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Meet the Motorola Rival.  The Rival looks cute and cuddly – and my psychedelic purple demo model (also comes in a “Tin Silver” that isn’t so loud) is the epitome of what you would imagine a 14 year old “Texting Tammy” clutching 24/7.  Looks can be deceiving, however.  And this maxim certainly rings true with [...]

It seems like every few weeks I open up a paper (I know, so 20th century of me) or browse to a major website where I am greeted by a big, bolded headline that begs the question: Is [insert name of new device here] the iPhone killer? I make no efforts to conceal my dislike of the term “iPhone killer.” In fact, I’ve made every effort to avoid any serious use of the term in the past. Yet, after my time with the Palm Pre, I am willing to make a bold statement.

First of all, yes, there is such a place as Nokia World. Since Nokia is a company all about mobility, it makes sense that Nokia World is a moving location. This year it will be located in Stuttgart, Germany. It's essentially a place for people passionate about mobility to talk about it, try out new things, and more.

So how do you get free tickets to Nokia World? Simple. Just enter Nokia's Calling All Innovators competition, a program where mobile and web app developers submit apps and ideas for use on Nokia devices. If you've got an idea or app for Internet Innovation, Flash, Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities, or Apps on Maps for Nokia products, check out the competition before June 30th - that's the last day to submit.

If you're a finalist, you'll find out on August 17th and get a free trip to Nokia World in September.

Can't wait to get your hands on Google Voice? If you're on the waiting list, you may not have to wait much longer. Looks like the service has (finally) opened up.



Correspondent Janet Shamlian broke the news on The Today Show, and according to Google Voice's Twitter account, "Invites to people on reservations list [are] starting to go out." Note the word "starting." Basically, Google admitted that its waiting list is huge, and it may a little time to get down the whole list. So if you signed up, but haven't gotten yours yet, don't worry if it doesn't arrive immediately. It will happen.

Of course, if you were a customer of Grand Central, the previous name for the unified calling service, then you're probably already enjoying the beta release. I got a chance to test drive the service as well, so I'll post some thoughts on it later today.

The news has run on multiple blogs, including Lifehacker. If you saw that post, you may have noticed the following item:

"Update 3: In a related, but far more disappointing, development, Google seems to have pulled the ability to send SMS through Gmail's chat box, at least from our view and many Twitter users'. If you still have SMS available through your chat box, let us know in the comments."

If this is a deal-breaker for you (or even just a desired feature), take heart — This is not true, at least in my case. I can definitely still send SMS messages through my account, so this might just be a glitch for some users.

[via BoyGenius Report, Lifehacker, PCWorld]

It's been a little over two weeks, and last I heard, there isn't much in Palm's app store — just 30 or so entries. And yet, its software biz has hit a new milestone: The Palm App Catalog has exceeded 1 million downloads.



Given the estimated 150,000 handsets sold thus far and the 1,015,038 downloaded yesterday, one thing's for sure: Pre users are certainly turning out to be an active bunch.

The math shakes out like this: On average, seven applications per Pre user has been downloaded, and a given app has been downloaded roughly 33,800 times. Again, there are only about 30 apps in the store. That's just crazy. Imagine what will happen when the SDK is on wide release, and there are tens of thousands of apps in there (like that other app store).

And not everyone's even gotten their Pre devices yet, as retailers keep running out of stock. When the full rush of gadgets drop in this first (second?) wave, those numbers are going to be sick.

[via BoyGenius Report]

With July only a weekend away, let’s see what made the headlines during the last week of June.

1.  Sony Ericsson Launch T715 Slider.

Sony Ericsson seem to have missed the idea of June 2009, a month where everyone was supposed to show off some super-flash new phone.  Instead they debut the T715, a perfectly acceptable, if a little ordinary, 3G slider with a 3.2 megapixel camera.  It’ll be out in the UK sometime during the third quarter.

2.   Full Flash for HTC Hero.

HTC showed off the Hero at a London event this week, where it was also revealed that the new phone would offer full Flash support - making it the first smartphone to do so.  This will mean almost complete support for online video (and adverts) without the need for a separate application.

3.  G1 and Magic Have No Sense.

Well, they may have sense, but they won’t have Sense!  The Hero phone launch also saw the launch of HTC Sense, their Android UI, which was rumoured to be made available as an upgrade to the G1 and Magic Android mobiles.  However, HTC have confirmed that due to licensing issues, Sense will not (more…)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

The iPhone 3GS’s greatest demonstration is not only unauthorised, it’s one Apple will actively fight against.  Despite it being absolutely awesome.

Hackers have crafted code allowing the upgraded iPhone to emulate an entire Playstation. This is serious software for a smartphone - in in increasingly aggressive market, showing that your gadget can recreate something that used to be an entire (and beloved) console for many of your target market is a major plus. Or at least it would be, if it didn’t massively violate copyright regulations, piracy rules, and require you to jailbreak your phone - all things Apple couldn’t be more against without using flaming arrows.

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

This will be music to the ears of anyone who struggles with mobile phone reception at home!  From the 1st July, Vodafone will be offering Access Gateway, a service where customers will be supplied with a signal boosting box, called a Femtocell, enabling up to four 3G calls to be placed at one time over a broadband connection.

Femtocells, the name given to small cellular base stations designed for home or small business use, have been tested all over the world, with several network providers already offering them to customers in the US.  Vodafone have been testing theirs for six months, so it’s good to see this new and exciting technology finally get an official launch in the UK.

As far as the cost of Access Gateway is concerned, Vodafone will charge either a £160 one time payment, £5 per month or an undisclosed charge as part of a new contract.  You’ll also need a broadband connection at home and you’ll have to register which 3G mobile phones will be using the Femtocell once it’s up and running.  Visit the official Vodafone page on July 1st for more information.

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

Unfortunately, text messaging while driving is something that many do on a regular basis; I'll be the first to admit that I've sent the occasional e-mail while on the road.  In an interesting experiment, Car and Driver magazine tested the reaction of individuals text messaging versus driving intoxicated, and needless to say, the results were wild.  The results were as follows:

While text messaging:

• Driving 35 MPH: An extra 21 feet to stop (while reading) and 16 to stop (while writing)
  
• Driving 70 MPH: An extra 30 feet to stop (while reading) and 31 to stop (while writing)

While driving drunk:

• Driving 35 MPH: An extra 7 feet to stop
• Driving 70 MPH: An extra 15 feet to stop

It's important to note that while the times were longer with text messaging, driving while intoxicated resulted in unintentional lane changes and poor control of the car as a whole.  I think it's safe to say that both text messaging and driving drunk are poor things to engage in!

Source: PhoneArena

 

Love it, Hate it: Apple iPhone
Love it, Hate it: Google Android
Love it, Hate it: Palm Pre

I was reading Game Informer magazine the other day, and the Letter from the Editor was basically a shout-out to everyone who's ever accused him of favoring one platform over another over the years.  He did this by running through a list of what he likes and dislikes about every major gaming platform currently on the market.

Dealing with accusations of bias is a sad, annoying truth when you make a living reviewing *anything* for a living.  While I'd be the first to tell you that I have my personal preferences when it comes to mobile devices and applications, I also do my very best to remain as objective as possible - and to view products from multiple perspectives - when reviewing a phone, accessory, or service.

That said, I'm stealing that gaming editor's idea here by offering a run-down of what I love and hate about the major smartphone platforms we've been spending so much time covering this Summer at PhoneDog.  Take it for what you will, but I'm tellin' ya, there are things I love and hate about every device out there, and I really mean it when I say that just because I like a particular phone doesn't mean you will, or should, as well.

Now if only I could get YouTube commenters to stop yelling at each other (and me) for a minute and come read my blog ...

Nokia and Symbian OS (S60 and S40 - Note that Symbian runs on some non-Nokia phones, as well)

• I love how Nokia does hardware.  RF/Voice quality, battery life, and (usually) build quality are top-notch.
• I hate how Nokia does software - user interfaces, in particular.  So many features and applications, so unintuitive to use, especially for the novice.

• I love how Nokia is devoted to open platforms, open betas, social networking, "conversations" sites, and all of that hippie crowd-sourced tech stuff.
• I hate how Nokia touts how open their devices are as a way of avoiding how there's no way a first-time smartphone user could ever figure out how an S60 phone works.

• I love the sleek metal body and QWERTY board of the E71/E72, the tricked out camera of the N85/N86, and the over the top slider mechanism and storage capacity of the N97.
• I hate that it took Nokia about five lifetimes to figure out how to position the A and the Z on a keyboard, and how the battery cover on their $700 flagship phone is a cheap plastic POS that broke the first time I tried to replace it.

• I love how innovative the N95 was.
• I hate how un-innovative the N96 was.

• I love what the E71 and E75 do for typing.
• I hate what the 5800 and N97 do for touching.

• I love how Nokia rules Europe.
• I hate how Nokia has failed in the United States.

• I love that Symbian OS has long handled multitasking like a champ, had a true HTML Web browser years before any other mobile platform did, and lets its users create, consume, distribute and share music, video, photos, podcasts, and other media without silly business-driven restrictions.
• I hate that Nokia and Symbian rested on their laurels for so long that the S60 UI, the Web Browser, and the media player now feel hopelessly out of date when compared to their competitors.  Seriously, Nokia, you call the 5800 and N97 "Touch Optimized" devices?  Have you SEEN a Pre, Touch Pro2, or iPhone lately?

• I love that Nokia E- and N- Series devices come equipped with standard headphone jacks and above-average cameras.  And that many of them come with exotic in-box accessories like TV-out cables.
• I hate that Nokia headphone jacks don't play nice with BlackBerry and iPhone-compatible headsets and their in-line remote controls.

• I love that the lowly 5310 XpressMusic is super slim, has an Active Standby home screen, and sounds great as an iPod-clone when used with quality earphones.
• I hate that I couldn't get myself to use the 5310 as my personal phone for more than a month before I missed having a larger screen, good Web browser, WiFi, 3G, etc, etc.

• I love that Nokia is the number one cell phone maker in the world and that they rule when it comes to churning out low-end phones that reliably make and receive calls with battery life to spare.
• I hate that I haven't really liked a high-end Nokia in a few years now.  Save the E75, which I sort of love.  Except that I'll never carry one around because I can't stand S60 anymore.

Wow, felt good to get that off my chest.  And I'm sure I missed some stuff.  How about you?  What do you love and hate about Nokias and Symbian?

You fill up the comments and in the meantime, I think I'll pick another platform and do this all over again ...