FaceTime Over 3G on Jailbroken iPhone 4

Want a reason to jailbreak your iPhone 4? How about FaceTime calls over 3G?

If you’re comfortable jailbreaking your iPhone by letting a website execute unknown code on it via a browser exploit, then you too could make normally Wi-Fi-only FaceTime video calls over the 3G network. The video above comes from the fine folks at 9to5Mac, and shows the hack in action. As you can see, everything behaves just like a regular Wi-Fi call.

9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman writes that “[the caller] couldn’t tell the difference between the 3G FaceTime call and a WiFi FaceTime call; the quality is that good.” It certainly looks better than previous efforts to route calls over 3G using standalone MiFi routers, but given the state of the AT&T network in the US, and the fact that these high-res video-calls will burn through your precious 2GB data-allowance, it’s hard to see why you’d bother, except for quick chats.

To activate 3G FaceTime, you’ll need to pop into Cydia, the jailbreak app store that is installed when you hack your iPhone. Add a new repository (essentially, you add URL to a new app store section. In this case, the url is http://apt.modmyi.com) and install an app called My3G. After a quick setup, you’re done: just leave My3G running in the background and FaceTime should just work. My3G costs around $3.

Due to briefly rendering my iPad unconscious yesterday in a failed jailbreak attempt, and not having an iPhone 4 with FaceTime, I haven’t tested any of this. If you do, be careful, and leave any tips in the comments.

FaceTime over 3G [9to5Mac]

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RIM reported to have agreed to snooping deal with India, says ‘no way!’

Reports out of India this morning claim that RIM has agreed a deal with the local government to permit its security agencies to “monitor” email and messaging done on BlackBerry devices. There’s even a roadmap for this snooperiffic rollout, as all consumer email is expected to be opened up within 15 days and tools are being developed over the next six to eight months to allow chat surveillance as well. A very detailed report indeed, but the IDG News service reports RIM has rubbished the entire thing, stating it’s in a continuing dialog with the Indian government and discussions remain confidential. Then again, we’d expect RIM to keep up the facade as long as possible, considering the likely domino effect a capitulation in India would have in nearby states that have similar security concerns. In the mean time, Nokia has meekly announced it’ll be complying with the Indian government’s rules for push mail and is “installing the required infrastructure.” For more on that and the BlackBerry saga, hit the source links below.

RIM reported to have agreed to snooping deal with India, says ‘no way!’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Huawei MiFi is One Hot-Looking Hot-Spot

That little gadget up there isn’t a cellphone, although it certainly shares some design points with the old G1 Googlephone. It is actually a MiFi-like cellular hotspot, a little battery-powered box which shares a 3G data connection over Wi-Fi.

Like the MiFi, the Huawei E583C will support up to five devices over Wi-Fi, plus one more over USB, and it has a microSD-card slot for storing and streaming data. The E583C is functionally very similar to Huawei’s UK-only MiFi E585, with an OLED display to show you the router’s status: which network you’re on, the router’s signal strength and battery level. Lest you think that this is a mere gimmick, I’d point out that one of the biggest annoyances with the original MiFi is the lack of visual feedback, especially on battery status.

The price, when it launches in Hong Kong this month, will be HK$1,380, or $178. And before you go, here’s a fun snippet from the press release: “gadget lovers can now experience the excitement of on-the-go wireless internet.” Excitement!

Huawei Debut Next-Generation Personal Mobile Wi-Fi Device [Huawei via iTech News]

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NEC outs versatile E231W monitor with 1080p resolution and green aspirations

You know that the 16:9 display ratio is here to stay when even NEC’s business monitors — long the bastion of old school sensibilities — start offering it as a standard feature. At least the Japanese company has also had the decency to include a DisplayPort on its latest 23-incher, with a full 1080p resolution and ambient light sensor adding to the feel of modernity. The E231W isn’t moving things along much further than the well-liked EA231W of last year, but it does consume less power (28W) and up-front cash ($299) than its senior sibling. 250 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 4-way adjustability (height, tilt, swivel, and pivot), and a 3-year warranty round off the energy-efficient package. Availability of this latest MultiSync monitor is scheduled for later this month, and you’ll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading NEC outs versatile E231W monitor with 1080p resolution and green aspirations

NEC outs versatile E231W monitor with 1080p resolution and green aspirations originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry 9800 slider for AT&T slips through FCC: ready for 11AM announcement

Can’t say we didn’t see this one coming but it looks like RIM’s BlackBerry 9800 slider was just blessed by the FCC on AT&T frequencies. While the FCC documents refer to it as a “BlackBerry smartphone model RCY71UW,” there’s no mistaking the backside wireframe that forms a perfect match when superimposed onto our earlier exclusive pics. Besides, there’s also liberal mention of several associated “MultiSourceDeclaration_9800_” documents throughout the FCC’s test results. So what have we got then? Well, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n, GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1900, UMTS II (1900), V (850) are all go with the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800 MHz bands and UMTS I (2100) bands listed for international use. And yeah, it’s been tested with the slider open and closed. Come back for the live reveal when the RIM / AT&T event kicks off at 11:00AM eastern.

BlackBerry 9800 slider for AT&T slips through FCC: ready for 11AM announcement originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s Lala music team working on video streaming service for 2010 launch?

When Apple acquired Lala, the obvious use for all that local scanning and internet streaming technology would have been to serve up our hard-drive-based iTunes music libraries from the cloud. Here we are though, eight months later, and the only significant impact from the acquisition was the closure of the Lala music service. And it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. According to an investigative piece by CNET, Apple is telling the big-four music execs that it won’t be offering any significant cloud-based music offerings within the next few months. In fact, CNET‘s sources claim that Apple still hasn’t obtained the licenses required to store and distribute music via a cloud-based service. So what’s Apple doing with all that Lala talent then? According to CNET, the team has been working on an “undisclosed video feature” instead of music. Additional sources at the major film studios claim that Apple plans to create “digital shelves” this year letting iTunes users store movies and other media on Apple’s servers. Hmm, does that sound like Keychest to you?

Naturally, all of this makes sense in light of Apple’s plan to open a 500,000 square foot data center (pictured above) in North Carolina later this year at a cost of $1 billion. What better facility to serve up 99 cent streaming TV rentals to a completely overhauled Apple TV in the home, and highly mobile iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone devices on the go. Anecdotally, it’s not like Apple’s showing too much concern with storage limits on its iOS devices — the iPhone 4 just launched in the same 16GB and 32GB offerings as the 3GS instead of the typical doubling of flash storage we’ve come to expect from new iPhone iterations. So really, the question isn’t if, it’s just a matter of when.

Original image courtesy of Cult of Mac

Apple’s Lala music team working on video streaming service for 2010 launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech announces Alert series of high-def security cameras, we go hands-on (updated with video!)

Logitech announces Alert series of high-def security cameras, we go hands-on

While it’s not too difficult to see what’s going on inside your DVR from anywhere in the world these days, keeping an eye on what’s happening inside your house is sadly a little bit more complicated. Sure, there are solutions, but few are entirely plug and play — and those that are tend to be far from affordable. Logitech’s new Alert system is certainly easy to set up and, at around $300, won’t exactly break the bank. Announced today and available later this month it’s a simple, albeit somewhat limited, solution for home security and remote monitoring of… well… anything you can point a camera at. And, with mobile apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android, you can do that monitoring from just about anywhere. Click on through for the full details, some early impressions, and a little sample video.

Continue reading Logitech announces Alert series of high-def security cameras, we go hands-on (updated with video!)

Logitech announces Alert series of high-def security cameras, we go hands-on (updated with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Train Room in Akiba hotel for railway fans

We all know there are many types of otaku (geek) and they don’t all spend their time playing video games or visiting maid cafes.

The densha otaku (train spotter) is a powerful consumer in Japan. Railway companies take a lot of trouble to create mascots and whole industries of merchandise, and there are countless goods for sale in station shops around the country.

train-room-akihabara-washington-hotel-1

But this is one step further. The Washington Hotel in Akihabara has created a “railway room” to attract densha otaku guests.

The train room features an L-shaped train “diorama”, two meters by three meters in size, with a detailed recreation of a railway snaking around a replica Akiba and Tokyo Tower.

train-room-akihabara-washington-hotel-3

Of course the guest can play with model trains along the thirty-meter track (there are apparently two authentic controllers, so friends can drive the trains together) and even the real thing — the Shinkansen line and Akiba station — is visible from the room’s window.

train-room-akihabara-washington-hotel-2[Pics via Sankei]

Though it is possible to rent from the hotel, the Nikkei Marketing Journal reports that many guests bring their own trains to use on the four-line track. The first to stay over was a 23 year-old company employee, followed by a man in his eighties. But there have also been mothers with their kids, so it’s not just strange guys with train obsessions!

The train room opened in June and costs from 23,000 JPY ($265) per night. If you want to make a reservation you will have to wait up to a month!

Akiba is actually no stranger to train-related spaces. We previously blogged about our visit to the (now sadly closed) N Star train cafe.

japan-trend-shop-630x100

Huawei’s E583C mobile hotspot: looks so good, you’ll wish it weren’t portable

Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but there’s no question that Huawei’s newest mobile hotspot is indeed a looker. Blessed with a silver and black motif as well as a subtle 1-inch color OLED for providing status information at a glance, the new E583C follows in the footsteps of the E585 and Vodafone’s R201. Functionally, it’s fairly predictable, offering a 3.5G HSPA connection to up to five devices over WiFi and a sixth via a direct USB connection. There’s support for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, with a promise of hitting upwards of 5.76Mbps (up) and 7.2Mbps (down). Huawei’s also tossing in a microSD card slot, and if you aren’t turned on by MiFi-esque mobile routers, the newly introduced E173u USB modem just might do the trick. Catch ’em later this month in Hong Kong for HK$1,380 ($177) and HK$498 ($64), respectively.

Continue reading Huawei’s E583C mobile hotspot: looks so good, you’ll wish it weren’t portable

Huawei’s E583C mobile hotspot: looks so good, you’ll wish it weren’t portable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kingston dives headfirst into water-cooling with HyperX H2O memory

Even in the niche world of PC overclocking, liquid-cooled memory never achieved popularity, but don’t tell Kingston that — the vendor’s now selling premium sticks of DDR3 where water is a prerequisite. Unlike OCZ’s fin-tastic Flex series, the new Kingston Hyper H20 modules keep their cool via tube alone, which admittedly means more space in your case as you carefully bump their clocks up from the stock 2,000MHz (or 2,133MHz) and CL9-11-9-27 timings at 1.65 volts. While you can’t (yet) get them in a lovely shade of 2.4GHz blue, the modules do come in both dual-channel (4GB) and triple-channel (6GB) kits starting at $157 and $235 respectively, and we imagine if the above cooling design is marginally successful, you’ll soon see it for sale on its own. PR after the break, memory available to purchase at our source link.

Continue reading Kingston dives headfirst into water-cooling with HyperX H2O memory

Kingston dives headfirst into water-cooling with HyperX H2O memory originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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