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It's a known fact that webOS-powered devices are en-route to AT&T.  With the carrier being the third to receive Palm's newest offering, many are wondering: what about T-Mobile?  According to the folks at BGR, they have it on good authority that T-Mobile will be getting some webOS love as well.  The source goes on to say that the two companies are working to develop a device for T-Mobile's network.  It makes me wonder: will this be a new device, or a modification of one of the existing models on the market? 

No word on any sort of release date, but it's nice to think about new options for customers bored with Android, BlackBerry, Sidekick, and Windows Mobile devices.  Should a webOS option come to T-Mobile, would you be interested?  Would it be dependent on the device released?  Let me know in the comments!

Via MobileCrunch

In existence since 2008, Sprint's 4G WiMAX footprint has been slowly expanding.  Fast forward to 2010, and we have an Overdrive Mobile Hotspot and a few aircards to take advantage of the new technology.  But what about people who want to use the 4G capabilities on their mobile devices?  Dan Hesse is on record stating that the company plans to release "dozens of devices" with WiMAX capabilities this year, but subscribers want to know: when will they hit retail stores?

In an interview with Forbes, Sprint announced that their first WiMAX-enabled mobile device would launch in the first half of this year, several months earlier than expexted.  Remember the A9292 handset spotted (the HTC Supersonic)?  Rumor has it that it is the device in question, with Forbes going on to say that the unit launched in the coming months will most likely be an HTC-built Android phone. 

As a recap, the HTC Supersonic is rumored to offer a 4.3-inch touchscreen (think HD2 here), Android 2.1, and HTC's Sense UI.

Via Engadget, Forbes

Surprise, surprise.  After seeing leaked pictures of the device with AT&T branding earlier in the year, the LG Arena has officially made its way to the nation's second largest wireless carrier.  Features include a 3-inch WVGA touchscreen, 5.0-megapixel camera, LG's S-Class UI, GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity, and AT&T's Mobile TV service.  The Arena will arrive online on February 26th, with retail availability pegged for March 7th.  Expect it to cost $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new two-year customer agreement.

So, we have a featurephone that costs the same amount as a 16 GB iPhone 3GS (and that's after rebate, mind you).  Keeping that in mind, is anyone interested in purchasing the phone?  If you're up for a bit of light reading, the full press release can be found here.

Via Engadget

News from Mobile World Congress has dominated the headlines this week, and in our weekly roundup we’ll mop up some of the lesser seen stories from the Barcelona event.

1.  Windows Mobile To Live On?

Instead of putting the aging, irritating WinMo 6.5 out to pasture when Windows Phone 7 launches, it looks like it will be re-invented as Windows Phone Classic and stuck on phones no one will want to buy.  Just like now, really. Joking aside, we could see this working for emerging markets, for certain Enterprise users or for those who don’t want to give up all the apps which won’t work under the new system.

2.  What Are You Looking At?

Everything and nothing will be the answer if this prototype technology ever hits the mainstream.  The real eye-phone has been developed by NTT DoCoMo, and incredibly lets you use eye movement to control a device, be it an MP3 player or a mobile phone.  A demonstration proved the tech worked, but in the process made the user look like either a googly-eyed maniac or Eagle Eyes Action Man.  Take a look at the video for proof of both.

3.  Nokia Loves Qualcomm.

Nokia announced a whole lot of nothing at MWC, but this partnership could be set to bare some very interesting fruit.  Qualcomm, makers of the super-quick Snapdragon chipset, and Nokia have apparently been working on a phone together, and it could be ready for launch by the summer. We wonder, could this be the rumoured N8?

4.  Emporia Embrace the Oldies.

Emporia, an Austrian mobile firm, showed off two new additions to their range at MWC – the ELEGANCE and the SOLID.  Both are aimed at older mobile users who find some buttons too small and fiddly, so these two are equipped with oversize keyapds.  Both are 2G phones, but come with 1.8″ OLED screens and splash/dirt resistance.

5.  LG GW990 To Go MeeGo?

LG were almost as quiet as Nokia at Mobile World Congress, but this hasn’t stopped speculation that their powerhouse GW990 phone will be the first MeeGo mobile phone released in the West.  The GW990 should make it to Korea beforehand, towards the end of this year.

6.  Dolby Loves LG and Android?

Dolby Mobile has been a feature on several top-end LG mobile phones, and now it looks like the sound technology will be introduced on a Google Android handset, with 5.1 surround sound enabled!  Quite how this will work is not clear, but regular Dolby Mobile sounds superb, so this is something to look forward too!

7.  GeeksPhone One Demonstrated.

The clever GeeksPhone project, where you can buy a rooted Android phone with a slide-out QWERTY direct from a Spanish company, has come on leaps and bounds.  For those wanting to develop or just to have total control over their Android phone, this is a tempting device.  See the video for a demo.

8.  Apple Gets Friendly with Game Developers.

Who says Apple don’t care?  Starting soon, Apple will be trying to shake their air of aloofness when it comes to getting apps accepted into the App Store.  They will do this by visiting game developers, discussing projects and giving advice about what they want inside the store.  It should see more apps accepted, and quicker too.

9.  Sony Ericsson Said No!

In an interview with a Swedish magazine, Sony Ericsson President Bert Nordberg said that they were initially approached by Google to make the Nexus One.  They turned the chance down as they were committed to building their own hardware for their own brand, but it makes you wonder if Google knocked on many other doors we haven’t heard about yet?

10.  Nanotech in Your Gloves, No More iPhone Woes.

With the cold weather still here, putting on gloves has become a daily ritual.  As has taking them off again when your iPhone rings.  The iTouch Gloves solve this problem in a unique way, by using nanotechnology during their creation so that the entire glove becomes a conductor.  No more dimples on the ends of your fingers, then, but a potentially $200/£130 hole in your bank account for the cashmere-lined dress gloves!

We waited for what seemed like an age for the official details regarding Windows Phone 7. Now it looks as though we have another long haul ahead of us. Reports have emerged that Microsoft will launch their own phone in 2011.

The Microsoft branded phone is supposedly being worked on by Asus as we speak. However, unwilling to give anything away, neither company has commented on the rumour.

Either way, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Could this be the elusive Microsoft handset thar’s resided in the rumour mill these past few years? We’ll have to wait and see.

No matter how careful you are, that day will come when you spill drink on your phone, drop it in the toilet or even in a puddle. Here’s a tried and tested checklist of how to save your mobile if it gets wet.

• First thing’s first, get it out of the liquid and fast, even if it has made it’s way down the toilet, you need to be quick and delve inside to retrieve it.
• Turn the phone off. This may sound simple but so many people try and make calls or go through the menu to check it still works. If it has turned itself off in a valiant effort to save itself then leave it, if you turn it on it will only do more damage.
• Take the Phone apart. Again a pretty simple task but one many people don’t do. The best way to dry out your phone is by separating the battery, sim card and memory stick.
• If it fell into water, pat the remains dry with a warm towel. If it was a sticky liquid, salt water or mud then give it a quick rinse under the tap. Getting it wet all over again may sound crazy, but imagine what the sugar or grit will do to the phone’s insides!
• Dry it out. There are a few methods to get your phone back to good health. If it’s just damp then you may want to settle for a radiator or airing cupboard stint. If it’s pretty much soaked, the best and most successful option is rice. Put your phone in an air-tight container and cover completely with uncooked rice. Because it’s a natural absorber, it should soak up all the excess moisture.
• Put the box in a warm place to speed up the process, try and leave it for at least 24hours to make sure it’s completely dry.
• Never try and use a hairdryer, or cooker to dry out a phone – it will only damage the mobile further.

If you’ve got any other suggestions feel free to share them below!

Mobile technology has made a mockery of prisons, with supposedly secure criminals continuing to administer illegal activities, reach out to lovers, and even threaten witnesses in their own upcoming trials.  The US is finally beginning trials of mobile phone jamming technology: realising that if the prisoners aren’t meant to be doing something, and there’s a device which can prevent it, maybe they should get one.

The first trial is taking place in a Maryland prison under the supervision of both the Federal Communications Commission (who regulate civilian radio spectrum use) and the National Telecoms and Information Administration (performing the same function for federal agencies).  The test is intending to show that the cellphone jammers won’t interfere with civilian use outside of the correctional facilities, especially emergency calls.

The iPhone has set its sights on world domination: not only has it taken over the smartphone market and brainwashed a fair fraction of the world’s population, it has even taken the Construction option of releasing a giant version that’s just four small ones stuck together.

But what weapons can it bring to bear?

1.  iPhone Missile Command

If you just thought of those little office-fun USB missile launchers, you can forget them – and duck.  Four Georgia Tech students built an actual rocket launcher for their iPhones, where rocket here means “something you set fire to one end and make sure nothing you care about is in front of the other.”

The end result looks like MacGyver waging war on a TV repair shop, armed with two brightly coloured missiles – making it the equal of about half of everything G.I. Joe ever fielded.

2.  AR Drone

The AR Drone isn’t just a flying spy robot – it’s a flying spy robot which trains the user to blow things up in the real world.  An “Augmented Reality” game overlays virtual targets on the iPhone display and awards points for blowing them up.  In other words it’s not just the first strike in a robot war, it’s actually recruiting our young to fight on the machines’ side.

The drone isn’t available for sale yet, possibly because Skynet isn’t yet finished.  The release will doubtless be announced by the descending scream of thousands of Apple-branded quadra-helicopter bots – or, as we’ll know them then, the Harbringers of Jobs.

3.  Solar Tank

This is what happens when Captain Planet gets pissed off.

That’s a Solar Powered Tank, and if you don’t think it looks scary that’s because it’s only a 1:100 scale model.  Fossil fuel tanks are limited by their engines, as proven by World War II’s ”Panzer VIII Maus” – 188 tons and so thirsty the only place you could drive it is an oil field, and even then only if you started in the actual oil.  But with solar power the bigger your machine the more power you collect.  So if it suddenly goes dark and you hear a rumbling, the sun hasn’t gone out – it’s just being collected by the mile high solar tank about to crush you.

The Dialaphone blog has been given a well deserved makeover, and to celebrate we’re giving away a brand new, not yet released mobile phone!

We felt it was time that we hurled the blog kicking and screaming into the 21^st century. So voila what you are seeing are the fruits of our labour. We hope you like it and find it easy to use. As part of the overhaul we’ll be adding useful info to help you with all sorts of technological conundrums! You’ll soon see helpful guides appearing as well as the usual reviews and useful tips and tricks.

To celebrate our new image we’re giving away a brand new Sony Ericsson Vivaz. To get your hands on it all you need to do is leave a comment anywhere on the blog during February. (Make sure you leave a real email address so we can get in touch!) And on Monday 1^st March we’ll randomly select one lucky winner to receive the Vivaz handset.

A few pointers on this one, Spam comments won’t be counted and we would really appreciate it if comments related to the blog post.

That’s about it, so what are you waiting for… Get Commenting!!

Terms & Conditions Apply.

• The draw will take place on March 1st 2010
• The winner will be contacted by email
• If we do not hear confirmation from the winner within one week that they accept the prize, the draw will be redrawn
• By submitting your email address, you are allowing Dialaphone to contact you via your email address given.  You may opt out of this at any time
• No purchase necessary.  Only one entry per household.
• Employee’s of Dialaphone and their relatives are ineligible to enter the prize draw as are all persons under 18 years and anyone residing outside the UK mainland
• No cash alternatives
• We reserve the right to offer an alternative prize of the same value or higher

If you're a big fan of Android, you already know: The start of MWC in Barcelona signals a deluge of tech news, and this year has been no exception. The Android videos, announcements, images, and stories have been flooding the airwaves (webwaves, whatever) and DroidDog caught a bunch of it. Perhaps most important of the week's news was HTC's announcement of Desire and Legend. PhoneDog had Ewan MacLeod on the scene, and he was able to get some demo time with each device: Legend and Desire.

Feeds

I'm not sure how to tastefully unload links to posts about all of the other other new devices we learned of because there are just so many. Click here to subscribe to DroidDog's RSS feed and catch up on all of the MWC buzz with title previews. You can also check out Dustin's brief Daily summary, posted when there's just too many stories to write an individual post for each.

Apps

While the hardware in Spain pulled the spotlight away from apps for the week, a few popped up that are definitely worth mentioning. Google just announced Shopper - an app that instantly renders at least five other programs useless. Ouch. The big G has a way of doing that. Verizon's cellular division and FiOS teamed up to bring Moto Droid and HTC Imagio users an app that turns their phone into a remote control, which is both very handy and a total waste of battery - that is, unless you lost your standard issue controller and spent all of your remote funds on a Droid without contract. I've been doing fine with Pocket Auctions ebay for a while, but an official version has been released, and it looks great.

Hacks & Mods

Before I just into our Hacks & Mods content for the week, check out this post on DroidShirts.com. Carlos Graves, the man you see reviewing all those cooked ROMs on DroidDog, has his own shirt up for sale there. Enthusiasts of Android hacks should check it out.

Speaking of Carlos, dude got an N1 this week, and he's already tinkering. Take a look at his video on a Kspec Kustom theme. Andrew over-clocked his Nexus One and the Desire ROM (with Sense) is now in the hands of cookers. I'm going back-and-forth on whether or not I want to root. I mean, once I start, I'll never stop. There will be a new ROM every two days and once a month I'll find myself in some critical emergency situation that requires my full attention for 5 hours straight. I'm not saying that's what Android hacking is about; I'm saying that's what happens when I do it. I'm relying on my Nexus to keep my budget in check and I'm not sure I want to risk it. The phone rocks socks as-is. Besides, I've got my (laggier-than-stock) Sense keyboard. EDIT: With haptic feedback disabled, the Sense QWERTY is snappy.

More to come...

Alberto wrote about Myriad's Dalvik Turbo, which will speed Android apps up a great deal. Alberto is DroidDog's new Special Content Editor, and he has a lot of great material in store, so be sure to stay tuned for that. There are so many other posts that - like I said - I don't know how to list all of them. Just check out the site, eh? Here are a few worthy of a quick note:

Google preparing Flash (AIR in the works as well)

Everybody's talking about TAT

Camangi slashes price on Webstation

Take care