Everyone is going bonkers for Apple’s highly antcipated next-gen iPhone thought to be announced sometime within the next week. Yet many have forgotten the other killer smartphone. Android.
Android is the operating system brought to you by the good folks in Mountain View from Google. Google acquired the small Silicon Valley company, Android, and took its remarkable phone operating system to the next level. To encourage developers, Google created the Android Developer Challenge. With a $10,000 loot to be had for third round winners, many incredible applications where submitted. One such application, Android Scanner, was one of the 50 lucky winners.
Android Scan does what that Radio Shacks CueCat from the early 2000’s did. But unlike CueCat, you’re not tethered to your computer and the bar code scanned gives immediate results for that product. These results can vary from showing a list of online and nearby brick-and-mortar stores that have the item scanned. Tap on the selection and either be taken to the online store or the option to call the nearby store comes up. Android Scan even will give results at nearby libraries!
Android Scan has to be seen to appreciate its power. What this could mean for many shoppers is the power to find the best deal, either online or on-street, at a moments notice. If you find yourself at Best Buy wondering if that latest CD (do you still buy CDs? 
) is too expensive, you’ll now be able to see if it’s cheaper else where. Right there in the store! Of course, you’ll need to have an Android running phone, though.
So, will we find Android Scan on the iPhone? Maybe. The author, Jeffrey Sharkey, has stated he will release the code as open source. That leaves the door open for the iPhone; however, open source usually means not-for-profit and that could be a sticky point with the iPhone Appstore. Still, Apple has stated not all iPhone applications have to be in the Appstore and thus Android Scan could be distributed through other channels that do not require payment.
Android Scan is a fine application that will surely be a killer app that will help define the power of the upcoming “Google Phone”.
“FoneLink 2.0 is completely rewritten. It is fast, reliable, and offers a Bluetooth assistant to pair a cell phone to the Mac, if needed.” states Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media. “FoneLink 2.0 supports many cell phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.”
FoneLink supports drag and drop throughout its new user interface and offers an activity monitor to display current and cued actions. The improved sync-manager now includes built-in support for Apple’s Sync Services technology to sync with Entourage, iCal and Address Book along with other Sync Services-savvy applications.
FoneLink can automatically convert music, videos and photos on a Mac to formats that are instantly viewable and playable on the cell phone. iTunes playlists can be synchronized and a ringtone editor allows the creation of individual ringtones from any compatible music file.
Last but not least, FoneLink has the ability to create a comprehensive backup of a cell phone’s data in the background. If the mobile phone or its data gets lost or damaged, it is easy to restore individual data files using drag and drop, or to restore a comprehensive backup using the restore command.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
FoneLink 2.0 is a free update from previous version. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later and is priced at Euro 33,57 plus VAT (US-$ 33,57 plus VAT for customers in the US and Canada). FoneLink is available for download today at nova media’s website http://www.novamedia.de/fonelink.
Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, providing coverage across the nation, and LG Electronics MobileCommU.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) today announced that the highly anticipated GlimmerTM by LG will be exclusively available in Alltel retail stores and online at shopalltel.com beginning tomorrow, March 13. With a slide-out keypad and touch-screen interface, the LG Glimmer incorporates traditional phone functions with the latest multimedia features.
The LG Glimmer is loaded with a 2 MP camera with video capabilities, an MP3 player with customizable equalizer, an expandable memory slot and is GPS capable. This slick phone is rich with several of Alltel’s Axcess applications including Alltel Navigation, Axcess Search, CityID and Axcess TV. In addition, users can listen to their favorite music while utilizing other multimedia features on the phone, such as taking photos, recording video or sending text messages. The Glimmer also features 3D graphics support and 128MB of internal memory.
“With touch-screen phones revolutionizing wireless, the LG Glimmer from Alltel has an innovative new touch interface while offering the convenience of a slide-out physical keypad,” states Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless. “Its large display and multimedia capabilities allow our customers to access and manage their video and music with a simple touch.”
“Consumers will appreciate the durable metal body of this elegant, user-friendly mobile phone,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy & marketing at LG Mobile Phones. “With its slim form factor and large sliding touch screen the Glimmer by LG is another example of forward-thinking technology and design.”
Alltel Wireless is offering the Glimmer by LG for $249.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate. This discounted price is available to new customers who sign-up for a two-year service agreement and to existing eligible customers on qualifying rate plans. All Alltel customers who purchase the LG Glimmer and are on a qualifying rate plan are able to receive “My Circle,” Alltel’s exclusive calling feature allowing customers to receive unlimited calling to any five, 10 or 20 numbers, any network. In addition, Alltel was the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
The LG Glimmer also supports Alltel’s new service, Axcess Voice2TXT. The service, which is available on any Alltel Wireless SMS text message capable phone, quickly converts incoming voicemails to text messages in the customer’s inbox and also allows customers to store and forward converted voicemails as regular text messages. For more information on this innovative feature, please visit www.alltel.com/voice2txt.
For most, a cell phone is a cell phone. Few understand how one works and even fewer could tell you of the various protocols that make communication even possible on these de-facto gadgets found in nearly everyones purse, back pack, pocket, or belt-attached case. With Cingular’s acquisition of AT&T Wireless a few years ago, it effectively killed off one protocol, TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and spread its signal of choice, GSM, to more customers than before. Nextel, using iDEN, was brought into the Sprint realm which now is putting more and more CDMA out than it once did. That leaves providers like Alltel and Verizon using CDMA as well. With only two GSM carriers in the US, T-Mobile and AT&T (ala Cingular), one would think CDMA was king. Truth is, it isn’t.
CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) has been trying to spread its signal across the world in competition of the more popular GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). GSM has become the standard in Europe, Japan, and Australia while CDMAs main foot hold is here in the North America and in South Korea. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) is hoping to make larger foot prints with pushing its technology to countries such as China where there is a very large market to be had. Its latest figures, CDG shows China with 42 million subscribers and to the west of it, India with more than 61 million subscribers. Working on all neighboring countries, like Iraq with its new open market, CDG is excited by these figures.
“CDMA’s attributes, including voice quality, speed and lower total cost of ownership, continue to drive its proliferation across the globe,” said James Person, chief operating officer for the CDG. “Operators who want to meet subscriber demand with compelling and affordable services have recognized the technology’s long list of benefits. Especially in Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, where the markets vary from sparsely populated rural villages to densely populated urban centers, CDMA’s performance and flexibility meet most operators’ network demands.”
So what does this all mean? Really, it’s more geeky than anything because, again, most don’t know and care about this stuff. But if you’re a Nokia fan, you’ll never have a CDMA phone, meaning, no Nokia at Alltel, Sprint, or Verizon. The same goes for select models at CDMA providers that will not be available at AT&T or T-Mobile. But what it really boils down to is world phones. If you are a traveler, you’ll want a phone that will work where you are headed. With competing protocols, you’ll have to be choosey on what you select. As CDMA pushes further throughout the world, this gives GSM users here at home less choice in what they can do with their current phone. The same goes for CDMA users. In the end, competition is great but at times it can be a headache, too.
NEC Corporation, a leading provider of Next Generation IP Voice and Media service solutions, announced today that their intention to connect the virtual world, namely “Second Life” to the real world using their SCI Platform solution during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. SCI Platform, which incorporates components of NEC’s Service Delivery Platform (SDP) for providers of IP voice and multimedia services, will liberate currently closed virtual world communications and connect them to the real world by using a unique `NEC communicator` placed in Second Life world.
At NEC’s booth, Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona, visitors can enter Second Life and control an avatar to make calls to another person in the real world by using the NEC communicator. Additionally, visitors can send text oriented messages such as SMS, email and IP Messaging from Second Life to the real world.
NEC’s vision for “real world gateways”, as illustrated by this demonstration, helps its customers to find new Web 2.0 revenue streams by taking critical “virtual to real world” interface roles in terms of ubiquitous communication, payment, media distribution and context distribution. NEC will further communicate their vision for IP Voice and Media innovation, convergence and service evolution through other exciting demonstrations at the booth.
The NEC Communicator will be located at “Tokutoku Pocket Island” in the Second Life world during Mobile World Congress 2008. NEC launched “NEC Island”, “Tokutoku Pocket Island” and several other virtual points of presence in September 2007 to initiate branding, marketing and new business opportunities activities in the virtual world.
Verizon, that very same company that said no to Apple three years ago to its unknown iPhone, has changed course with Google’s open source operating system for mobile devices, Android. Maybe Verizon has learned from its Apple mistake and now will bring something unique to its strip-mall stores across the nation. Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam says it now makes sense to get behind Android. “We’re planning on using Android,” McAdam tells BusinessWeek. “Android is an enabler of what we do.”
Ya, I bet it does make sense, Lowell!
If you haven’t seen much on Android, take a look at Google’s Code site for videos and such about it. The visual global time (spin the globe with your finger ala iPhone!) and SkyPop (locate your other Android using friends in real-time) alone are worth considering dumping your iPhone! Oh ya, did I mention it’ll be 3G on the get-go?
Sonim Technologies, a US based mobile telecoms company today announces the European launch of the new Sonim XP1, an IP-54 certified, mil-spec approved, bluetooth and Push-To-Talk enabled GSM phone, by announcing the “World’s Toughest Phone Tour” beginning in Sweden
Engineered to meet the needs of people who work outside the office and outdoor sports enthusiasts, the Sonim XP1 works perfectly in harsh environments. Certified to withstand shock, water, wind, dust, dirt and extreme temperatures, the Sonim XP1 is the only certified phone designed specifically for the lives of people who work and play in demanding conditions.
So confident are SonimTech over the durability of the phone, they are inviting bloggers and journalists across Europe to “torture test” the phone by sending them a new XP1m along with a illustrated how-to guide.
Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim comments: “If you’re standing on a construction site with a welding tool in your hand, or are sitting in a catamaran with a hard wind in your face, you really don’t need a fashion accessory nor a multimedia monster, you need a dependable working tool like the new XP1, built for extreme conditions.”
He continues: “The Sonim XP1 doesn’t die when exposed to the elements, can be dropped, kicked, tossed into a toolbox or backpack, seen and heard in bright/dark and noisy conditions, and provides reliable voice, push-to-talk and data services.”
As well as being very shock water-resistant, the Sonim XP1 is backed by an Unconditional 3 year warranty - and a lifetime warranty for the phone housing with immediate in-store replacement if needed - the XP1 is the only phone that doesn’t compromise on capability, durability or style.
Joakim Wiklund, co-founder of Sonim Technologies comments: “Research commissioned by us indicated that 70% of outdoor workers refrain from using their phones in the workplace because the phone might break, and 40% have broken their mobile phone in the last year, and common reasons are damage from humidity, dropping and crushing the phone. We are aiming to provide a solution to this problem.”
The World’s toughest tour starts in Stockholm on December 3rd, and the tour will stop by Örebro, Eskilstuna, Västerås, Norrköping, Jönköping, Göteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmö and Uppsala before it ends in Stockholm on December 23rd.
The tour will visit construction sites, DIY/building material stores and retailers to demonstrate, discuss and torture-test the phone. Facts, news, pictures and video clips of the World’s toughest tour can be found at the campaign blog at www.sonimxp1.se.
Increasing numbers of cash consumers in the UK are using Ukash when they shop, pay and play online and now they’re going to benefit from getting Ukash direct to their mobile.
Thousands of consumers each day that don’t have or don’t want to use a credit or debit card online use Ukash. Today they get Ukash from thousands of convenient locations such as newsagents and petrol stations and just use the unique and secure Ukash number when they pay at one of the hundreds of websites that accept Ukash. But now they can get Ukash anywhere, anytime!
“Ukash is growing in popularity with the large section of the population that don’t have cards or are concerned about the security of using them online,” comments Mark Chirnside, Ukash CEO. “This new service makes getting Ukash even more convenient for mobile users, meaning they can get a voucher straight to their ‘phone 24/7.”
Vodafone customers go to the secure Ukash Mobile web page using their phone’s internet browser. They confirm that they require a £10 Ukash voucher and as long as they have credit on their ‘phone they’ll receive a text with their unique 19-digit Ukash number. They’re then ready to pay on any web-site or mobile internet site that accepts Ukash.
Buying and using Ukash is incredibly simple. Uniquely numbered Ukash vouchers are widely available from 40,000 payment terminals in the UK, in newsagents, grocery stores, petrol forecourts and other convenient locations. Ukash vouchers can be redeemed on hundreds of lifestyle, shopping, communications, social networking and gaming websites in the UK.
Enjoy easy access to your handheld with the Proporta Magnetic Dashboard Mount
The latest addition to Proporta’s in-car solutions comes in the form of the new Magnetic Dashboard Mount. This small but effective car kit is the perfect accompaniment for those who like to stay connected when travelling in their car.
Using tough 3M adhesive pads, the Magnetic Dashboard Mount attaches to any vehicle dashboard and magnetically secures your mobile device enabling you quick easy access to your device, without taking your eyes off the road
The small but effective hands free magnetic phone car kit can be stuck fast to your dashboard for quick but secure access to your phone. A small, subtle magnetic pad is applied to the back of your phone, which will allow it to securely attach itself to the mount, creating a safe but accessible Car Kit.
This revolutionary product comes with the car mount itself, 2 magnetic sticky pads and a lint-free cleaning cloth.
This product is small but indescribably convenient and is available from www.proporta.com.
Please Note: This product uses strong magnets. Direct contact between any magnetic storage medium (such as computer hard disks, hard disks used in 5G iPods and PDAs with large storage) and strong magnets may result in data loss. This does *not* affect PDAs, Smartphones or other devices (including the iPod nano and iPod shuffle) which use flash memory.
Tekkeon announces myCharger™, a portable USB power adapter with retractable prongs and several adapters, for charging iPhone, iPod and many popular mobile phones at home or while traveling.
myCharger can be used with the USB power cord from any small mobile device, or with any of the included adapter tips that enable connection to most models of:
- iPhone (uses iPhone/iPod USB cable)
- iPod (uses iPhone/iPod USB cable)
- Blackberry
- LG mobile phones
- Motorola mobile phones
- Nokia mobile phones
- Samsung mobile phones
- Sony Ericsson mobile phones
Optional adapter tips are available for other 5V devices including Bluetooth headsets, digital cameras, other mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs, portable games, and portable media players. An optional travel pack includes interchangeable international plugs for use abroad. Tekkeon provides a list of compatible devices on its web site at www.tekkeon.com.