Get Bold With the BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone From Verizon Wireless

June 2nd, 2010 — 7:36am written by Kristofer Brozio

Another day, another phone is launched, this time it’s the expected BlackBerry Bold 9650. Not sure what’s so bb2 ‘bold’ about it though, but if you’re into the BB scene this is the latest and greatest. It will be available for $149.99 after $100 mail-in rebate and 2yr contract on June 3rd online, and then in stores on June 10th.

Verizon Wireless today announced that the BlackBerry® Bold(TM) 9650 smartphone will be available to order online at www.verizonwireless.com beginning June 3 and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning June 10. Running on the largest and most reliable wireless voice and 3G data network in the United States, the BlackBerry Bold is the first global phone from Verizon Wireless to support GlobalAccess Connect, allowing customers to tether their BlackBerry Bold to a notebook or netbook and use it as a modem for wireless Internet access in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Full specs inside:

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1 comment - Latest comments by:
  • Hobert Skillings: Great stuff! Great read, I'll come back for more.

1 comment » | Blackberry

Do Skype and Flash Matter To You?

June 1st, 2010 — 10:08pm written by David K

image Am I the only one that sees a headline a day about Skype or Flash and some device or implementation of it and just don’t see why this is still headline news? Every device and carrier has their own Skype and Flash stories. Windows has SkyFire, Android in some flavors has native Flash, the iPhone has some workaround apps that work to varying degrees. And Skype has its own oddities with it working on Android only on 3G (not wifi) and only on VZ. It’s native to Windows Mobile…or was until they pulled it but it still works, and the iPhone has it over wifi and is getting some form of it over 3G but it may lack notifications. I feel like I’ve already spent too much time talking about it. Here’s the deal – for me I don’t think I really care all that much about either. I have Flash on my phone using SkyFire – I can’t recall the last time I needed Flash though. I guess it’s nice to have and all but it’s certainly not a necessity. And Skype works on my phone as well…I don’t even have it installed currently.

Am I the only one that thinks that Skype and Flash are two great examples of the power of marketing and maintaining mindshare? To each his own and you all have your own preferences so, are these key pieces of software to you, or headlines that get in the way of more important news?

4 comments - Latest comments by:
  • Ike: I still have my Skype CAB, and am willing to share.
  • Don: I do a fair amount of international calls and travel. Anything that might help avoid regular voice and text rates ...

4 comments » | Android, iPhone, Windows Phone

WP7 Foxtel App Impresses

June 1st, 2010 — 9:43pm written by David K

image Microsoft was hosting Remix in Australia and got together with cable provider Foxtel to show off some kickass implementations of MS technology including an HD2 and Surface which interacts for movie data. But there was also a WP7 on stage. So according to itwire here’s what went down. Based on WP7’s location awareness, the device knew they were at a boxing event (simulated) and the app asked if they wanted to record it on their Foxtel box at home. In real time the app was displaying fight information (similar to what MS did with Silverlight during the Olympics) and even had ‘live instant replay’ abilities. In another demo “Kordahi went through other demonstrations with the Top Model show, with another "app" that was Top Model specific, giving information relevant to the actual episode being watched, keeping a user more engaged with that particular show, rather than having their attention splintered by general web surfing – and all, of course, if that’s what a user wanted to do.” The app was developed in under 4 days since they just got their demo device. Again, the ease of apps is astonishing and the continued presence to use apps in real time to extend what you’re doing in the real world is phenomenal and something I’m happy MS is pushing.

via WMPowerUser

3 comments - Latest comments by:
  • murani: Something that alot of critics miss about WP7's development platform is that the best selling apps typically are the entertainment ...
  • Mobile Underground: WP7 Foxtel App Impresses: Source: http://windowsphone.mobilitydigest.com/wp7-foxtel-app-impresses/ Image:... http://bit.ly/bQa3xd

3 comments » | Windows Phone

edot WP7 App Demoed

June 1st, 2010 — 9:20pm written by David K

image Here’s a simple app created for edot (Every Day One Thing – a site which aims to get people to do one environmentally good thing a day and share it in hopes of spreading the behavior). The app itself was originally written for Windows 7 in a few hours and then ported to WP7 in ‘two hours’. It posts to edot’s site as well as Twitter with simple drop downs. It’s all relatively simple, but again shows how devs can take their ideas and kick out apps in a short period of time. You can check out the full interview here at Channel9 and the WP7 portion starts at the 4 minute mark.

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Comments Off | Windows Phone

Need Local Databases in WP7? Two Possible Solutions

June 1st, 2010 — 9:02pm written by David K

image One huge gripe developers have with WP7 is a lack of local database storage so if you have a database (lets say it’s scanner data or sales info) you need to store it in the cloud (check out their complaints). The problem is that there’s no offline storage and even with it, that’s a lot of data to keep pushing back and forth. MS to date has allowed local access through XML which is noted as slow and isn’t as powerful as SQL. MS has also said that there will be local SQL access, just not on day one. Anyway, the devs aren’t sitting idly by. There are now two solutions to this problem to provide local access. The first is an implementation of Sqlite to use isolated storage and a test program is provided here from Dan Ardelean. A second solution comes from EffiProz. I’m not a developer but in reading the devs rants you see why this stuff matters to end users. Let’s hope that these solutions work in the interim and that MS provides a full solution sooner rater than later…you know, before devs choose to not write for the platform.

2 comments - Latest comments by:
  • siaqodb_user: Take a look at Siaqodb http://siaqodb.com/?p=202 , LINQ query engine, small footprint etc...
  • Mobility Digest: Need Local Databases in WP7? Two Possible Solutions: One huge gripe developers have with WP7 is a lack of ...

2 comments » | Windows Phone

Wirefly: Kin one for Free & Kin two for $40 with Contract

June 1st, 2010 — 9:01pm written by Vikram

I am in the market for a new phone now since the mic on my Tmobile touch pro 2 took a dump and while looking over some phones over at Wirefly I noticed that they had the Kin one and Kin two for a decent price with contract on Verizon. I have Tmobile so this wont work for me but I figured I would pass this on to someone else if they are in the market for a new phone on Verizon network and like the Kin phones.

The Kin one is actually free with a new contract and free shipping as well. This is the cheapest I have seen the Kin one but other places like Best Buy have it for free also but with mail in rebates which can be a pain in the rear end. You do need a data plan with the phone and the cheapest data plan is $30 but you have to get a data plan no matter where you buy the phone. If you haven’t seen the Kin one or don’t know what I am talking about look that this review over at testfreaks.com by our very own Kristofer.  Link to Wirefly site.

Wirefly is offering the Kin two for just $39.99 with contract and free shipping. You need a data plan with this phone too and again thanks to our own Kristofer we have a review of the Kin two at Testfreaks.com. Link to Wirefly site.

If anyone has a kin one or kin two let us know what you think about it.

1 comment - Latest comments by:
  • Steve: I have had the kin one for a few days right now . I really love the interface and everything ...

1 comment » | Uncategorized

Is that a Shark in your Pocket?

June 1st, 2010 — 8:18pm written by Kristofer Brozio

Yeah I know, it sounded better in my head… anyway, check out this new Android based phone, which by chance happens to be called the Shark!

It’s not just any Android phone though, this on incorporates Telegent Mobile TV Technology, it’s the fist touchscreen based smartphone to do this actually..

The Innocomm Shark, which features a 3.2 inch WVGA (800×480) display, capacitive touchscreen, 8 megapixel autofocus camera, 3.5G connectivity, Wi-Fi and analog TV, is designed to address the growing interest in feature-rich touchscreen smartphones while entering the category at a price significantly lower than current comparable models. According to Gartner Dataquest, the smartphone market is expected to grow by nearly 50% in 2010 and 2011, outperforming basic handset growth over the next five years.

Innocomm is among a growing number of mobile device developers to build in Telegent’s free-to-air mobile TV technology as a competitive differentiator. The Shark’s analog TV feature provides consumers with mobile access to the same free-to-air television programming that they view on conventional TV sets, delivering ready access to news, sports and other preferred programming while on the go. The handset’s large, high quality display combined with touchscreen controls allows for a high quality viewing experience. The model also incorporates the ability to record TV clips to a microSD card. Innocomm plans to add digital TV capability to future models.

t2

Web Site: http://www.telegent.com/

2 comments - Latest comments by:
  • Mobility Digest: Is that a Shark in your Pocket?: Yeah I know, it sounded better in my head… anyway, check out this ...
  • Mobile Underground: Is that a Shark in your Pocket?: Source: http://android.mobilitydigest.com/is-that-a-shark-in-your-pocket/ Yeah... http://bit.ly/9aJfu6

2 comments » | Android

Google Ends Internal Use of Windows

June 1st, 2010 — 12:23pm written by Doug Simmons

“We’re not doing any more Windows; it’s a security effort,” remarked one Google insider to the Financial Times about Google’s recent decision to phase out all Microsoft operating systems for almost all of its employees worldwide, up to twenty thousand employees by some estimates, in favor of Macs, Linux and Chrome machines. David K says it’s a stunt.

One shortcoming, and this is one of a rather large list of items, most of us associate with Microsoft’s software is insecurity, much more so than with Apple or hippie Linux distributions. If you believe Google at all about part of their rift with the Chinese being their little hacking habit, and if you’ve ever run a network intrusion auditor you’d know how pervasive it is, taking into mind that Google with all their crazy datamining had better put a very elevated degree of concern on the safety of their big brother data (not to mention protecting their trade secrets), how is this not a good idea? As a Google datamining victim, wouldn’t you want this?

Google’s nemesis lately, it seems, is Apple, not so much Microsoft. That Google employees I imagine will (if they are not mostly already) be using Macs and some using Linux or this Chrome thing makes me think if Windows were the better product, Google would certainly be more inclined to go with Windows either for everyone or at least whoever wants it. It just sounds stupid for any company, even one of Google’s size, to give everybody something undesirable, denying them what would help them develop better, to make a political statement in a press release (actually not even a press release, just some leaked remarks) that will soon be forgotten. Security cannot get much greater a concern for any other public company than it is for Google.

Sometimes, if not always, and I believe this is the case here in spite of David K’s baseless cynicism, it’s about issuing the best equipment and platforms to your employees to do their thing as well as possible without jeopardizing general security, not about making childish gestures. There’s just too much on the line. Am I right?

Doug Simmons

18 comments - Latest comments by:
  • Oregon Jeff: I think it's an internal decision with the bonus of a PR stunt. They get to trash a competitor ...
  • Matt Anderson: And just so I know I'm not crazy: http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2010/06/mac_security_in_the_news.php

18 comments » | Uncategorized

WP7 Does Magic

June 1st, 2010 — 10:56am written by David K

Take a look at another app developed for the IC2010 WP7 contest. Pretty neat:

 

via Charlie Kindel

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MetroTwit – WP7 Inspired Win7 Twitter App Released

May 31st, 2010 — 9:35pm written by David K

image

MetroTwit for your PC is now available as a beta download. It’s a Twitter app that has the look and feel of Metro – the WP7 theme. Features:

  • If you ever want to read more tweets, just scroll down and more will appear almost instantly. Be careful though, it’s addictive and you could be scrolling for hours.
  • You don’t have to switch away from what you’re doing to keep tabs on new tweets. A counter in the taskbar will tell you exactly how many unread messages there are.
  • The people and topics you care about, at your fingertips. Simply start typing any part of a username or hashtag and we’ll find them for you.
  • Read excerpts from new tweet updates as they cycle through in the notifications. If you run out of time, hover over the notifications to stop the countdown to read even more.
  • Not all columns must be created equal. You have the choice and flexibility to control exactly how your columns should look.
  • The vector-based user interface powered by Windows Presentation Foundation works and looks even better in high DPI.

If you want to test it out the beta is available on their site: http://www.metrotwit.com/

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Comments Off | Windows Phone

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