenshot images below one of them says that the HTC Thunderbolt is $299.99 and the other one says $249.99, the first image below is a screenshot we did and the second one is via BGR.

Now we know that Verizon Wireless is going to sell it for the higher price of $299.99 so how true is it that Best Buy separate flyer dated Sunday, February 20th shows it will be selling on its online store for only $249.99. Time for a little digging as they say and that is what we will do.

The HTC Thunderbolt with its 4.3-inch touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera and 4G LTE connectivity plus its front-facing camera will be very popular indeed.

We gave you some news on Feb. 19 mentioning about the HTC Thunderbolt delay and that got a few responses, there have been many dates for its release like Feb 24 then there was another date of Feb. 28, one of our commenter’s said:

First Screenshot

I’m a third party agent, and I recently got confirmation that we’re getting the thunderbolt on the 23rd for a 24th launch, looks promising. Keep in mind verizon hasn’t actually given any of these speculative dates, we simply chose to base our hate and impatience on “sources close to the matter”

Second Screenshot

If you would like to post your comment please do so below in the area provided, your comments are important to us and of course other readers.

Sprint tweet makes February 24th launch sound like Windows Phone 7 -- is the HTC 7 Pro ready?

Announced late last year, Sprint's version of the HTC 7 Pro has been stuck in a holding pattern (along with Verizon's Trophy) while waiting for Microsoft to wrap up its first big software update for Windows Phone 7, which includes copy and paste functionality along with -- you guessed it -- CDMA support. Steve Ballmer's keynote address at MWC last week nailed down said update for launch in the first part of March, which means that there shouldn't be much else holding up Sprint and Verizon from getting their first WP7 devices out of the door. A follow-up tweet to an earlier teaser posted on Sprint's official Twitter account says that a device being announced on February 24th "will have a hub for gaming, music, pictures, and video," which sounds an awful lot like Windows Phone 7's hubs to us -- and we're not aware of anything but the 7 Pro in Sprint's Microsoft-flavored pipeline, so it's starting to feel like a lock. Who's buying?