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• 11Feb

  ARTICLE: MacWorld 2010: GameSalad, Beats by Dr Dre, Speck and Sketch Up

  Industry, News No Comments

  

  The most awesome thing I've seen in two and a half hours at MacWorld? GameSalad.com. Bear in mind that I only spent fifteen minutes with it, so it could turn out to be a pile of hooey, but I kinda don't think so. For $99/year, you get access to their game design tools and templates and the ability to publish your working games to iPhone OS and Web-compatible formats. It works, and it's really simple. In my fifteen minutes with the system I made versions of Asteroids and Breakout (the old arcade classics) with various members of the PhoneDog staff swapped in for the spaceship, asteroids, and Breakout bricks. Awesome. Design a game, publish it to the App Store, and start counting your money!

  

  Also pretty cool is the Beats by Dr Dre. Solo headphones, now with iPhone-compatible inline microphone/remote. The $180 little brother to the Studio models will soon be available in an "HD" version. And the bad boys themselves, the $300 Studio cans, were also being shown in a soon-to-be-released version featuring the iPhone mic/remote. Monster is just waiting for Apple to certify the new version of the Studio headphones as ready for sale.

  

  Trexta's Sketch Up iPhone/iPod Touch cases are charmingly simple, and totally great. These recyclable paper/plastic cases are meant to be drawn on! Take some magic markers, customize the case with your own designs, and snap one on to your phone. And there you go, a totally one-of-a-kind iPhone case. Simple, easy, and fun. The cases will be available soon in three-or-five packs, and are going to be priced "very aggressively."

  

  Speck was showing off their line of iPhone and iPod Touch cases, including the new "Fitted" models.  Aaron found an argyle pattered case that's a great match for his enormous collection of tweed jackets. As you can see, he was pretty stoked.

  

  
  

  

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  ARTICLE: Hey, look! It’s the HTC legend, and it’s slated for a March release

  Industry, News No Comments

  

  Sure, we knew that the HTC Legend was coming, but it's nice to see it in the flesh.  KPN in the Netherlands has published the device on their website, andit looks like the device is slated for a March release.  Specifications are listed as well - 256MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, an FM radio, 3.2-inch display and 5.0-megapixel camera.  Sounds like a winner to me.

  I'm sure we'll see the unit at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, so while they jumped the gun, it wasn't too bad.  Anyone in the States care to confirm the existence of this device?  AT&T?  T-Mobile?
  
  Via Engadget
  
  

  
  

  

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  ARTICLE: Update - Nope: Palm Pre, Pre Plus, and Pixi production halted?

  Industry, News No Comments

  Uhoh, this is not good.  According to an OTR Global report, three sources have reported that Palm has halted production on the Palm Pre, Palm Pre Plus, and Palm Pixi (with reports up in the air about the Pixi Plus).  One of the contacts stated that the halt was "very sudden, and Foxconn was told to reduce all February Pre forecast to zero on Wednesday and no one knows whether shipment will resume in March."  I'm certainly not an analyst, but that doesn't sound good.

  A few thoughts here.  Optimistically speaking, Palm could be working on new models to launch in the coming weeks.  On another note, it could mean that they're being bought by another company.  As soon as we receive further information, we'll pass it along. 

  Interesting indeed!  Your thoughts?

  Update: Some are speculating that the halt has been planned for some time, and is the result of the Chinese New Year.  We'll keep you updated as we hear more.

  Update 2: Yup, it's a planned halt for Chinese New Year, not any kind of problem.  Engadget got this statement from Palm just now:

  Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.

  

  
  

  

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  ARTICLE: New Era: Headed to MacWorld 2010

  Industry, News No Comments

  

  I'm headed out the door to meet Aaron and Adriana at MacWorld 2010 in San Francisco. And frankly, I'm not expecting much. But that's a good thing.

  This marks the first year that Apple is not exhibiting at a MacWorld Conference and Expo, which leads many (like us) to wonder what the heck MacWorld will be like without an Apple Keynote and giant Apple booth anchoring the Expo. IDG, who puts the conference on, is trying to bill it as MacWorld "The New Era."  Hmm. While the user conference has been going on for a few days now, the show floor doesn't open for another hour and a half or so, but pre-show maps and exhibitor lists have already tipped everyone off to expect a very small exhibit hall by modern tech show standards.

  But I'm still kind of excited. Why?

  1. Apps, apps, apps. For PhoneDog purposes, the Apps Showcase is all I need. Last year at MWSF I saw Beejive IM and  i.TV for the first time and also got to check out a pre-release version of Slingbox for iPhone and some other neat apps. If all I get to see this week is one cool iPhone OS app, I'll be happy.

  2. iPad Buzz. While I'm guessing there won't be an actual iPad in the house this week, every accessory maker and their Mom has already announced forthcoming lines of iPad cases and accessories. So I'm excited to talk to the Mac faithful to get their take on what iPad might mean to Apple's future.

  3. AB and AL in SF. Going to MacWorld is a no-brainer for me since it's literally a 20 minute train ride from my office. Trade show in my hometown is a bonus. This year there's an extra bonus: Aaron and Adriana made the trip out to the Bay Area for some sightseeing and visiting, along with show coverage. So I'll get to hang with them today.

  4. Mac Stuff. Hey, I'm not entirely about phones. I use Macs to write, edit video, and do the rest of the computer-related parts of my job. So if I come across something interesting that promises to make my workflow more efficient and/or fun, I might just have to bust open that piggy bank to pick myself up a new doodad for my computer.

  Check back all day today, tomorrow, and over the weekend for PhoneDog's coverage of MacWorld 2010 from San Francisco, CA.

  
  

  

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  Mobile Phones + Smart Sewers = Reduced Water Pollution

  Industry, News No Comments

  Most of the time when we talk about green mobile phone issues, we’re talking about how to recycle your mobile phone or how to use renewable resources to power your device. However, mobile phones are a form of technology that could also be used in advanced methods of greening the earth. One new project that is getting a lot of attention involves using the antennas on cell phone towers to actually reduce the amount of water pollution affecting urban areas. Early studies of this possibility are looking good and trials will be starting soon to see how well this project works in the real world.

  So what’s this all about?

  Researchers have figured out that the antennas on mobile phone towers are terrific tools that can be used to measure the amount of rainfall that is falling in real time. These towers are actually better equipped to measure this than the traditional gauges that are currently used. There’s a big technological science behind it but basically the way that the rainfall interferes with the mobile phone tower is a reliable indicator of how much rain is falling. You might be asking “so what?” Well, knowing the amount of rainfall at any given time is the first step in creating smarter sewer systems. This would reduce the amount of water pollution in urban areas, making the entire area healthier and greener for everyone. And it all starts with measuring rain using mobile phone masts.

  What are smart sewers?

  To understand why this would work, you need to understand a little bit about the problems that sewers face when it rains. Here’s what happens where there is too much rain:

  • First too much rain falls unexpectedly.
  • That rainwater mixes with sewage inside the pipes.
  • The sewer can’t handle as much dirty water as there now is inside of it.
  • The dirty water overflows into local streams, lakes and rivers and pollutes them.
  • Not only is that gross, but short bursts of pollutants like this can be very harmful to populations of fish and algae in these waters.
  • The problem is going to get worse since more rains are predicted in many urban areas due to climate change.

  One of the things that we need in order to prevent this problem is a smarter sewer system. We need a sewer system that is capable of diverting and controlling water flow even when unexpected rains occur. This would keep the dirty water in the sewer instead of in our lakes and rivers.

  The tower is the gauge that helps a smart sewer.

  In summary, mobile phone towers could be used to accurately measure rainfall. This would mean that we would know how much rain was falling even when levels were higher than expected. This could be useful in the design of an intelligent control system for the sewer networks. The sewer itself would need to be redesigned, of course, but the mobile phone tower would play a really important role once the design was in place.

  Where is this happening?

  The early stages of this project are being completed by a team headed by Jorg Rieckermann of Eawag’s Urban Water Management in Switzerland. Rieckermann is working with the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) as well as folks over at Orange to make this green mobile phones project into a reality. They will be field-testing in two different municipalities in the near future to learn more.

  So it’s a good thing that we have all of those mobile phone towers.

  This project is one that shows us how the sheer number of mobile phone towers that we have in place in the world today could be useful for a number of different things including important green projects. Many people are unhappy with the mobile mastscape but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, it could be really powerful!

  In other mobile phone sewer news

  The news about this green mobile phone project is probably the first time that we’ve ever seen news about mobile phones and sewers that was actually good news. Back in 2007, headlines were made because of an unfortunate incident in which a man fell into a sewer and drowned trying to retrieve his mobile phone. And in the summer of 2009, a teenager fell into the sewer because she was texting and didn’t watch where she was going. At least not all mobile phone sewer news is bad news!

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  Mobile Phones + Smart Sewers = Reduced Water Pollution

  Industry, News No Comments

  Most of the time when we talk about green mobile phone issues, we’re talking about how to recycle your mobile phone or how to use renewable resources to power your device. However, mobile phones are a form of technology that could also be used in advanced methods of greening the earth. One new project that is getting a lot of attention involves using the antennas on cell phone towers to actually reduce the amount of water pollution affecting urban areas. Early studies of this possibility are looking good and trials will be starting soon to see how well this project works in the real world.

  So what’s this all about?

  Researchers have figured out that the antennas on mobile phone towers are terrific tools that can be used to measure the amount of rainfall that is falling in real time. These towers are actually better equipped to measure this than the traditional gauges that are currently used. There’s a big technological science behind it but basically the way that the rainfall interferes with the mobile phone tower is a reliable indicator of how much rain is falling. You might be asking “so what?” Well, knowing the amount of rainfall at any given time is the first step in creating smarter sewer systems. This would reduce the amount of water pollution in urban areas, making the entire area healthier and greener for everyone. And it all starts with measuring rain using mobile phone masts.

  What are smart sewers?

  To understand why this would work, you need to understand a little bit about the problems that sewers face when it rains. Here’s what happens where there is too much rain:

  • First too much rain falls unexpectedly.
  • That rainwater mixes with sewage inside the pipes.
  • The sewer can’t handle as much dirty water as there now is inside of it.
  • The dirty water overflows into local streams, lakes and rivers and pollutes them.
  • Not only is that gross, but short bursts of pollutants like this can be very harmful to populations of fish and algae in these waters.
  • The problem is going to get worse since more rains are predicted in many urban areas due to climate change.

  One of the things that we need in order to prevent this problem is a smarter sewer system. We need a sewer system that is capable of diverting and controlling water flow even when unexpected rains occur. This would keep the dirty water in the sewer instead of in our lakes and rivers. (more…)

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

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  ARTICLE: Motorola Devour to launch in select channels on February 25th

  Industry, News No Comments

  

  Well well well, what do we have here...if you liked the device that Megan Fox was sporting in the Super Bowl MOTOBLUR advertisement, you'll be able to get your hands on it shortly.  In a leaked launch document obtained by BGR, the Motorola Devour is slated for an indirect channel launch on February 25th, followed by a full release on March 15th.  As a recap, the Devour offers a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a navigation pad, Android 1.6, a microSD card slot, and Bluetooth.

  I find it interesting that Verizon is launching the device in the indirect channel first.  Sure, I've seen it happen before with color refreshes of existing models on the market, but given the grandeur of an Android launch, I find it to be a bit different.  At any rate, is it a device you're interested in, or does the DROID tickle your fancy?

  Via BGR
  
  

  
  

  

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  Sagem Puma Mobile Phone to Debut Next Week?

  Industry, News No Comments

  It was way back in October that the first official words were spoken about the Sagem Puma phone. Since then it has been kept pretty much under wraps. However, this week has brought two developments in the sports phone story.

  Firstly, Mobile Crunch have snapped the solar panelled rear of the Puma handset and naturally spread the word. Next and perhaps more importantly, a Puma site has gone up with an official countdown until the grand unveiling. The 5 day timer points to a MWC announcement sometime on Tuesday 16th.

  The teaser site isn’t giving much away, but those clever kids over at GSM Arena have stumbled across some very interesting info hidden within the page’s source code. Lurking within the Meta data are a few keywords that could shed some light on a few of the key features. So, we already know about the solar panelled backing or the ’solar meter’ as named in the Meta tags. New additions include a GPS receiver, Bike Tracker and Run tracker as well as a Pedometer, plenty of handy tools for the sports fanatic.

  Photo Sharing and Video Chat also cropped up; presumably there will be a 3G connection to support this. All the online social tools were mentioned too, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Flicker as well as an interesting application called PUMA Icon Messaging (Puma Language), a chat client perhaps? Whatever it is we’ve got high hopes for connectivity.

  Finally a novel app the Music Turntable, which brings images of the Samsung Beat DJ to mind, not quite the ingenious sports app we were hoping for. Having said that, there is bound to be a lot more features that aren’t hanging in the page source, luckily we haven’t got long to wait until the official specs are announced. 

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  Sagem Puma Mobile Phone to Debut Next Week?

  Industry, News No Comments

  It was way back in October that the first official words were spoken about the Sagem Puma phone. Since then it has been kept pretty much under wraps. However, this week has brought two developments in the sports phone story.

  Firstly, Mobile Crunch have snapped the solar panelled rear of the Puma handset and naturally spread the word. Next and perhaps more importantly, a Puma site has gone up with an official countdown until the grand unveiling. The 5 day timer points to a MWC announcement sometime on Tuesday 16th.

  The teaser site isn’t giving much away, but those clever kids over at GSM Arena have stumbled across some very interesting info hidden within the page’s source code. Lurking within the Meta data are a few keywords that could shed some light on a few of the key features. So, we already know about the solar panelled backing or the ’solar meter’ as named in the Meta tags. New additions include a GPS receiver, Bike Tracker and Run tracker as well as a Pedometer, plenty of handy tools for the sports fanatic.

  Photo Sharing and Video Chat also cropped up; presumably there will be a 3G connection to support this. All the online social tools were mentioned too, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Flicker as well as an interesting application called PUMA Icon Messaging (Puma Language), a chat client perhaps? Whatever it is we’ve got high hopes for connectivity.

  Finally a novel app the Music Turntable, which brings images of the Samsung Beat DJ to mind, not quite the ingenious sports app we were hoping for. Having said that, there is bound to be a lot more features that aren’t hanging in the page source, luckily we haven’t got long to wait until the official specs are announced. 

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

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

• 11Feb

  LG’s New GS500 Cookie Plus Officially Announced

  Industry, News No Comments

  The success of the LG Cookie has obviously been so great that despite coming up with the LG Pop - a great alternative - LG have revived the Cookie name for the new GS500, or LG Cookie Plus.  This is the second mid-range handset from LG to be announced ahead of Mobile World Congress this week, and we wonder just what it is they don’t want to crowd at their event.

  Oddly though, LG have not released all of the Cookie Plus’s specifications, preferring to tell us how fun the phone is in the press release, but never actually getting down to business with the numbers.  What we do know is that it will have a 3 megapixel camera, a music player and radio plus plenty of social networking widgets based around something called LiveSquare.  From what we can gather, this is another system whereby all your friends social updates are featured on their contact page.

  It’s likely that the Plus will retain the old Cookie’s 3″ touchscreen and 2G radio, and we do approve of the redesign, which gives the phone a far more sleek and attractive casing than the first.  LG say the Cookie Plus is to be launched in 45 countries around the world, beginning with Italy and France in March.

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

  Tags: blog, cell phone news, discussion, mobile

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