Jul 02

Sniper Stand Turns Your Smartphone into a Hands-Free Entertainment Device

Posted in: Smartphones, Today's Chili
Sniper Stand.JPG
Smartphones are offering us more and more entertainment, allowing us to view photos, videos, and even full TV shows and movies on the go. But there’s just one problem — they won’t stand up on their own (unless you’re talking about the HTC Evo 4G, which has a built-in kickstand). It can get tiring holding your phone at a comfortable viewing height, which is exactly why the Sniper Stand was invented.
It’s a small plastic disk with two slits that intersect at a right angle. It has a super-strong (but still removable) adhesive on the back. Peel off the backing and stick it to the back of your phone, and it will allow your smartphone to stand up on a table or desk with the aid of a credit card.
The Sniper Stand is not yet in production, but a limited number of prototype samples are available in black for $9.95, shipping included. To see the installation video, or to place an order, visit the Sniper Stand Web site.
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Jul 02

T-Mobile Axes Sidekicks, Promises Fresh Experience

Posted in: Microsoft, t-mobile, Today's Chili

sidekicklx.jpg

Maybe buying a company called “Danger” wasn’t the brightest idea. Microsoft received the second half of a one-two blow yesterday when T-Mobile killed the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008, the last handsets built on Microsoft’s Danger software.
The death of the Sidekick comes just after Microsoft announced they had killed the KIN, which is the phone Microsoft created in part using Danger’s staff and software after they acquired the company. The KIN technology and team are now part of the Windows Phone 7 group, Microsoft said.
T-Mobile owns the Sidekick brand, so they can slap that name onto any phone they want. For their part, here’s what they have to say:
“As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next generation of the T-Mobile Sidekick, as of July 2, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 will no longer be available through T-Mobile, including retail stores, care, telesales and online. While we work on the next chapter of our storied Sidekick franchise, T-Mobile will continue to provide our loyal Sidekick customers with product service and support. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience.”
Notice that T-Mobile is promising a “new and fresh experience.” This may imply that future Sidekicks will be designed by a different company, or run a different operating system. What would you want to see in a new Sidekick? Tell us in the comments.
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Jul 02

Apple Says iPhone Antenna Issues Are Optical Illusion

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili
Apple today said that reported iPhone 4 reception problems are caused by an error in the way the phone displays bars of signal strength.
“We were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong,” Apple said in a statement posted on the company’s Web site  “Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars.”
This means that many users are seeing full bars in weak signal areas. Because the bar display is highly compressed towards the weak signal side of the spectrum, bars don’t change at all between good and moderate signal, but then change very, very quickly with slight differences in weak signal.
The tech site AnandTech went into more detail recently on the iPhone 4’s “compressed, optimistic” range of display bars. According to AnandTech, “over half of the range of possible signal levels in dBm (from -99 dBm to -51 dBm) is reported as 5 bars.”
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Jun 30

Microsoft Kills Kin Line of Semi-Smartphones

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili

MS kin.jpg

The Microsoft Kin, Microsoft’s widely panned line of semi-smartphones for text-happy teenagers, is dead – or at least it doesn’t have a future as a standalone product.

Microsoft on Wednesday released a statement suggesting that it’s cutting bait on the Windows Phone 7 spinoff and folding the project’s staff and technologies into the main body of Windows Phone 7.

Here’s the official word from Microsoft:

“We have made the decision to focus on our Windows Phone 7 launch and we will not ship Kin in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our Kin team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from Kin into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current Kin phones.”

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Jun 30

LG Sentio Now Available from T-Mobile

Posted in: LG, phone, t-mobile, Today's Chili
LG Sentio.jpg
The newest phone to join the T-Mobile lineup isn’t a high-end smartphone. Instead, the Sentio is designed to appeal to more budget-conscious consumers who still want a feature-rich device in a small package. The phone measures 4.2-by-2.1-inches, and is only half an inch thick. It weighs just over three ounces.
The LG Sentio has a full touch screen display with virtual keyboard, Bluetooth, and an integrated GPS. This 3G device also offers visual voicemail, text and picture messaging, and T-Mobile’s social networking application, Social Buzz.

The three-megapixel camera can also capture video, and the built-in media player can keep you entertained with photo viewing and video playback. An address book, alarm clock, calculator, and calendar are also included to keep you organized.

The LG Sentio from T-Mobile is $69.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement and qualifying data plan, or you can choose to pay $179.99 for the phone up front to take advantage of the Even More Plus plan with lower monthly service charges and no contract requirement.
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Jun 29

Cisco Launches Cius Android Tablet for Business

Posted in: cisco, tablet, Today's Chili

Cisco Cius 2.jpgCisco announced the Cius 7-inch Android tablet at its CiscoLive event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, which the company is touting as a an ultraportable tablet for mobile collaboration.

Cisco did not reveal either a timeline or a price for the new tablet, which appears to be the first Android tablet, at least, designed primarily for business. (The Camangi WebStation is another 7-inch Android tablet with a consumer focus.)

Unlike other tablets, Ciisco said that the Cius (pronounced cee-us) was designed for and is bundled with Cisco technologies designed for mobile business, including the ability to take 720p video in conjunction with the Cisco Telepresence solution. The tablet also comes bundled with Cisco
Quad, Cisco
Show and Share, WebEx,
Presence, and an instant-messenger app.

“Cisco Cius delivers on our vision of bringing the next wave of collaborative experiences to our customers,” said Kara Wilson, vice president of UC and collaboration solutions marketing for Cisco, in a video published on a Cisco Web page.. “It will fundamentally change how your workers, executives and managers will go about their day, ushering in a new era of productivity.”

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Jun 29

Hulu Plus Subscription Service Coming to PS3, Xbox 360

Posted in: hulu, playstation, Today's Chili, video games, xbox 360

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Hulu’s new subscription-based Hulu Plus service will be coming to the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360, but gamers will have to wait a few more months to experience it, the company confirmed Tuesday.

Hulu Plus will be $9.99 per month and will provide access to full seasons of current TV shows, as well as full runs of series that are no longer on the air. It will initially launch on the Apple iPad, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, the iPod touch third generation, and Internet-enabled Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players.

Later this year, it will launch on the PS3, with support for the Xbox 360 coming in early 2011, Hulu said. Sony and Vizio TVs and Blu-Ray players will also be added in the fall.

Hulu Plus will initially be invite-only, and those interested can apply for an invite on the Hulu Plus Web site.

For more details, see the rest of this story on pcmag.com.

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Jun 28

Verizon Cuts Prices of Microsoft Kin Phones

Posted in: Smartphones, Today's Chili, verizon

Lower Kin price.JPGVerizon Wireless has quietly cut the price of both of Microsoft’s Kin phones, possibly to spur sales.

Verizon has now priced the Kin One at $29.99 after a $100 discount and agreeing to a two-year contract. The Kin Two, meanwhile, is now $49.99. Previously, the Kin One and Kin Two were priced at $49.99 and $99.99, respectively.

Microsoft launched the Kin One and Kin Two this past May, not as social networking phones, but as “underpowered smartphones,” in the words of the PCMag.com review. Both phones mark Microsoft’s first foray into the phone hardware arena, where far more established players such as Motorola and HTC have held sway.

Still, the phones are uniquely designed, boxy sliders designed to put one’s social ephemera right up front, before more traditional indicators such as the time, or even weather.

Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney told Bloomberg that the new
pricing is part of a broader set of price reductions and that it is
“comfortable” with the way the Kin is being accepted.

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Jun 28

Sprint Issues OTA Update for EVO 3G; Fixes Wi-Fi, Exchange

Posted in: Smartphones, Sprint, Today's Chili

HTC-Evo-4G.jpgSprint said Monday that it was currently pushing an over-the-air maintenance release to users of the Spring EVO 4G phone, with improvements to both Wi-Fi and Exchange.

The software version
1.47.651.1 can be either be manually downloaded by going to “Settings > System Updates > HTC
software update,” or it may be automatically pushed to the phone.

Below, Sprint lists what the update includes. Note that Sprint has also included an explicit warning about not trying this with a so-called “rooted” phone, as rendering it inoperable (bricking it) is a real concern. It also appears that two or three cycles may be common, before the phone boots back to the main OS desktop.

Update includes:

  • Improvements to Wi-Fi
    performance
  • Exchange Active Sync improvements, including fix to
    issues with new account setup, PIN policy usage and Exchange Calendar
    2010 Sync
  • Addresses Facebook sync issue which can improve
    battery performance

Download
Timing:

  • Customers will be notified that an update is
    available. The download will take a couple minutes (depending on the
    device connection) and the install will take a couple minutes which
    includes an automatic power cycle. Download will take a couple minutes
    if in 3g coverage.
  • HTC servers will push the OTA update on a
    daily basis.
  • FOTA server will check for old software version and
    prompt once a day on units without the latest firmware until customer
    accepts.

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Jun 28

Case-Mate Unveils Gelli, Vroom for iPhone 4

Posted in: Today's Chili
CaseMate Vroom.jpg
Case-Mate has announced their first two cases for the Apple iPhone 4: the Gelli, and the Vroom. These fun, fashionable cases combine protection and affordability, keeping your iPhone safe from harm while making a statement.
The Gelli ($19.99) is made of lightweight thermoplastic in your choice of six colors: clear, pink, Tomato Red, Aurora Yellow, Teal Blue, and gray. Each one has a subtle pattern and is impact and scratch resistant. 
The Vroom ($14.99) is a sporty black silicone case with a unique tire tread pattern that provides excellent grip for your iPhone 4. As with the Gelli, this form-fitting case covers the vulnerable sides and back of your new iPhone 4 while still leaving all of the buttons and ports accessible.
Both cases come with a screen protection kit for added resistance to screen damage. They are available for pre-order now at the Case-Mate web site and should be shipping within the next week.
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