Archive for the ‘Cellphones’ Category
With the App Store breaking over 2,000 apps available for download, we’ve already seen several issues arise from rights holders asking for apps to be removed and way over priced apps being banned. But just recently, Microsoft has made a decision to let developers make apps that integrate with their Xbox Live service under the condition that they do so for free. Right now there are three apps that handle this, and one of them has decided to turn a deaf ear to Microsofts demands. iLive, the worst out of all the Xbox Live iPhone apps is still charging $1.99!
We’ll have to wait and see what Microsoft does about this, considering they’re the ones providing the information for this app to pull from.
Itching for that new iPhone update? Well the 2.0.2 firmware is now available! This update doesn’t actually provide you with any specific detail as to what it is fixing, but it does seem to be geared towards fixing a lot of issues that specifically 3G iPhone users have been experiencing.
As users find themselves downloading the firmware, we’re receiving reports that it actually decreases/removes the lag associated with browsing through your contacts and a few other places. Download at your own risk, especially those of you who have Pwned your iPhone as this could potentially brick it or at least mess up all those wonderful customizations you spent your time setting up.
While those willing to jailbreak their iPhone’s and iPod Touch’s haven’t complained as to how long it actually takes them to accomplish their task, there are always those looking to accomplish the task faster than those before them. After the PwnageTool set had been released, a group over at iPhone-Devs.org started working on Quickpwn which would actually allow you to jailbreak your devices from 2.0.1 firmware without requiring a full restore or rebuild of your device.
While the software is still in beta, you can get your copy of it right here, but keep in mind that as development software, there is still a chance that downloading and using this program can permanently damage your iPhone or iPod Touch. Quickpwn beta is also only available for the PC at the current time.
The 3G iPhone has come out the door with mixed blessings and a group of angry customers. It seems that world wide, those utilizing the 3G network on their new iPhones have been running into problems with keeping good signal strength, dropping calls, and connecting to an EDGE network when 3G is available. Originally this problem had been blamed on the network, but as it has popped up in other countries as well, analysts are beginning to change their opinion.
The popular opinion at this point is that the chipset and radio protocol stack that the iPhone utilizes is actually a little under-developed for what it needs to support. These same critics believe that an update of the caliber needed to fix this issue is unlikely, while rumors have been flooding in that Apple is actually working on a fix at this very moment. Look’s like we’ll have to wait and see.
The theoretical use of nanotubes is expanding. More and more ideas are popping up as to what we’ll be able to see out of these finely coiled carbon nanotubes. While some scientists are wasting their time away trying to make armor out of them, others are aiming their hopes a little lower. Like at making bouncy cell phones.
Scientists at Clemson University have not only managed to develop the best way to align these nanotubes, they’ve also created a cost effective method for mass producing them at a reasonable price. This means that in the near future, you may be that much more comfortable with dropping your cell phone as you know it will bounce.
Hey everybody! Let’s go green!
Samsung has lead the way with the green cell phone revolution (probably more like a limp movement) through the relaunch of their E200 phone. This Olympic version of the phone is colored green and made of bioplastic. Bioplastic is extracted from plant matter such as corn whereas typical plastic is synthetically made with polycarbonate which produces a significant amount of CO2.
Even the box it’s packaged in is made from uncoated recycled paper!
The president of Samsung telecoms division stated that “We strive to make more products as green as possible and to proactively set up and expand a phone recycling system”.
Production of the W510 and F267 in eco friendly versions is already under way.
Are you’re one of the few who have taken the great power of the iPhone into your hands and have for some reason decided that it’s just to right for you? Or perhaps you realized just how poor AT&T’s service and coverage area is? Well you’re in luck. Today is exactly 30 days since the launch of the iPhone 3G.
So while Steve is up counting his millions thanks to the App Store success, you can head on over to AT&T to inform them that you’d rather have a cell phone that works instead of just a contractual iPod Touch. Depending on if you bought the iPhone through them or the Apple store will determine whether you can actually return the phone or not, but this entire process will at least let you circumvent your early termination fee.
Anyone unsatisfied enough to do this?
The issues surrounding the iPhone as of late have been attributed to firmware miscalculations. So when the latest firmware hit the streets, the 2.0.1 update, everyone assumed that the little hang ups here and their would be fixed. Unfortunately, this update has apparently caused more problems then it fixed.
Owners of 3G iPhones have been experiencing GPS issues as of the latest update, ranging anywhere from slightly off or slow in reading to not working at all. While these exact issues have been present prior to the launch of the update, more individuals are reporting this as the problem they’re experiencing.
Have you run into any issues with your 3G iPhone?
It’s only been one short month since the launch of the iTunes App Store adn we’re already seeing that the projected number of downloades (including free and paid apps) have reached over 60 million. That figure also comes with an estimation that Apple has earned over $30 million from the sale of iPhone and iPod Touch apps in this short period of time. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs felt encouraged enough by these figures to say that “[the app store] will be a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time.”.
Jobs has high hopes of future apps being the customization that people need to make their phone unique enough to be their own in the same fashion that newer models and different physical styles had done for past phones. Only time will tell if this theory will catch on.
While several iPhone apps sit in limbo waiting for the app they developed to actually be listed on the official App Store, there are plenty of junk apps sneaking through the filter. We’ve already seen perfectly fine and more than useful apps get sent back just for bad grammar in their description, so how is it possible that an app like Armin Heinrich’s “I Am Rich” or the clearly copyright infringing PhoneSaber manage to make it through?
“I Am Rich” cost users $999.99 for an icon that did nothing more than display an image with sound. The joke/appeal would be that only the richest could afford it. After several complaints, that application went down.