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Verizon Announces Samsung Omnia 2 Windows Mobile Phone

Paul Lilly — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:22 -0600

The Droid isn't the only Verizon-serviced phone making waves, nor is Android the only platform in town. Come December 2nd, Verizon will release the Samsung Omnia II, and despite earlier speculation, it will run Windows Mobile 6.5 rather than old 6.1 code.

Available in black with red accents, the Omnia II will ship with a 3.7-inch touchscreen and a virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swipe technology. It will also come with full HTML web browsing capabilities with the Opera 9.5 enhanced browser.

Other features include one-touch access to social networking sites via shortcut widgets, a 5MP camera with flash, auto-focus, and camcorder capabilities, integrated support for Divx and Xvid movie files, 8GB of internal memory expandable up to 16GB vai microSD, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Verizon and Samsung will price the handset at $200 after a $100 mail-in-rebate (in the form of a debit card) and new two-year customer contract.

Image Credit: Verizon

Dell's Android-Powered Mini 3i Smartphone Details

Paul Lilly — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:30:50 -0600

Talk of Dell releasing a smartphone has been going on for some time now, and come next week, the OEM will finally release its first handset, albeit not in the U.S.

China Mobile was selected as the carrier of Dell's Mini 3i, which the two companies jointly announced will be available by the end of the month in choice of Red Passion or Oiled Bronze.

Coming as no surprise, the Mini 3i will sport Google's open-source Android platform, arguably the hottest OS out there right now, It will be compatible with quad-band GSM/EDGE networks and boast a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a 640x360 resolution, and measure 4.8 by 2.3 by 0.46 inches. By comparison, the iPhone 3GS also sports a 3.5-inch display, but with a 480x320 resolution, and measures 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches. And at 4.7 ounces, it weighs an ounce more than Dell's Mini 3i.

Other features include GPS navigation, Bluetooth, an a 3MP camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture, and photo-editing capabilities, eWeek.com reports.

"This signals an important milestone in the long term partnership between China Mobile and Dell," a China Mobile spokesperson said in a statement. "We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform. We look forward to working the Dell as it brings innovative new products and services to add value to our customers' lives."

China Mobile currently has over 500 million subscribers.

Image Credit: Dell

First Malicious Worm Hits the iPhone

Paul Lilly — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:20:07 -0600

It didn't take long for hackers to take advantage of a potentially dangerous exploit affecting jailbroken iPhones. The vulnerability first gained notoriety earlier this month when a hacker from the Netherlands took control of modified iPhones and sent the owners an SMS requesting a fee for instructions on how to protect thier device. He later backed down and posted the fix for free, but by then, the cat was out of the bag.

Fast forward a few weeks and we now have the first malicious worm making the rounds on jailbroken iPhones and iPod touch devices. According to reports, the worm uses command--and-control like a traditional PC botnet. it configures two startup scripts, one of which is used to execute the malicious worm during boot, and the other to make a connection to a Lithuanian server in order to upload stolen data and hand over control to the bot master.

The worm works by changing the root password from the default of "alpnie" that Apple put in place in the factory firmware. It attacks IP ranges from a wider range of ISPs, including UPC, Optus, and T-Mobile.

The recommended fix is to restore jailbroken iPhones to the current Apple-supplied firmware.

Microsoft: Smartphone App Numbers are Meaningless

Bart Salisbury — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:31:51 -0600

One might be tempted to think that Ray Ozzie, chief software architect for Microsoft, spent a prior life at Apple. In a chinwag with technology developers at Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference he maintained that the number of applications available for a smartphone platform isn’t all that big a deal. After all, he says, “All the apps that count will be ported to every one of them.” Wasn’t that the Apple mantra about ten years ago?

The crux of the matter, says Ozzie, is that mobile apps are pretty simple to crank out. “Mobile apps require very little development, so it’s much easier to bring them onto every platform,” he told his audience. If a particular app isn’t available now it probably will be in the future, so that shouldn’t be a crucial factor in deciding which smartphone, or smartphone platform, to buy into.

Ozzie’s comments suggest Microsoft is keenly aware of the all the apps currently available for the iPhone. It would hard not to be aware, the way Apple touts this as an advantage. A cynic would conclude that Ozzie is dismissive of app numbers because of Windows Mobile’s current disadvantage in this respect. An optimist might counter that Ozzie has a point: do you really need ‘an app for that’?

Image Credit: Microsoft

Is a True Google Phone on the Way?

Paul Lilly — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:58:03 -0600

The dust hasn't had a chance to settle on Motorola's Droid, but that hasn't stopped the Android camp from looking ahead to the next hyped up handset that could, once again, prove to be an iPhone killer. So what has the Android community giddy with anticipation? The Dragon/Passion (and something else, but more on that in a minute).

According to Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch, HTC's upcoming Dragon/Passion will be much thinner than either the Droid or iPhone, and as of a couple of weeks ago, it's been the smartphone of choice among senior Android guys at Google. Pat yourself on the back if you sensed a caveat, because unlike the Droid or G1, this one won't ship with a physical keyboard.

But there's even bigger news in the Android camp. Perhaps tired of waiting for a handset maker to develop that must-have smartphone capable of socking it to Apple's iPhone, Google is apparently building its own branded phone, or so Arrington claims to have confirmed. Originally intended to ship in time for the holidays, the date has been pushed back to early 2010.

According to Arrington, a major phone manufacturers will produce the handset, but with Google's branding (similar to how Toshiba manufactured the first Zune players of Microsoft). and Google will sell the smartphone both directly and through retailers. Hoping to avoid any quirky compromises, Google is in complete control of the entire design and should represent the search giant's vision of what an Android smartphone should ultimately be.

Arrington says the rest is unconfirmed speculation, but that's okay - this is plenty to drum up some buzz and chatter in the Android community, don't you think?

Google Releases Google Earth App 2.0 for iPhone

Paul Lilly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:15:03 -0600

It's been a little over a year since Google first unveiled its Google Earth app for the iPhone and iPod touch, and it took just six months for the app to become the most-downloaded free application overall. Now there's a new version available -- Google Earth 2.0 -- with a few new features, improved icon selection, and better performance, Google says.

Users who log directly into their Google Maps account can now view the same maps that they or others have created, using the My Maps interface.

"Maybe you're on a trip and want to see where Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, most likes to travel," Google wrote on its blog. "Or perhaps you're walking around looking for a restaurant and you want to see where world-famous chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. All you have to do is click 'Save to My Maps,' open Earth on the iPhone, log in with the same account information, and voilà, you have your same collection of My Maps right in your pocket."

Google says it's also easier to discover new parts of the globe. In version 2.0, just touch an icon and small glow appears under your finger to let you know which one you picked.

Any iPhone or iPod touch owners play with the latest update yet?

Verizon to AT&T: "The Truth Hurts"

Paul Lilly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:34 -0600

Did you think Verizon would back down from its 3G map ads after AT&T hit the wireless carrier with a lawsuit? Not gonna happen. Instead, the ads keep rolling, and so do the jabs, including one that was filed in response to the suit.

"AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's 'There's A Map For That' advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts," Verizon's lawyers wrote in a 53-page Memorandum of Law.

The document went on to defend Verizon's position that there's no way the wireless carrier is confusing or misleading customers about AT&T's coverage because "each ad speaks of 3G coverage repeatedly, [and] the maps used in each are clearly labeled 3G."

For a 53-page court document, it's actually a fun little read, and Engadget believes that's entirely by design, pointint out that this was probably drafted with publication in mind. After giving it a once-over ourselves, we'd have to agree.

Give the PDF a read here, then tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Android 2.0 Source Code Released

Paul Lilly — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:32 -0600

At long last, Google has finally released the source code for Android 2.0 (codenamed Eclair). Motorola's Droid is the only smartphone currently shipping that's built around the latest version, but now that Eclair's out in the wild, expect to see plenty more handset makers jump on board.

The release is also great news for the Android modding community, many of which have been eagerly awaiting the update. Modding guru Steve Kondik, otherwise popularly known as "Cyanogen," stated in a Twitter message that he's already gotten Eclair to run on his HTC G1 smartphone, noting that "it runs really well, fast, and smooth. Audio and video not working yet, though."

So what's the big deal? Android 2.0 is the most significant update to Google's open source platform to date. Just a few of the added features include native Exchange support, search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages, more camera options (built-in flash, digital zoom, white balance, and so forth), an improved virtual keyboard, multi-touch support, and more. This could be the OS that finally gives Apple's iPhone OS a run for its money.