Posts in Mobile Phones
Scosche releases SolChat solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone
David Carnoy | Mar 18, 2009
The front and back (insert picture) of the SolChat. (Credit: Scosche)
Hot on the heels of announcing that it would be making accessories for the third-generation shuffle, Scosche has "gone green" with a US$100 solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone for cars.
If you haven't seen one before, these types of speakerphones represent one of the better applications of solar-charging in a consumer device. The device adheres to your windshield and collects sunlight to charge the internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery. A USB charging cable and car adapter ships with the device so you can charge at night and on days with insufficient sunlight. A windshield suction-cup mount and sun visor clip are also included.
What's nice about the Bluetooth is that once you set up a pairing between your cell phone and SolChat, they will automatically connect once you enter your car and turn on the speakerphone (the SolChat automatically turns off once the pairing is broken). The speakerphone also has voice-announce technology that enables it to announce calls as they come in "so users can keep their eyes on the road while driving".
Via Crave CNET
Analyst: Motorola to launch up to 10 smartphones in 2H
Damian Koh | Mar 17, 2009
Motorola Surf A3100
That could change in the later half of 2009.
According to an Associated Press report, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Ittai Kidron indicated that the struggling phone-maker could launch up to 10 smartphones in the second half of the year.
Although there was no mention of the software these devices will be running on (if they even exist on the company's roadmap), they are likely to be based on the Android platform. Sanjay Jha, Motorola's co-CEO, already said earlier this year that the company will focus more on Android for 2009 because it "is more competitive" and that Windows 7 is on the cards for 2010.
The problem, aside from the operating system that Motorola chooses to focus on, is also the time it takes to get phones into the hands of users. Is the second half of 2009 too late? What do you think?
Via Associated Press
Apple extends iPhone developer program
David Martin | Mar 16, 2009
Apple developers have been having a tough time renewing their iPhone development licenses, according to reports. For them, the company had some good news Friday: The licensing for all developers has been extended to July 11--one year after the opening of the iTunes App Store.
Additionally, Apple announced that licensing renewals will begin in May, a full 60 days prior to the developer program expiration date. Developers got the news in an email.
The message sent to developers is shown below:
Read more »
Symbian sets schedule for OS road map
Tom Krazit | Mar 16, 2009
Symbian is setting an aggressive schedule for making improvments to the Symbian OS.
(Credit: Symbian)
The Symbian Foundation committed itself to an aggressive operating release schedule Friday, promising a new version of the open-source OS every six months for the next several years.
Symbian is the world's most widely used smartphone operating system, but it has been losing ground to rivals like Apple, Research in Motion, and Microsoft in recent months. Last year Nokia, formerly Symbian's largest shareholder, decided to revive its growth by unifying the software and releasing it under an open-source license as part of a foundation of companies.
That plan is rounding into shape, according to Symbian's David Wood. The first unified release created under the Foundation, known as Symbian^2, is expected to be "functionally complete" by the middle of this year and "hardened" (debugged) by the end of the year, meaning that devices bearing the new software could start to appear as the year closes.
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An iPhone 3.0 software wish list
Kent German | Mar 16, 2009
Ever since the first iPhone was born more than two years ago, and following the introduction of the iPhone 3G last summer, we've made no secret that the iPhone lacks many features we think it should have. We've blogged a few times detailing our complaints, but here you can find a full list in no particular order.
We've also browsed through your blog comments and emails to see the features that you hope to see. And please feel free to add anything that we've missed.
Read more »
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