Archive for September, 2008


Apple now selling iPhone 3G unlocked in Hong Kong

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September 29, 2008

My 2 Cents:  This little update is for all ya out there that want to get an iPhone but still feel a little shitty about hacking the shiny new thing.  Seems that over there in HK apple is selling the fancy little device UNLOCKED :O)

If ya have been waiting for this so that you can be up-to-date with all of the updates just check out the link below:

READ

If you can’t get your goods into China via the front door, there’s always the back. Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong. The 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about US$694) or HK$6,200 (about $797) for the 16 gigger. Already available since July 11th with a local Hutchison Telecommunications contract, this is the first time that Apple has sold its device unlocked in Hong Kong:

"iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation."

Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese, the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only — not that the gray market cares about T&Cs. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena, perhaps in direct response to having its WiFi and the imperialistic 3G gutted from handsets sold under Apple’s rumored China Mobile deal.

Apple now selling iPhone 3G unlocked in Hong Kong – Engadget

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Who’s On Buzzy Facebook-For-Mobile Upstart Loopt? A Bunch Of Dudes, Of Course (AAPL)

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September 27, 2008

My 2 Cents:  Now here is a scary little app for ya iPhone users out there.  Not sure if this one will catch on but the way twitter has been going I think that this will just be another way technology will be invading our everyday lives.

Do you think that you will be ok with this sort of constant tracking system in our everyday lives?

loopt-mix.jpg

Singles, voyeurs, lonely people, barflys, and stalkers: The new Loopt is the iPhone app for you. The latest edition of the free, mobile-focused social networking service adds a very big, neat new feature: Loopt Mix, which lets you see who’s nearby in real time — mostly total strangers.

Like Facebook, MySpace, etc., you set up a public profile, with some sparse details — photo, age, etc. — and Loopt uses the GPS in your iPhone to figure out who’s around. A potentially great way to meet people at a bar, flirt via email, whatever.

Privacy-types: It’s totally opt-in and includes a very obvious privacy warning that you must click past to use. And it’s clear when Mix is on — transmitting your location — and off. (See the red "On" in our screenshot.) So we’re fine with that.

The biggest problem so far: The ratio is a little unbalanced, if you know what we mean. Anyway, worth a shot — we’ll keep testing it out and see if different neighborhoods/times of day lead to better results.

But our long-term question about Loopt and other mobile-focused social networks is still the same: Will they be able to attract enough people to be worthwhile social networks on their own? (Loopt CEO Sam Altman tells us the service has hundreds of thousands of active iPhone users.) Or will they die a quick death the minute Facebook and MySpace add location to their iPhone/BlackBerry/mobile apps?

Who’s On Buzzy Facebook-For-Mobile Upstart Loopt? A Bunch Of Dudes, Of Course (AAPL)

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T-Mobile G1 Vs. Apple iPhone 3G

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September 27, 2008

 My 2 Cents:  Here is a nice little comparison between the new gPhone and iPhone.  What do you think…is it the iKilla?

After the T-Mobile G1 was announced this morning, we went over the features of the G1, compared it to other phones, and listed what was missing. But we think a lot of you are asking if this compares well to the Apple iPhone 3G, and if it’s a so-called "iPhone killer." Here’s a simple side-by-side comparison chart of the two devices, with what we think are important design and feature differences (Bear in mind that some of these features might change as new applications surface). Let us know what you think.

  T-Mobile G1 Apple iPhone 3G
Dimensions 4.60 inches x 2.16 inches x 0.62 inch 5.5 inches x 2.4 inches x 0.48 inch
Screen size 3.2 inch 3.5 inch
Navigation Touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, trackball and navigation keys. No multitouch-gesture support. Touch screen, Home button. Multitouch-gesture support.
Camera 3.2 megapixels, no video recording 2.0 megapixels, no video recording
Connectivity Quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS, Wi-Fi. Bluetooth-headset profile is supported, but no stereo Bluetooth, no tethering. Quad-band GSM, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, Wi-Fi. Bluetooth-headset profile is supported, but no stereo Bluetooth, no tethering.
Accelerometer Yes Yes
GPS Yes Yes
Maps Google Maps with Satellite View, Traffic, and Street View. Also has a compass mode that orients the screen as you move. Google Maps with Satellite View and Traffic. No Street View
Memory MicroSD-card slot expandable up to 8GB, with MicroSDHC-card support. Comes with a 1GB card preloaded 8GB or 16GB, no expansion slot
E-mail Push Gmail, POP3, IMAP, no Exchange POP3, IMAP, Exchange support
Syncing Over-the-air synchronization Desktop synchronization, with over-the-air sync for certain cloud-based applications like Web mail and online calendars.
Visual Voicemail Don’t know yet, presumably no Yes
Music Store Amazon MP3 Store iTunes Store
Application Store Android Market. The SDK is open source and applications don’t need to be vetted for approval. iTunes Application Store. Applications need to be approved by Apple to appear in the store.
Multimedia Messaging Yes No
Copy and Paste Yes No
Voice dial Yes No
3.5mm jack No Yes
Removable battery Yes No
Price $179 with two-year service agreement $199 with two-year service agreement for 8GB, $299 with two-year service agreement for 16GB
Data plan $35 a month for unlimited Web, e-mail, messaging, and T-Mobile HotSpot access; $25 a month for unlimited Web, e-mail, unlimited IM on Google Talk, 400 total messages (text, picture messages, non-Google Talk IM), and T-Mobile HotSpot access. $30 a month for unlimited consumer data plan, $45 a month for unlimited business data plan, $5 a month for 200 text messages, $15 a month for 1,500 text messages, $20 a month for unlimited text messages

T-Mobile G1 Vs. Apple iPhone 3G | Crave, the gadget blog – CNET

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Rockbox 3.0 firmware breathes the life back into your MP3 player

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September 26, 2008

 My 2 Cents:  This is for all you OLD SCHOOL iPod owners that still like how simple it used to be before the iPhone.  Seems that Rockbox has come up with a new firmware 3.0 for your device that should breath some new life into it.  This is a firmware upgrade so be careful to back-up all of your data before trying.

I have not  had a chance to test myself but will update when I got it working but from the looks of it, seems like a really nice face-lift from the dull old display.  It also includes the ability to play-back a lot more codec’s (extensions) that you might not have been able to play in the past…this pretty much separates your dependency to iTunes…MUSIC FOR EVERYONE :O)

Well it took three years, but Rockbox 3.0 has finally made it on the scene, with a major overhaul in the sound decoding department and support for several new players. This open source firmware replacement is chock full of tasty new features, including codec support for over 15 formats like FLAC and Ogg, 5-band parametric EQ, MPEG video, multilingual interface, Doom and a pile of other games, not to mention freedom from iTunes. Oh yeah, and it can talk to you via a spoken interface — which comes in handy for not driving off bridges and what not. iPod, iriver, Sansa, iAudio, Gigabeat and Archos models are all supported, though Archos didn’t get many of the major 3.0 improvements like expanded codecs.

[Via Ostatic; thanks Eric L]

Rockbox 3.0 firmware breathes the life back into your MP3 player – Engadget

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Google offers $10M for world changing idea

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September 25, 2008

My 2 Cents: Ya got to love Google…in my mind this is one company that has been driving the worlds innovation and technology for the past 3-5yrs.  Now we see them jumping in the mobile phone arena and as a web-browser as well.  I have always loved their products and cant wait to see what they come up with next ;O)

This new initiative project should come back with some truly one-of-a-kind ideas and I really hope that it will be as far reaching as they are hoping it will be. 

Google Inc., which is celebrating its 10th birthday this month, today unveiled a $10 million effort to implement ideas that can “change the world by helping as many people as possible.” As part of the Project 10^100 (pronounced Project 10 to the 100th), Google plans to ask its users to submit ideas until Oct. 20 for ways to improve people’s lives. Google will choose what it feels are the 100 best ideas and then allow its users to vote on which of them should be funded. The users will narrow the results to 20 finalists, and a panel of judges will choose up to five ideas that will receive funding, Google said.

Google noted that the ideas can be big or small, technology-driven or not. But they do have to have a potential positive impact on the world. The company cited an example of two people coming up with an idea to help millions of people carry water long distances by designing the Hippo Water Roller, a relatively inexpensive 24-gallon container that can be easily wheeled on the ground. The categories for the project include, but are not limited to, community, energy, environment, health, education, shelter and opportunities for people to better provide for themselves and their families.

Source: ComputerWorld

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Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1

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September 23, 2008

My 2 Cents:  Now here is a little more video about Google’s new phone platform which was announced this week and some of the features that it will be having …  too nice …

Google just posted a few videos showing all the Google applications loaded on the T-Mobile G1. This includes Seach, Maps, Gmail and Contacts, Calendar, Google Talk and You Tube all enabled with a single sign-on — no further logins are required. The fact that these are fully synchronized to the web negates the need for a desktop application. Nice. Amazon MP3 store, IMing, Street View compass mode and plenty more highlighted in the videos posted after the break.

 

Video: Android walkthrough on T-Mobile G1 – Engadget

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UPDATED: Spy Shots Prove Existence of GSM-Only Storm

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September 23, 2008

My 2 Cents:  This is for all ya RIMM jobs out there…seems that a little more info about the next-gen BLACKBERRY device is out on the web.  Seems that there has been a frenzy of cellular updates this month especially with the news of Google’s Android platform which I am too excited to get my hands on….

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Wow, are you readers ever good! Minutes ago I received an email containing two photos of the 9500 Series Job Aid which proves once and for all that there are indeed two variants of the Storm that have been talked about so much, especially in the past week.

The image with the specs is rather small (don’t complain, it’s a spy shot!), but it is good enough to make out that there is not only a North American version of the Storm destined for Verizon and possibly Bell, but a pure GSM device destined for Vodafone in Europe.

Since I’ve already told you the specs for the North American variant, here is what I can gather from the European model.

  • 7.2 mbps HSDPA/UMTS (2100/1900/850 MHz)
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
  • 1GB of memory, 192MB RAM
  • 1400 mAhr battery. Standby time: 528 hours
  • MicroUSB port
  • MicroSD and MicroSDHC expandable up to 8GB
  • 3.2 megapixel camera, flash, 2.5x digital zoom, auto focus, and image stabilization
  • Video capture. Normal mode (480Ă—320) and MMS mode (176Ă—144)
  • Assisted GPS – Enhanced version of GPS that performs at a faster speed

One more picture after the break.

l

UPDATED: Spy Shots Prove Existence of GSM-Only Storm | BlackBerryNews.com

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Adobe introduces Creative Suite 4

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September 23, 2008

My 2 Cents:  This is a little update for all ya graphic peeps out there…  I am avid user of most of the applications that make up this suite especially Photoshop and Flash.   I hope that this next version will be as good of an upgrade as CS3 which was a huge advancement in my mind ;O)

Will give an update when i am able to test this baby out…

Adobe’s Creative Suite 4, which was officially unveiled today, is huge. There are actually six suites: Master Collection, Design Premium and Standard, Web Premium and Standard, and Production Premium, each offering a different selection from around 20 individual applications; the Master Collection has the lot. So what’s new? The first thing you’ll notice is a new look and feel across all the main applications, making them more attractive and more consistent than before. Tabbed documents in applications like Flash and Dreamweaver are great to work with. The 2005 merger, which brought Adobe’s Photoshop, Acrobat and InDesign together with Macromedia’s Flash, Fireworks and Dreamweaver, is now mature and there is deep integration.

You can see this in the new Photoshop Smart Objects in Dreamweaver, which lets you insert a Photoshop image and have it stay up-to-date if the source changes, and in the way Acrobat PDFs can natively host Flash content. The second thing to note is that most web and design professionals will need some parts of CS4, if only to keep up with the growing use of standards like H.264 high-definition video (and its consumer variant AVCHD), which is supported in Flash 10 and in Adobe Media Encoder, or authoring for Acrobat 9. There is also the usual price hike for UK customers versus those in the US: the Master Collection is £1,969 versus $2,499 before tax, around 45 per cent more expensive at today’s rates.

Source: Vnunet

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97% of today’s kids are video gamers

Filed Under: It Wasn't Me, Tech News by admin — Leave a comment
September 22, 2008

My 2 Cents:  This is for all ya that have been giving me a hard time with my gaming antics…you got to love a good FRAG now and then :O) But honestly in my mind the games that these kids are playing now-a-days are soooo realistic they they are more like simulations. 

My point-of-view is that when the shit hits the fan that most kids will be diving for the gun rather then diving under the bed…its those spit-second decisions that these games are engraining in these children’s minds at these early ages…

According to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project 97% of young people today play video games in one form or another–boys and girl alike. And when they play video games, they often play them with someone else, ether in person or online. Two-thirds play face-to-face, the survey found, while a quarter play online with other people. “It shows that gamers are social people,” says Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew. “They communicate just as much. They spend time face-to-face, just as much as other kids. They e-mail and text.”

The kids these days game fairly often, too, with 50% of them saying they had played a video game the previous day. And even though many underage respondents said they had played or owned several M- and AO-rated games, the Pew researchers were quick to distance themselves from making any proclamations about video games and real world violence. Instead, Joseph Kahne, a study co-author and dean of the education school at Mills College in California, said games like Halo–while violent–provided “more than average opportunities for players to help one another.”

Source: Gamepro

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Give your Eee PC a facelift with Skinizi

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September 20, 2008

My 2 Cents: If you are an Eee PC owner like me then this might interest ya…some of them seem really nice…will let ya know when mine comes in…

Your ultraportable laptop can be cute, too. This skin, called Mon Jardin Secret, fits the MSI Wind U100.

(Credit: Skinizi)

With more and more Netbooks appearing by the day, it can be harder to tell one apart from the next.

Skinizi, a French company that makes skins for mobile devices such as laptops and iPhones, is getting in on the customization action with its newest set of skins for ultraportables including the Asus EeePC 70X, Asus EeePC 90X, and MSI Wind U100.

The skins should provide good protection against scratches and add a variety of visual effects, from avant garde to retro to cartoonish. You can choose from a collection of predesigned images, but unfortunately, you can’t submit your own. For unlisted laptops, you can still find skins by providing the dimensions of the device.

All Skinizi’s skins have graphics created by professional graphic designers and promise fast and easy application without air bubbles and easy removal without leaving marks on the device. You can get the skins now for about $35 apiece.

Give your Eee PC a facelift with Skinizi | Crave, the gadget blog – CNET

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