Hasta La Gadget!

Spanish blog MuyComputer claims that Microsoft will present the “Zune Phone” this February, at the MWC in Barcelona. According to them, it’s 100% confirmed. Since the phone will use Tegra, Nvidia will team with Microsoft for the anti-JesusPhone debut.

Talking to the blog editorial director Javier Pérez Cortijo, he told me that “the Zune Phone presentation at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress 2010 is 100% confirmed.” I’ve been a close friend of Javier for a couple of decades—he was my first editor—and I completely trust his sources and his judgement, so this is a good one.

As we’ve heard before, this isn’t actually going to be a “Zune Phone” in that it’s Zune, with a phone attached. It’s going to be Windows Mobile 7 with Zune software, just like how the iPhone has iPod software on it. The presentation of the Windows Mobile 7 at MWC 2010, which we’ve been hearing about for a few months now, seems to be inline with the mention of three phones in the Zune software last week, and previous rumors about its introduction.

MuyComputer says that the phone will have a 480 x 272 screen, HDMI video out, and weigh around 2.45 ounces (70 grams). [MuyComputer – In Spanish]

The image is a mockup, not the real thing

Curious folks around the world enjoy a bit of hackintosh every now and then (although once is enough for many), but no geek has successfully ventured as far as Toni Nikkanen of Finland, who became the first person to run OS X on a phone — the Nokia N900. As you can see in the video after the break, Toni’s hack relies on PearPC — a PowerPC emulator — to install good ol’ OS X 10.3 (Panther), but the mammoth sluggishness means it’s far from usable. Still, if you can spare 90 minutes for each boot-up plus plenty more for the snail-paced cursor, then head to the source to learn from Herra Nikkanen.

[Thanks, Matija]

Continue reading Mac OS X 10.3 installed on Nokia N900 via PearPC, barely usable for impatient geeks

Mac OS X 10.3 installed on Nokia N900 via PearPC, barely usable for impatient geeks originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If spotty cell coverage has you furious and you’re thinking of getting a satellite phone, you’ll soon have one more option. Inmarsat, a satellite communications company based in London, announced today that it has made the first call on its network using the new IsatPhone Pro handset. The phone was built with partner Sasken Communications Technologies.

With the successful first call test completed, the company is on track to launch the phone and service in June, 2010. “The first call is a significant milestone, and we’re very pleased with the voice quality in initial tests,” said Helen Stalker, commercial director of global satellite phone services.

The company is targeting government, media, aid, oil and gas, mining, and construction professionals. For more info, check out the Inmarsat site.

By my last count, I regularly carry as many as five different devices in my bag, with lots of overlapping functions. But I seldom want to carry more than two, and one of those is always going to be a phone. As good as today’s phones are, however, I’m still left wanting. I use of a lot of different phones in the course of my work and while the perfect device still doesn’t exist for me, we’re getting very close. Here’s what I’d like to see in my next phone — and I’d like it this year, please.

First, the table stakes. It’s got have a great voice capability — I want to make crystal clear calls and never drop them. It’s also go to have perfect contact and calendar features, a modern web browser, and an email client optimized for both Exchange and Gmail. Of course, a robust set of third party applications are a must, including a good RSS reader that syncs to Google Reader and a great version of Tetris.

Continue reading Entelligence: Here’s what I want in my next phone

Entelligence: Here’s what I want in my next phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard (ever-so-briefly) about ENUM before, which is generally described as an IETF-sanctioned standard for converting traditional phone numbers into IP addresses. But for the most part, even techies would say that they aren’t exactly up to speed on what the protocol offers and / or promises. ArsTechnica has spent a good while underneath the mire, and it has arisen with an in-depth article that spells out how the standard can neatly collate a variety of contact options (email address, mobile number, home line, Facebook account, ICQ name, etc.) into a single address that’s recognizable by the internet that we so dearly love. In fact, user ENUM even has the capability to rank contact options by priority, so you could hit someone up via the mobile first and their Twitter account second should they not answer. The issue, however, is that the ‘”ENUM standard (RFC 3761) demands that ENUM is a public service and that the control of the telephone number lies in the hands of the end-user,” and it doesn’t take an economist to understand why ISPs and carriers wouldn’t be fond of this. Indeed, just nine nations have an ENUM registry in production, and the future isn’t looking too bright for the rest of us. Don’t fret, though — chances are Google will have this whole “multiple contact” thing ironed out before the next decade rolls around.

ENUM: it’s the new telephone number, but it’s going nowhere fast originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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