IntoMobile - Cell Phone News, Information, and Analysis

BlackBerry Tour 9630 Now Available at Bell!

James Falconer — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:13:26 +0000

That’s right, earlier this afternoon, and ahead of the rumors, Bell launched the BlackBerry Tour 9630 ahead of rival Canadian CDMA carrier Telus (NYSE: TU). Last I checked, the Bell BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour 9630 is only available via the Bell website, but expect the device to start showing up in stores real soon (perhaps the July 17th launch rumor will reflect in-store availability?). In fact, Tours for all Bell locations have been ordered and are on the way.

So what are the purchase options? Bell is offering a 3-year contract for $249.95, a 2-year for $549.95, a 1-year for $649.95… or you can purchase it outright for $699.95 (as expected).

For more information and to place your order, head on over to Bell.

[Via: CrackBerry and electronista]

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The Signal #31: Androidy Week and SanDisk Giveaway

Simon Sage — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:40:27 +0000

So, who’s holding out for Rachael? What’s a Hero?

This week is dominated by Android news, predominately by our first look at Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE)’s new Xperia model code-named Rachael, as well as smashed rumours regarding Nokia (NYSE: NOK) picking up Android. Will and I close up our discussions regarding the Touch Pro 2 and the N97, and Stefan sums up his talk with the UI tech manager at Symbian (definitely worth a listen, if you didn’t catch it earlier this week).

Participation in the Vuzix iWear giveaway last week was great, but we’ve chosen our winner - Michael Welcher, congratulations! Thanks to everyone for the enthusiasm, and for listening! This week, we’re giving away ar 16 GB microSD card from SanDisk; you know the drill, drop a comment and you’ve got a chance to pick yours up. If that doesn’t quite do it for you, you should check out their 60 Second Mobile Video Contest on YouTube - send them a video clip of your favourite summer places, activities, whatever, and you can win one of 25 weekly prize packs or $1000 prize pack, or even the $5000 grand prize at the end of August. The contest runs until August 10th., so get recording!

Music by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, as featured on Tap Tap Revenge for the iPhone.

The Signal is a part of the Tech Podcasts Network.

Download The Signal ( Episode 31 ) - iTunes - RSS - (25:23)

Headlines

Head To Head Review: Touch Pro 2 Versus Nokia N97

Audio Interview: Scott Weiss, User Interface Technology Manager at Symbian Foundation

Do not listen to the Guardian, there will be no Nokia devices running Android any time soon

Rumor: Sony Ericsson Rachael: 1 GHz, 8.1 megapixel, Android powered monster

Sony Ericsson’s Android User Interface Caught on Video?

Google Announces Chrome OS for Netbooks, Android Supposedly Still in the Picture

Rumors

Sony Ericsson Kiki Hosts Transparent Display

Concept: LG GC990 Louvre: 12.1 megapixel dumbphone that shoots 720p video

Low-end messaging phone LG GW300 in works

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic approved by the FCC

First Shots of the Verizon Pantech Escapade

The New LG Chocolate: teaser pics out!

Is this the Sony Ericsson Twiggy?

T-Mobile U.S. Touch Pro 2 Due August 12?

Samsung Omnia 2 Caught on Video

Verizon’s Samsung Glyde 2 caught in the wild

Nokia E52 with non-US 3G gets approved by the FCC

Releases

Verizon Confirms BlackBerry Tour Launch Date

Nokia 3720 Classic: 125 EUR, coming out this summer, nearly impossible to break

TELUS MiKE Motorola Clutch i465 Arriving July 14th

O2UK confirms Android-based Samsung i7500 Galaxy

Motorola’s ROKR ZN50 touchscreen music-phone coming to Korea

TELUS Launches Samsung U430 Flip Phone

Palm Pre Gets Official for Europe

Android-powered HighScreen PP5420 coming to Russia

Pantech announces IM-U460K aka Love Actually all-touchscreen phone

T-Mobile launches Samsung S3030 Eco in the Netherlands

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Samsung gives WinMo devs free access to virtual device testing

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:48:28 +0000

Samsung is apparently embracing the Windows Mobile development community with a new virtual device laboratory, appropriately dubbed Lab.dev, through the company’s Samsung Mobile Innovator development portal. Lab.dev’s goal is to give Windows Mobile developers a virtual testing environment where they can install and test WinMo apps on any Windows Mobile-powered Samsung smartphone - all over a web connection. All testing is done on physical Samsung smartphones, which can be reserved for “your own unique use during specified time slots.” Best of all, it’s free!

The Lab.dev initiative will allow WinMo developers to more quickly and conveniently test their latest wares, without having to get their hands on pricey physical hardware. Developers can choose to test on 11 different Windows Mobile smartphones from Samsung. Windows Mobile devs looking to take advantage of Lab.dev will need to have a Samsung Mobile Innovator user account, a JavaScript-compatible web browser, Java Web Start and, of course, access to the web through ports 80 and 1200.

If you meet the above criteria, head on over to Samsung Mobile Innovator and give the Lab.dev a spin!

Samsung Lab.dev

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The Verizon Wireless Palm Pre… kinda, sorta

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:05:25 +0000

The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s success is only being held back by Sprint (NYSE: S)’s exclusivity deal on the WebOS-powered smartphone. Both Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless and AT&T (NYSE: T) have made it known that the Palm Pre is most certainly on their radar (although, Sprint isn’t shy about reaffirming their own exclusivity deal), but we’ve yet to even see either carrier officially embracing the smartphone. Thankfully, no lack of carrier support could stop Pre-hacker Cleanser from porting his once Sprint-locked Palm Pre to the Verizon Wireless network. With a little ingenuity and some elbow-grease, Cleanser has managed to create a Verizon Wireless Palm Pre of sorts.

The Pre’s CDMA radio hardware is already compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network, so it makes sense that someone could get the Pre roaming Big Red’s US network. But, it’s most definitely a hack and isn’t going to be a viable option for the average Palm Pre customer.

Voice calls and SMS text messages are a go, but wireless data is still in in the works. With a little luck, Cleanser will have the Palm Pre fully functional on Verizon Wireless in due time.

Now, where’s that official Verizon Palm Pre?

[PreCentral via EngadgetMobile]

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T-Mobile Touch Pro2 unboxing pics

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:23:20 +0000

The HTC Touch Pro2 is pretty much the baddest side-sliding enterprise smartphone available today. We even pitted the Pro2 against Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s N97 in heated battle, and the Pro2 came out on top. So, it’s no wonder T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) decided to offer the Touch Pro2 in the US. Now, we get a glimpse of the T-Mobile Touch Pro2 (TP2)being unboxed in all its glory.

The folks over at TmoNews have posted their unboxing pics of of the T-Mobile Touch Pro2, and it’s looking very much like what we expected to see - a lightly branded HTC Touch Pro2 with a unique color scheme. For the spec-conscious out there, the T-Mobile Touch Pro2 will come packing a class-leading 3.6-inch WVGA (800×480) resistive touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera, 3G data, WiFi, GPS and a 528Mhz processor paired to 512MB of ROM and 288MB RAM. Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional will run the show, but HTC’s TouchFLO 3D UI should cover up WinMo’s shortcomings a good deal.

We’re still looking for a July 22 launch of the T-Mobile TP2.

Head on over to TmoNews for the full unboxing gallery.

[Via: TmoNews]

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Cell towers as early flash flood warning system

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:22:07 +0000

No, it’s not just an idea. It’s been proven through field testing that cellular towers can be used to help predict flash floods with enough early-warning leeway to give flood-plain dwellers a chance to get our of harm’s way. Thanks to the research of Prof. Pinhas Alpert, a geophysicist and head of the Porter School for Environmental Education at Tel Aviv University, cellular signals at various mobile phone towers can be analyzed to give weather forecasters the data they need to more accurately predict floods.

Prof. Pinhas Alpert and co-researcher Prof. Hagit Messer Yaron developed their patented model for analyzing cell-signals for interference brought on by moisture in the air. “By monitoring the specific and fluctuating atmospheric moisture around cell phone towers throughout America, we can cheaply, effectively, and reliably provide a more accurate ‘critical moisture distribution’ level for fine-tuning model predictions of big floods,” says Alper.

The method reportedly works and could easily be incorporated into existing cell-tower networks in highly developed wireless markets like the US. The researchers at Tel Aviv University say that this system for predicting floods could have served as an early-warning system for Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans. It should be interesting to see how this technology rolls out around the world.

[Via: CN]

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HTC Hero coming to T-Mobile UK as G2 Touch

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:03:49 +0000

T-Mobile UK has confirmed today that they’ve decided to go a slightly different route with the soon-to-be-released T-Mobile G1 Touch. The Android-powered HTC Hero was recently unveiled to much fanfare in the UK, and was initially expected to be known as the T-Mobile G1 Touch. Now, it seems T-Mobile’s UK arm is going with the marginally less confusing T-Mobile G2 Touch moniker - presumably an attempt to further differentiate the G1 from the Hero.

The HTC Hero will come to market with HTC’s custom-made Sense UI overlaid on the Android OS. The widget-based UI has been well-received, to say the least, and could very well be a milestone moment for the Android platform. And, with a 528 Mhz processor, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi and 3G data tucked under that 3.2-inch 320 x 480 capacitance-based touchscreen display, the Hero’s hardware will no doubt impress.

We’re still looking to see the HTC Hero dropping on T-Mobile UK sometime in July. The T-Mobile G2 Touch will apparently be available for free when purchased with a new 18-month contract with at least a £40 monthly Flext tariff (with £225 of credit included). Now, where do we sign up for the Pink Hero? Oh, that’s right, we’re not getting it on this side of the pond.

[Via: AndroidCommunity]

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AT&T may get Sony Ericsson C905a 8MP cameraphone on July 19th?

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:43:40 +0000

AT&T (NYSE: T) might soon find themselves catching up with T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) in the 8-megapixel cameraphone game. According to one of Boy Genius Report’s tipsters, AT&T may go live with the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) C905a cameraphone later this month. If the rumor pans out, we could see the SE C905a hitting AT&T on July 19th!

We’ve mentioned the C905 aplenty, so it’s good to see a GSM carrier preparing to offer the handset on Yankee soil. The C905a packs an 8.1-megapixel Cybershot camera with Xenon flash, 3G data connectivity, Bluetooth, WiFi and aGPS. Add to that the C905a’s striking design and Cybershot active lens, and you’ve got the makings of one solid cameraphone.

Pricing is still unknown.

[Via: BGR]

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Palm cooking up WebOS 1.1 update with added Exchange features and more apps

Will Park — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:29:08 +0000

Palm isn’t just looking to capture a slice of the consumer smartphone market, they’ve got their sights set on pushing the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre onto business users as well. Word on the street has Palm preparing a WebOS 1.1 update that will bring added Exchange Active Sync features. The 1.1 update is also expected to launch alongside a bevy of new WebOS apps.

Rumored to be baked into the WebOS 1.1 update is the ability to remote wipe data on the Palm Pre, enhanced PIN security, stronger digital certificates and automatically locking the phone when left unused for some time. The enterprise market is already geeked on the Palm Pre, and these added business-class features should make the Pre all that much more appealing to corporate types in the US.

And, we’re also hearing that the WebOS 1.1 update will be accompanied by some unknown number of new WebOS applications. Whether the new apps will be bundled with the WebOS firmware or if they’ll be made available through the App Catalogue, it’s anyone’s guess. Thankfully, we shouldn’t have to wait more than a month to find out!

[Via: PreCentral]

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Sprint Confirms Wi-Fi BlackBerry Tour, Required Wi-Fi from All PDAs

Simon Sage — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:45:02 +0000

A Wi-Fi-enabled Verizon (NYSE: VZ) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour code-named Atlas was rumoured awhile back, and now has received an official nod from Jeff Clemow, Sprint (NYSE: S)’s director of business product marketing. Although CDMA ‘berries have been hurting for the feature since RIM first started supporting it in the 8820, it’s not just BlackBerry getting Wi-Fi - it’s apparently a new requirement for manufacturers who want to get on their network.

“Sprint is embracing WiFi in all its major devices going forward … It is now a requirement for all our PDA equipment suppliers to include WiFi,” Clemow said, pointing to the new Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, which sports WiFi, as evidence of the carrier’s new position. “Several quarters ago we made a conscious decision to require all of our PDA suppliers to support WiFi.”

Personally, Wi-Fi is a clincher when it comes to the Tour, as it surely is for many other discriminating smartphone shoppers - if you’re holding out for the Atlas, though, you’ll have to wait until 2010 before Sprint offers it.

[via FierceWireless]

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HTC Pledges 3.5mm Headphone Jacks for Future Devices, Burns extUSB at the Stake

Simon Sage — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:12:01 +0000

Oh, thank god. The three-in-one extUSB port nonsense that we’ve had to put up with in the Touch Pro 2, Magic, and countless other HTC devices will soon be a funny story to tell our grandkids. HTC has gone on record about their strategy with standard headphone jacks, and we are all thoroughly, thoroughly elated.

The vast majority of devices we launch after Hero will have a 3.5mm jack. Devices that we have already announced but that still come out after Hero will not necessarily be a part of this change.

Gigitty. We’ve seen HTC already wising up to this problem with the Hero, though we might have to trudge through a few more extUSB-only devices in the immediate future. Fine, whatever it takes - you can even keep extUSB on there, if you insist - just give us a plain ol’ 3.5mm headphone jack, too.

[via TechCrunch]

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Samsung Galaxy i7500 Ready for Italy

Simon Sage — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:09:43 +0000

France and Germany are both a go for the first non-HTC Android handset out there, and now we’ve got some pics of the Italian version following a Samsung event promoting the i7500 Galaxy. The Italian version will run 399 Euros outright through local service provider Wind. With a 320×480 AMOLED touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, GPS, and HSDPA connectivity, the Galaxy will be ruling the Android roost until the Hero comes along. It’s a shame we’re only seeing these sweet Android devices in Europe right now, though - I think folks here in North America would be more than happy to see either the Galaxy or the Hero find their way over.

Thanks Stefano!

[via Hi-Tech Italy]

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Video: Hands on with the Samsung i7500 Galaxy

Stefan Constantinescu — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:34:11 +0000

Emilio Vignapiano just shot me an email, welcoming me back to blogging. Tomorrow will officially mark the end of my first month back on the job!

Useless piece of information aside, his videos rock, even when they’re in Italian. Make sure you subscribe to his YouTube channel since he gets hands on time before a lot of the other sites.

The video below is shot in English and gives you a general overview of the Samsung i7500. Why oh why did you say “unfortunately this device has no video calling”, do you use it Emilio?

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BlackBerry Onyx Spotted with Trackpad

Simon Sage — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:17:56 +0000

We had heard that the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Onyx 9020, the angular successor to the Bold, would be switching to the touch-sensitive trackpad that we’ve seen on the Gemini 8520. Well, here’s some hard and fast live proof, putting the two devices side by side - so long, trackball! Will anyone miss it? I remember back when RIM ditched the jog-wheel after the 8700, there were some sticklers who clung to their old devices for that reason alone. To be honest, I don’t think the touchpad will be that drastic of a functional difference. As a side note, doesn’t the Onyx look crazy slim compared to the Gemini, here? We’ve seen comparison pics pitting it against the Tour, but not the 8520…

[via BBUnderground]

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5000 Indian mobile retailers close their doors to protest increased handset sales tax

Stefan Constantinescu — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:06:18 +0000

When purchasing a mobile phone in India, you pay an additional tax. The tax rate used to be 4%, but now it is 12.5% according to Cellular-News, which is an increase of 312.5%. This has pissed a lot of Indians off, so much so that in the state of Maharashtra appropriately 5000 mobile phone shops closed. In Mumbai, sales of mobile phones have been reported to have fallen around 60%. Vipul Sabharwal, Director of Sales at Nokia (NYSE: NOK), which is the market leader in India by a wide margin, said something to the tune of: higher taxes should equal more revenue for the government, but you can’t rape people with fees of they’re simply going to just stop buying handsets. I’ll be watching this very closely. The implications are enormous, especially since a lot of people are trying to compete with Nokia in the low to mid range segment and since India connects over 10 million new people a month.

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NFL Mobile Live Arriving on the Palm Pre August 1st

James Falconer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:52:18 +0000

NFL fans, get ready for some live NFL action on the Palm Pre! Latest news via a Sprint support page seems to detail that NFL Mobile Live will come to the Pre on August 1st as an OTA update. Also, other rumblings have this new app coming as a part of webOS 1.1… that would make sense, as I’ve heard the NFL app could be coming pre-loaded on all new Palm Pre devices starting August 1st as well.

The details will sort themselves out shortly, one thing is for certain… NFL Mobile Live is coming to the Pre one way or another. Get ready for live audio, live video (of certain games), live NFL Network video, and a whole lot more.

Blue 58, blue 58… set, HUT!

[Via: PreCentral]

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Upcoming Webcast: Automated Unit Testing with the Palm Mojo SDK

James Falconer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:35:48 +0000

If you’re a developer wanting like mad to develop apps on webOS, I stumbled across a webcast you might want to sign yourself up for. The folks at O’Reilly are hosting a live webcast on webOS development, lead and hosted by Christian Sepulveda. Christian is the Principal and Vice President of Pivotal Labs.

The webcast goes on July 14th at 10AM PST for roughly an hour. If this sounds of interest to you, you can register here (it’s free). Make the jump for full details.

Webcast Details:

Agile development expects that you will be implementing your applications in a test-first or behavior-first manner, progressively building a test suite as you build new functionality. This is known as Test Driven Development (TDD) or Behavior Driven Development (BDD). This leads to building your application in smaller steps, with solid code overage, and a test suite that allows you to change the code you’re working on without fear of breaking other parts of your application.

How do BDD & webOS work together? Introducing Jasmine, a BDD framework for JavaScript. Unlike the many other BDD/TDD JavaScript frameworks (e.g, JsUnit, JsSpec), it does not require a DOM and does support asynchronous function calls. This makes it well suited to Palm (NSDQ: PALM) webOS and the development of Mojo applications.

In this webcast we’ll:

introduce BDD & Jasmine
install Jasmine & add related code to the app to support BDD
discuss how to write a failing test first, then add functionality to make a test pass
develop a simple webOS application test first, with the Mojo SDK

Target Audience: Developers who are interested in developing webOS applications with the Mojo SDK.

Date: Tuesday, July 14th at 10 am PT
Price: Free
Duration: Approximately 60 minutes
To register: oreilly.com/go/palmmojo
Questions? Please send email towebcast@oreilly.com

[Via: PreThinking]

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Motorola laying off another 74 people from the mobile phones division

Stefan Constantinescu — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:29:01 +0000

Nothing to really expand on, the headline is enough: Motorola (NYSE: MOT) will be letting go another 74 people from their mobile phone division. Much smaller than the 3,000 cuts they made to the mobile division earlier this year, but still, 74 more unemployed people in this shitty economy.

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Google Product Search for Mobile Expanding Rapidly

James Falconer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:26:58 +0000

Awhile back Google (NSDQ: GOOG) launched their Product Search for iPhone and Android. Since the initial launch, support has been added for the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, and now, Google has announced support for all devices (with a data connection) in the UK, US, Germany and South Korea! Groovy.

So how does it work? As per usual, enter your search on google.com, but select the ’shopping results’ link. You can do it this way, or, simply punch in www.google.com/m/products on your mobile device and you’re off to the races.

Also worth noting, Google has also added a cool new ‘Google Suggest’ feature for iPhone, Android and Pre users in the US. The new feature recommends queries as you type… this will hopefully save you some keystrokes/taps along the way.

[Via: Google Mobile Blog]

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Friday Fun: Super Marble Roll Lite for iPhone

James Falconer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:19:00 +0000

Time for a little Friday fun and relaxation. iPhone users, I’ve got the freebie pick-o-the-day for ya right here. Called Super Marble Roll Lite (iTunes link), this game is of course free, and packs some decent gameplay for a ‘Lite’ edition. The object of the game is simple, tilt and twist your iPhone to help navigate the marble through each level, to the goal. Controls are easy and intuitive, and, I actually like the thinking that went into this one. Your ‘zeroed’ position where the ball remains static is actually a position where the iPhone is slightly tilted towards you… Which makes the game easier to play, as it’s a little easier on the ‘ol neck Of course, on each level you’ll have to beat the timer for maximum points… Very reminiscent of the classic Marble Madness game here.

As per usual, if you love the Lite version (iTunes link), show some love and pick up the full version of Super Marble Roll for $0.99 (iTunes link) in the App Store.

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