Terence Huynh
06 October 2008, 17:44

The Nokia 5800, its answer to the Apple iPhone, will not launch in Australia or most developed markets during the Christmas shopping season. Instead, it will launch in India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia and Spain before the end of this year.
The phone will cost €279 (AU$498) before operator subsidies and taxes, making it cheaper than the Apple iPhone. Nokia is also hoping that it can ship more than 10 million touchscreen phones in 2009.
The delay has been said to be because of the interface adjustments for different operators; and since it uses a touchscreen interface, adjustments are much complex than other phones.
Terence Huynh
04 October 2008, 13:54
You can now use VoIP and Skype without jailbreaking your iPhone, thanks to Fring, a free mobile Voice-over-IP service, after releasing a brand new app for the Apple’s App Store. This means, basically, you can now make Skype-to-Skype calls on your iPhone.
As well as the Skype functionality, Fring will also allow you to chat (and call) your friends over on MSN, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo, Twitter, ICQ and its own service. While there are many VoIP applications out there in the App Store, this one shows much promise, since it uses different services, including its own.
VoIP applications are allowed on the iPhone, but they cannot be used on the 3G network – since it uses too much data to travel the call. It supports both iPod Touch and iPhone, but we will have a review as soon as I find a pair of iPod ready headphones with a microphone.
Terence Huynh
01 October 2008, 15:49
Adobe has reportedly confirmed to Flash Magazine that Flash is coming to the iPhone. Senior Director of Engineering Perter Betlem has said that it would be coming to the phone, but he said that it would be Apple that would “calls the shots as to when it’ll be available”.
"My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it’s a closed platform,” he said.
In mid-June, Adobe’s CEO has said the company had already gotten Flash running on a iPhone emulator, but did not mention which emulator but there is speculation it is the one included in the iPhone software development kit. Flash is not supported by many phones, since mobile processors have not been fast enough to handle the sites. Though there is a mobile version of Flash, dubbed the Flash Lite, it is still too much for the phone to handle.
Terence Huynh
29 September 2008, 23:41
Well, it looks like this is not going to die anytime soon. Meizu’s iPhone copycat, also known as the Meizu M8 cell phone is set to be released in China and India thanks to GeekITstores from December. The 8GB model is set to cost somewhere between US$380 and US$470, and will launch with “complete fanfare” – according to the press release.
It even says that it was a “better, cheaper alternative” for the iPhone customers in India; but hey, why get an iPod and a Phone together, when you can get an Windows Mobile smartphone in a iPhone-like theme. Full press release is after the jump.
Read More >
Terence Huynh
26 September 2008, 21:36

Hong Kong readers might actually be gleeful, as they will have the iPhone sold unlocked, meaning that they can use their current carrier to use the phone. They will be selling it for HK$ 5,400 (AU$841.10) for the 8GB, and HK$6,200 (AU$965.72) for the 16GB models.
Weirdly enough, there is already a carrier carrying the phone there – Hutchison (also known as 3) has sold the phone since July; but also, to complete the activation – you will be able to do it over iTunes. But if you are from mainland China, you will be out of luck – this only affects Hong Kong.
Lets see if they expand this to many more territories.
Terence Huynh
24 September 2008, 14:37

The Google Android OS has been released, and here is the first phone that will be using it - the T-Mobile G1. Announced at a press conference in New York, it is set to launch on October 22 for US$179 on a two-year contract, or US$399 contract-free. Existing customers will be getting it first, before giving it out to new customers.
However, those in the UK will get this phone in “early November”; and the phone will also launch in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2009, all under T-Mobile.
It will feature WiFi and 3G support, a 3 megapixel camera, and support for the Android Market and Amazon’s MP3 store - similar to the iPhone’s iTunes Music Store App and the Apps Store. Full specs below:
- WiFi, HSDPA 1700/2100 and quadband EDGE connections
- 3D graphics acceleration
- 1GB on-board storage, with microSD support
- 3-megapixel camera, but cannot record video.
- Android Market (apps store) and Amazon MP3 app (music store)
- All of Google services; including push Gmail support
- Google Maps with Street View
- Full HTML client
- Bluetooth (no A2DP)
- No Microsoft Exchange support
- No desktop sync
Terence Huynh
24 September 2008, 0:29
Microsoft has told some of its hardware partners that it has delayed Windows Mobile 7, the much anticipated upgrade to its cell phone operating system, according to CNET. Though Microsoft never said when it would be released, partners were expecting to have the final release by early next year to combat the threat of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android OS.
Among the features that are widely rumoured to be in the next version include advanced gesture recognition and speech input, with the help of its Tellme unit. As well, Internet Explorer for Mobile is expected to be improved, allowing it to display rich Web pages – including those containing Flash or Ajax content.
Terence Huynh
23 September 2008, 11:32
SanDisk and the four big major record labels (Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner) have said they will be releasing 1GB microSD cards with music preloaded, with Best Buy and Walmart to sell the new cards. It will also come with a USB “sleeve” to ensure “seamless interoperability” with all computers.
It suppose to allow you to buy the card and then play it on your mobile phone – too bad that the iPhone doesn’t have a microSD slot. Anyway, don’t expect them to become the next big thing just yet – because of iTunes, Amazon, free streaming music sites like Grooveshark, etc.
The good news is that the MP3s will be encoded at 320kbps – a very high quality bitrate, and all the music will be DRM-free – which means you can just drag and drop the music off the card into iTunes.
Full press release is after the jump.
Read More >
Terence Huynh
22 September 2008, 19:07
Vodafone has launched the first unlimited music download service in Australia, allowing customers to an infinite number of songs for $2.75 a week accessing content from all four major record labels – Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner Music – along with a range of independent artists.
Dubbed the “Vodafone MusicStation”, the subscription will be charged on a weekly basis (meaning you’ll cough up $11 per month for the service) and you can switch it off at any time – but there is a catch, the music you download will be disabled until you resume the plan; not even iTunes would go that far.
This DRM is, well, idiotic for a mobile company to do – its just basically music streaming but the file is in your phone’s storage. It’s basically worthless, and it just won’t make a difference to the already increasing number of piracy in the recording industry – especially when you can’t play the music after cancelling your subscription.
However, Vodafone has a solution – spend more dollars on their Vodafone Live! service to get the song permanently on your phone, which might be okay – but not to those who have a 100MB limit on their 3G downloads. That’s like 16 songs you’ll have to download twice – one to see if you like it, and another to keep it on your phone if you cancel your subscription.
However, this service will be joined with Nokia – who would be launching their Nokia Comes With Music initiative to Australia, and some are saying that Apple may get into the business. Nokia’s service is bundled with the phone, with a one-year unlimited subscription. However, renewing it requires you to buy another phone; but at least the music will still be playable afterwards.
Terence Huynh
20 September 2008, 23:25
Apple has today announced in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico and several other Latin America countries that it will be recalling its Ultracompact USB Power Adapter after concerns that they are prone to breaking in certain conditions, causing a risk of an electric shock.
Currently, Apple has two versions of the adapters. If you’re one has a green dot on the bottom (as seen on the above right), you have been given a redesigned adapter – thus you will need not to change it. If not, you can exchange it at a local Apple Retail Store or order it via the web. You will also need your iPhone 3G serial number as part of the exchange process,
There have not been any reported cases of any injuries, but Apple has warned users not to use the adapters. This recall does not affect anyone outside the countries mentioned, nor the original iPhone.