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Get out your salt shakers, it's alleged spy photo time!

iPhone repair site iResQ has what they claim are parts from the upcoming fourth-generation Apple iPhone, due to be launched later this year. According to photos on the site, the new iPhone's front panel (right, above) will be approximately 1/4" taller than the current iPhone 3GS (left, above).

The photos also show what iResQ is calling a "reflective surface" on the front panel just above the earpiece slot. And, of course, the photos show a cut-out for the Home button that looks suspiciously large. 

Real? Fake? Whatever? Sound off in the comments! Me, I'm actually hoping for a slightly larger next-gen iPhone - I think it's time for a bigger, higher-res display.

[Via: iResQ, MacRumors]

Chris from Engadget says he got word that Verizon is currently testing Android 2.1 "Eclair" on the Motorola Droid. The build mentioned is 2.1 version 1, the same version pushed out to Nexus One owners last week. Nobody's got any word on a release date - or even verification that the update will, in fact, be released at all. But let's be optimistic (and realistic, I think) and say that Droid owners should be getting some multitouch Web love without the need to install a third-party browser.

According to Engadget, the Droid version of 2.1 features:

- Multitouch Web browsing

- Google Googles pre-isntalled

- New News and Weather widgets just like on Nexus One

But check out what's not included on Droid's 2.1 build:

- The new Nexus One home screen and app menu

- Live wallpapers

Hmm ... Early build, faulty info, or the new wave of splintered Android releases in action? Google did talk about new standards for new phones running new features in the Android 2.x world, so it could in fact be that Droid doesn't pass muster when it comes to 3D and other UI eye candy. Time will tell ... and soon ... we hope.

[Via: Engadget]

According to Adriana, any of you running your iPhones unlocked on T-Mobile should hold off on installing the newest iPhone OS update. Looks like iPhone 3.1.3 breaks TMo connectivity for iPhone 3GS and 3G models - apparently the first-gen iPhones aren't affected.

Any of you running iPhone unlocked on Magenta? If so, can you confirm or deny this? Better yet, are you hard at work on a solution? 

More over at Today's iPhone.

[Via: PhoneArena]

Brace yourself for shoals of Babel fish references and a galaxy of Universal Translator callouts, as Google announce that they’re only years away from equipping Android phones with voice-translation software.  Unfortunately the incredible optimism with which most services are reporting on this is unfounded, but it’ll still be a useful tool.

Google Translate is already online, a service converting phrases and websites between languages - and whose results range from “missing the point” to “absolutely hilarious.”  It’s simply not possible for a machine to include all the nuances and slang in any translation, and won’t be until computers are so sophisticated we have to persuade them to work for us.  To say that (almost) real-time voice translation by 2015 is a little fanciful, is to say that saving the environment by taking the Unicorn to work is a little unlikely.

But it’ll still be a fantastic service.  While we won’t be discussing international philosophies on the phone, a crude but universal translation service will become essential for travellers.  As long as your target is patient or willing to work a little to understand (and most cashiers/ticket agents/police officers are paid to do those things) a handy pocket “MAKE WORDS LANGUAGE CLEAR HELP” will be useful.  But be warned it’ll sound almost exactly like that quote to the person listening.

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

We love learning more about the design and construction of our favourite mobile phones, and even though the Nexus One has yet to officially reach these shores via a UK network, it still holds a special place in our hearts.  So it was with great interest that we headed over to Google’s YouTube page, where a series of short films caught our eye.

The short films in question will make up The Story, a documentary on how the Google Nexus One came about and the tech found inside.  There are currently four videos available, starting with the concept and design and followed by one on the display and 3D, then one on testing and finally, the manufacturing of the phone.  One more entry is expected to finish the series.

Admittedly, the videos can slip into marketing puff, but there are enough interesting factoids in each segment to hold your attention.  Plus, we can’t complain too much, as Google is being far more transparent about what it takes to make a new phone than any other company out there!

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

Pocketnow got hold of some leaked photos of a phone marked, "HTC Incredible." Based on the specs accompanying the leak, this device might just live up to its name - if you're looking for a high-end Android handheld to run on Verizon.

Incredible is said to feature Android 2.1 and HTC Sense running on a Snapdragon-based platform backed by 256MB of RAM. The device will feature a 3.5" + WVGA touchscreen (AMOLED?), the oft-rumored optical mouse that HTC is said to switching to for 2010 (no more trackballs), and a  dual flash camera housed in a somewhat oddly colored orange-brown back plate. 

No word on launch date, why such a high end phone would only have 256MB of RAM, or if that back plate is really orange-brown. But we'll keep you abreast as we find things out. Like maybe next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona; sure, it's a Verizon phone, but that doesn't mean HTC doesn't have a global flagship variant to unveil in Spain, right? Check out more photos of Increidble via the link below.

[Via: Pocketnow]

We’ve been following the Windows Mobile 7 story with interest for a while, along with every other mobile phone fan we imagine, even going so far as to give the oft-delayed OS an award for its tardiness at then end of 2009.  The last we heard, there was a chance we would see Microsoft’s next incarnation of its mobile OS at MWC, a rumour which has not only gained momentum, but a few more interesting possibilities too.

What will be revealed at Mobile World Congress is likely to be the user interface of the next Windows Phone, apparently codenamed ‘Metro’.  It will be closely related to the Zune HD interface, to the point where the Zune music player will be integrated and used for PC syncing, and have support for Xbox gamer tags, friends and avatars - all of which brings the Microsoft family closer together in the same way as both Apple did with the iPod and Sony Ericsson have recently done with the Aino.

What Metro won’t have is Flash, multi-tasking, backwards compatibility for applications or the opportunity for manufacturers to insert their own UI over the top.  Again, this lock down seems awfully familiar.  While the lack of a Sense UI-style overlay will not matter if Windows Phone’s own UI has been improved in the way they’re saying - clean, soulful and alive are the quoted terms, whatever they mean in relation to a mobile phone - the removal of both Flash and multi-tasking essentially removes two of the previous selling points over its competitors!

We’ve got a week until Mobile World Congress kicks off and since the rumour says it will only be the UI we’ll see, we presume it’s going to be in video form, making any proper assessment of Windows Phone 7  almost as speculative as the above details.  Perhaps we’ll be surprised and they’ll load it onto an HD2 for us all to have a try, but we won’t hold our breath!

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

I don't much care for Foursquare. The social networking site, that is. The schoolyard game with a kickball? AWESOME. The check-in thingy? Don't really like it.

But lots of people do, apparently. They enjoy filling their twitter feeds with things like, "I am now the mayor of Taco Bell!"  and, "I'm at Pet Food Plaza at 123 Main Street." Well, okay, good for you, Mayor!

So it's good - for them - that there's a Foursquare app for BlackBerry. And apparently it's a pretty good app.

You go read Taylor's review of the app over at BBerryDog. And I'll go find a kickball and some chalk to draw up a real Foursquare app - er, court - of my own.

[Via: BBerryDog]

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Is it me or have this year's Super Bowl ads been pretty underwhelming thus far? There's about five and a half minutes to go in the game as I write this, so there's still time for a miracle, but so far? Eh. That much-hyped Google ad? Vaguely clever yet supremely boring (seriously, who wants to read an entire TV ad?). I kind of liked the VW ad, mainly because the Stevie Wonder/Tracy Morgan bit was unexpected and hilarious. Otherwise? A lot of Bud and Bud Light ads that all kind of blended together in my memory. And that's about it so far.

Oh yeah, except for that spot with Megan Fox handling a Motorola Devour. Naked. In a bathtub.

Two things about that ad. First, only a super phone geek would know it was a Moto Devour (the Verizon logo was barely visible) - the ad was for Motorola and MotoBlur, not for a specific phone or carrier.

Second, what about the part where a kid locks himself in his bedroom to, um, spend some time with the bathtub photo of herself that Megan just posted to her social networks via the magic of MotoBlur? HELLOMOTO!

Comin' on strong with the power of social networking in 2010, are we Motorola? Interesting tactics.

Ha ha, the Audi "Green Police" ad that just ran was kinda funny. Any Cheap Trick fans in the house, or are you all busy watching the Moto ad clip below? 

What say you? Moto's ads? Super Bowl ads in general? Yay or Nay?