VoIP comes to iPhone, gingerly

Global IP Solutions, a company well-recognized for its media-processing expertise in IP communications, announced on Monday its SDK, which enables Voice over IP applications to be made for Apple's iPhone.

This means that developers can now use GIPS' VoiceEngine Mobile, to create real-time VoIP applications, such as games, social-networking applications, and, of course, applications for making calls to regular phone lines over the Internet. Soon enough, you will be able to use instant messenger to voice chat with friends on the iPhone, just like you've been doing on your computer for ages now.

Though this is exciting news indeed, GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile will only work with iPhone's Wi-Fi connection and will not take advantage of the new iPhone's 3G connection. This is because Apple has always blocked the use of VoIP on the carriers' data connection; and AT&T, understandably, wouldn't be too happy about supporting something that potentially costs them long distance phone business. We can only hope this will change in the future. For now, in my experience, AT&T's 3G coverage is still too patchy and unreliable to be a platform for VoIP calls, anyway.
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Motion-powered phone charger sashays in

M2E Power, a company formed last year to charge electronic gadgets with human motion, has reported back that its system actually works.

Next year it expects to release a charger that can harvest enough motion from walking to replenish cell phones or other small gadgets, like GPS devices.

It says that 6 hours of cumulative motion can add 30 to 60 minutes of talktime to a cell phone.

The idea is to place the charger inside a purse or backpack and let it charge in the background, said Regan Rowe, director of business development at the company. When fully charged, M2E Power's device stores enough to recharge a phone at a speed comparable to an AC outlet.

Inside is a Lithium-ion battery and a series of coils and magnets. When it moves, an electromagnetic field forms around the coils to generate electricity.
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Report: iPhones en route to Russia

Russians may soon get their chance to queue up to buy the Apple iPhone. Legally, that is.

Official sales of the iPhone are likely to start in October, with a deal having been reached between Apple and Mobile TeleSystems, Russia's largest carrier, according to the Reuters news agency, citing market sources. A second, carrier has also signed a framework agreement, and a third deal is in the offing, Reuters reported.

A mobile telecommunications analyst told Reuters that MTS aims to sell 1 million iPhones within two years, and that total sales by the top three carriers over that two-year period are expected to hit 3.5 million units.

The price to Russian consumers is expected to be 24,000 rubles, or about US$990. That's far higher than the price in the US, but much less, Reuters said, than the price of unauthorized iPhones already being scooped up in Russia.

There are reportedly 600,000 unauthorized iPhones already in Russian hands.

When Apple announced the latest iPhone, the 3G, in June, CEO Steve Jobs set a goal of getting the device into 70 countries "over the next several months". But in the big map of the world on display during his keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, Russia was a large and conspicuous void--as was its sizable neighbor, China.

Also at WWDC in June, Jobs said he expected Apple to sell 10 million phones this year.

CNET News

Swarovski disease infects Bluetooth

The "Swarovski disease"--as former Crave master Mike Yamamoto dubbed the jewelry company's tendency to bedazzle every gadget the tech world holds dear--has struck us right in the ear.

But with several hands-free laws on the book, it was only a matter of time before more blinging Bluetooth headsets made it to market.

In a way, it makes more sense to have a Swarovski-crystal-covered Bluetooth headset than to have other gadgets dripping in Swarovski. Since the device is hung on the ear, it may be mistaken for a giant piece of jewelry.

The company says its Breeze Black Bluetooth 2.0 headset is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled phone, and offers up to 5 hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby time.
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Xperia X1 to come with Opera Mobile 9.5

By default, all Windows Mobile PDA-phones come with Internet Explorer Mobile. Of late, some manufacturers have worked with Norway-based company Opera to bundle its Opera Mobile 9.5 with their handhelds. Some examples are the HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung Omnia. Now we can add another to that list, the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.

Opera Mobile 9.5 is currently in public beta and so anyone with a Windows Mobile PDA-phone can install a copy onto their device. But the versions that come pre-installed with devices aren't in beta. They have in fact been tested by the hardware manufacturer for compatibility--important if the handheld in question has unique specifications. That's good news because the X1 has a resolution of 800 x 480, which isn't exactly common for this class of devices.

We tried out the X1 briefly with the browser and the higher screen resolution is quite a boon for Web surfing. It does make text incredibly small though, which is why the easy zoom-in feature on Opera Mobile 9.5 is so important. According to Sony Ericsson's head of marketing Lennard Hoornik, the X1 is still on track for an "early Q4" launch. Let's hope nothing disrupts that plan.

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