Well regarded Mac blog TUAW has tried out the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for iPhone & iPod touch, and seems pretty impressed with what’s on offer. Here are a couple of quotes:
‘It feels much snappier than I expected. The album art is nice and big and everything is quite legible.’
‘This is a very nice piece of software: Speedy, simple and similar enough to the “full”version of the iTunes Store that there’s no learning curve at all.’
The review also describes the process of synching back to iTunes on your Mac or PC as ‘laughably easy’. You can read the whole shebang over on the TUAW site now.
Both Engadget Mobile and MacRumors are reporting that the newly-released iPhone firmware, version 1.1.1, brings new features for the masses (including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store) and death and destruction to the unlocking/ hacking community. For UK readers, the updates are mostly irrelevant because the iPhone will ship here with 1.1.1 installed: the interesting part is whether the new firmware can be bypassed for future unlocking.
As Apple warned, the update is effectively killing network unlocked handsets, with even official AT&T SIM cards not being recognised. Post-update, the unique IMEI number of formerly unlocked iPhones is apparently changed, and it’s said that if the handset is taken to an Apple store they’ll refuse to fix phones with the new number.
On top of all that, and arguably more troubling, is that Apple has, for the time being, blocked the Jailbreak app that’s used to open up iPhone to thirdparty apps. So the question is, do existing iPhone owners want to make the 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 leap? There’s still no MMS, and no changes to the SMS system; the biggest ‘gain’ is the Wi-Fi Music Store. But is that enough of a draw?
Update: BGR reports that iPhone firmware 1.1.1 adds support for playback of MP3 and WAV attachments from emails.
T-Mobile has launched its own version of O2’s Simplicity deal involving a Sim-only deal and 30-day contracts. Just Sim is available from today at T-Mobile stores and from its website.
Just Sim is aimed at those who want to keep their old handsets while having the freedom of a short-term connection with the calling and texting value of a contract.
Customers who get the Sim card go on a monthly rolling contract and can end it at any time by giving 30 days notice.
T-Mobile’s offering three packages costing £20, £30 and £40 a month with Just Sim. Customers can get up to 1,200 call minutes and 3,000 texts a month, with extra minutes costing 30p each and texts 10p.
The operator claims that Just Sim offers comparable value to its existing 18-month contracts, but obviously without the hassle of being tied to the operator for that long.
The only catch is that handsets may need unlocking if customers are switching from another operator, but then this only costs around £10 to do anyway.
T-Mobile website
Sling Media has released its SlingPlayer Mobile application for all Symbian S60 devices after the conclusion of a testing period.
According to Register Hardware, Sling Media has posted a version of SlingPlayer on its website for owners of all Symbian handsets, not just those using 3 X-Series devices, to download.
In November 2006 Sling posted its first Symbian version of SlingPlayer and then in August it announced testing of a new, more open Symbian version, alongside existing versions for Windows, Palm and X-Series Symbian devices.
Of course, Symbian owners still need to own a Slingbox and a Series 60 phone, but at least non-3 users can now stream video from their TV to their phone. However, it seems this new version is slightly different to the original UIQ version released in 2006, which is still only available to 3’s UK customers.
There’s a full list of officially supported S60 handsets, and the download itself, on Sling Media’s website. The software costs £20 to buy, but downloaders get a 30-day trial period to try it out before they have to pay.
Truphone boss James Tagg yesterday gave the first demonstration of a VoIP mobile using Apple’s iPhone in San Diego, California, using the iPhone’s built-in WiFi capability.
He made the call to another WiFi handset nearby on a stage in front over over 300 delegates at the DEMOfall 07 conference. Tagg took the opportunity to show off Truphone’s ability to offer VoIP calls on Apple’s device in what is believed to be the first time someone has done this using a bog-standard iPhone.
The company also gave a demonstration of another application it’s development, which will enable phone calls to be made direct from networking site Facebook. The application lets any Facebook user click on a friend’s ‘Call Me’ button (Shown on their friend’s page on the website), to initiate a free VoIP call, either from their phone or the website.
Neither application is quite ready for release just yet, but their demonstrations have given Truphone a handy bit of publicity. Expect to see announcements about the applications’ launches at some point in the near future though.
See the video on Truphone’s website here
47 x 138 x 15.5mm… That’s a pretty long phone. But with a WQVGA 2.6″ OLED screen (240 x 400-ish pixels), we can forgive au KDDI for the INFOBAR 2’s leggy looks. Tech specs beyond that are okay but not spectacular (for Japan): 2MP camera, microSD support, 1Seg mobile live TV, GPS. Apparently the INFOBAR 2 started life as a design concept, but it’s one concept that is actually making it into production. Nice… If you live in Japan.
(au KDDI via Akihabara News; specs via JAMPB)
Continue reading ‘Love you long time: the INFOBAR 2 from au KDDI, for those with deep pockets’
Motorola is betting heavily on WiMAX, the much-hyped 4G of mobile internet that offers download speeds in the tens of megabits, and has just performed a series of demonstrations in Chicago to prove it. Journalists and analysts were treated to a demo of WiMAX voice-over-IP calling, web browsing, and video streaming as they cruised down the Chicago River, and while driving at ‘beyond 50mph’ alongside it.
Chicago is one of six US cities that Sprint has hired Motorola to build WiMAX networks in, with plans to offer ‘high-speed internet browsing, local and location-centric services, and multimedia services including music, video, TV and on-demand products. Sprint also plans to bring Xohm WiMAX mobile internet customers search, interactive communications and social networking tools through a new mobile portal in a deal announced with Google.’
WiMAX is going to be big, believe us. And if you don’t believe us, ask a Korean — they already have WiMAX’s sister tech, WiBRO, available today.
A touch-screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, HSDPA 3.6Mbit web surfing, wi-fi, 3MP camera… Don’t tell us you’re not interested in the MDA Vario III (aka the HTC Kaiser). If you are, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s launching on T-Mobile tomorrow, 28th September, and will come for free if you sign-up to the operator’s Flext 50 tariff.
The Vario III is listed on T-Mobile’s coming soon pages, but expect it to flip over into ‘out now’ in the morning. If you’re looking to jump on the HSDPA bandwagon, and don’t mind Windows Mobile, this could be great way to start.
…but still not a lot more in the way of specs from Samsung. It’s definitely 10.5mm thick/ thin, not 9mm as some sites have reported. Other than that, our last report covered most of the available tech info for the Armani. The Samsung Korea site we’re translating from talks about web browsing, but it’s not clear whether that’s through GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, or even possibly wi-fi… Although we think if it was either of the latter then Samsung would be shouting about it. Anyway, more pics after the jump.
Continue reading ‘More pics of the Samsung Armani’
US retailer YouNeverCall has announced a rather hair-brained competition to reward the first mobile call made from the surface of the moon.
The retailer said it would award a $10,000 prize for the first mobile call made from the moon, through a commercially available mobile phone, to YouNeverCall’s Los Angeles headquarters. Presumably the winner would have to pay the roaming charge themselves.
The competition is a fun attempt to usurp Google’s announcement this month that it would award $20m to the first private group who can successfully land a robotic rover on the moon’s surface by 31 December 2014.
YouNeverCall has decided to be more realistic with its competition though and set a deadline of 7 January 2015. Could be busy on the moon’s surface over the New Year period of 2015…
[From Slashphone]
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