Ed's Gregarius » MobileCrunch

MobileCrunch (8 unread)

Skip to page: 1 2 3 ... 8

N96 and N78 get Fring support

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 1:57pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Bummed out because the N78 doesn’t offer VoIP compatability right out of the box? Fear not - Fring has got you covered. Apparently using their own VoIP client rather than the Nokia-made client (which Nokia decided not to build into the latest N-series devices) required by other services, Fring has added support for both the N78 and the N96.

If you’ve got an N78 or by some sort of trickery already own an N96, you can grab Fring here.
Nokia falls short of their own predictions for Q3

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 1:35pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Anybody hedging bets on Nokia’s Q3 market share results at the local mobile market gambling hall based off of the company’s previous predictions might want to see if they can weasel their way out. Where as Nokia previously predicted that their third quarter sales would be right on par with those of the second, they’re now warning folks that it may come in a bit lower than expected.

With just about every big name offering or having announced powerhouse handsets in the past few months, it’s not too surprising that Nokia might be feeling the heat. We’ll see just how well they did when the full numbers come through next month.
T-Mobile launches the Sony Ericsson TM506

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 12:49pm PDT by Greg Kumparak
Oh, hey! It’s the SE TM506, that pretty little green 3G flip we mentioned a few weeks back. Last anybody knew, it was set to launch sometime in early September - turns out, that meant today.

You can nab T-mobile’s first HSDPA handset at any of the normal T-Mo outlets for a cent short of $80 after a 2-year blood pact and a $50 dollar rebate. If you’re itchin’ for more, check out the full specs after the jump.
- Weight: 3.4 ounces, including battery (approx.)
- Size: 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.69 inches (approx.)
- Talk Time: Up to 9.5 hours GSM; up to 3.5 hours UMTS (approx.)
- Standby Time: Up to 250 hours GSM, up to 250 hours UMTS (approx.)
- 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Media Center
- aGPS Built-in
- TeleNav® Navigator
- RSS Feeds
- MyFaves-enabled
- Audio Postcard
- Quicksend
- Mobile Backup (T-Mobile Address Book)
- Bluetooth® 2.0 / A2DP / Stereo streaming
- Tri-Band GSM (850/1800/1900)
- Dual-Band UMTS (1700/2100 & 2100)
- GSM/GRPS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA
Tatango Opens Their Group SMS Service To The Public

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 12:07pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Tatango, the ad-supported group SMS service previously known as networkText, spent the last few months in a private beta following a functional and visual overhaul and a round of funding by Bellingham Angel Organization. Now everyone is free to get in on the group texting good times; they’ve opened the doors to the public.

The service is dead simple to use, as it should be. I made the jump from accountless bum to en masse messaging mogul in all of about 2 minutes. Sign up, invite some friends (they have to opt-in, else this thing would be a spam machine), and you (or anybody you dub as a group admin) are able to SMS the entire group at once, either from the browser or right off your mobile handset.

The basic service is free, supported by 30 character advertisements strapped to the bottom of each message (Don’t worry - Tatango keeps a close tab on who they let advertise, so any messages you send to your Sunday Choir group won’t end with “Reply HAWT for girl-on-girl action”.) Ad-free messaging is available along with a few other pay-per-option premium features but, at just under $35 bucks a month, such novelties may be a bit out of range for the hockey mom just tryin’ to keep the weekly carpool organized. For Joe McAdvert using it as an alternative to mailing lists for peddling his product to thousands of fans, however, it’s probably worth it.

I didn’t think I’d have much of a use for Tatango when I first got wind of it. After playing with it for a bit, I’m thinking of using it as means of keeping the rest of the CrunchGear team updated of news breaking on the trade show floor without having to break out the laptop. Would I pay for that convenience? Probably not. But if all it costs me is around 30 characters at the tail end of a message, I don’t mind dropping a vowel or two to get the message out quick.

Check it out at Tatango.com

CrunchBase Information Tatango Information provided by CrunchBase
LG PRADA II specs leaked

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 8:15am PDT by Greg Kumparak
Further confirming the existence of a PRADA II, BGR has managed to get their hands on the full tentative specs:
- Quad-band GSM/EDGE, dual-band HSDPA (850MHz/2100MHz)
- 950mAh battery
- 240×400 3.0″ screen
- 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash and VGA recording
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Wi-Fi b,g
- Infineon MP-EH + M180 chipset
- Motion sensor
- FM Radio
- 104.5 x 54 x 16.8 mm
It’s certainly a powerful handset, but it’ll have some stiff competition (even from within the LG camp) by the time it hits the shelves. We’ll have to wait and see where this one settles on the price-point scale.
BlackBerry Storm delayed 3-4 weeks for technical certification?

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 12:48pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

BoyGenius is reporting that at least a birdie or two dropped by with a bit of bad news for those anxious for the BlackBerry Thunder Storm: it’s facing delays.

If what they’re hearing is right, “Technical Acceptance” testing and adjustments at Verizon HQ may set the Storm back 3-4 weeks to a mid-November window. As BlackBerry’s first touchscreen, the Storm is going to be harshly scrutinized and nit-picked - it’s not too difficult to imagine that the folks at Verizon are willing to push it back a fortnight or two for the sake of polishing it up.
Qik adds support for HTC devices, SE XPERIA X1

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 10:02am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Even after having Qik on my iPhone for a month, I get the worst friggin’ case of stage fright every time I hit that record button. I have no problem being in front of an audience; nor do I generally mind cameras. But there’s something about streaming live to the internet that turns me into a babbling fool.

That said, there are probably plenty of folks out there with more e-courage than I. If any of them own any of them own an HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC TyTn-II, AT&T Tilt, or by some stroke of magic, an Xperia X1, we’ve got good news: Qik is now up and running on all of’em.

Whenever you’re ready for internet fame and glory, head on over to Qik.
Boingo Mobile Wi-Fi now plays friendly with (some) Sony Ericsson UIQ phones

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 9:28am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Boingo Wireless has announced that their global network of WiFi hotspots are now open to owners of certain Sony Ericsson UIQ handsets.

For right around 8 bucks a month, owners of SE W960i, SE P1i, or SE G900s can gobble up all the bandwidth they want at any of Boingo’s 80,000 hotspots. For more details and a 30 day trial for Sony Ericsson owners, hop over to: [mobile.boingo.com]

Eighty thousand hotspots, and the only time I’ve noticed one is while sitting a floor or two away from Boingo’s HQ. Am I just incredibly talented at avoiding Boingo hotspots or something?
LG officially announces the 8 megapixel KC910 (Viewty II)

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 9:06am PDT by Greg Kumparak
While pretty detailed word of this one came down the pipes weeks ago, LG just realized that they oughtta go ahead and send out a press release for it. Nothin’ too new here, except a good amount of “Oh maaaan, we are so awesome for making this phone.”

More details after the jump.

Everyone’s quick to point out the aesthetic similarities to some other touchscreen phone made by some dude who grows apples or something, but the KC910 is packin’ a whole lot of heat inside:
- 8 mp shooter w/ Xenon flash and Schneider-Kreuznach
- 30 FPS video recording at 640×480, 60 FPS at 320×240
- Internal GPS w/ Geotagging
- Dolby Audio
- Divx/Xvid support
- Manual Focus
- Smile, focus, face detection, Image stabilization
- Quad-band GSM, HSDPA 7.2 mbps
- Bluetooth 2.0
- WiFi
- MicroSD up to 8GB
- 3″ touchscreen, 240×400
- TV out support
When? October. Where and how much? Your guess is as good as ours.
Shadow II details leaked

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 8:41am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Are you one of the eight people wearing away the edge of their seat in anticipation of the T-Mobile Shadow II? Good news! In just over a month and a half, you’ll be able to tap away at the Shadow II’s whonky little double-key’d QWERTY keypad to your hearts content!

According to TmoNews, we can expect the Shadow II to hit the shelves sometime around October 20th for $149.99 after a mail in rebate, in red or green/white varieties.
Samsung M320 Photo Gallery

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 5:30pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

A box o’ Samsung’s new M220 and M320 flip phones just showed up at MobileCrunch HQ. While it’ll be a few days before we’ve got full reviews prepped, we figured you guys may want to take a peek at’em in the mean time. The M320 gallery is after the jump, or check out the sans-camera M220 over here.
Samsung M220 Photo Gallery

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 5:24pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Samsung yesterday announced two new basic flip phones, the M220 and the M320, and Mr. FedEx man just showed up with’em in tow. We’ll have full reviews up once we’ve played with’em a bit more, but we figured some folks out there might wanna take a glimpse at’em now. Shots of the M220 are right after the jump, and the M320 gallery is right over here..
Samsung Knack keeps it basic and.. patriotic?

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 2:12pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Sometime around early 2006, I decided to kill a spare half hour my loitering around in a Verizon store. I know - coolest hang out spot ever, right? Anyways - at some point, an older gent stomped into the store, cherry faced and steam-eared. We’ll call him Bob. Being the nosey curious person I’ve always been, I eavesdropped on Bob’s conversation with a VZW employee. Turns out, Bob was upset not because his phone didn’t work, but because it just did too much. Bob was lost in the interface, seeing it as cluttered with things he simply didn’t need. Unsatisfied by Verizon’s other offer

Ed's Gregarius » MobileCrunch

Feeds

MobileCrunch (8 unread)

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 1:57pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 1:35pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 12:49pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 12:07pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 5th, 2008, 8:15am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 12:48pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 10:02am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 9:28am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 9:06am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 4th, 2008, 8:41am PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 5:30pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 5:24pm PDT by Greg Kumparak

Posted: September 3rd, 2008, 2:12pm PDT by Greg Kumparak