For those who are wondering why the original Vodafone Access Gateway failed (no, not because it’s called a VAG), it is a simple matter of redundancy. After all, would you really use 3G when you are at home?
Chances are, accessing the web from your house would simply mean logging unto your WiFi network with your laptop or even from your desktop. Since most smart phones can log into WiFi, low 3G speeds and even weak signals do not pose much of problem since you have a different network option. Unless it’s a major emergency and you suddenly lose your internet connection, going online via 3G is rarely done a home.
So why is Vodafone renaming the old 3G booster and selling it at a really low price?
It can be for varied reasons; the most common answer that businessmen would say is that disposing of old stocks would be the most likely scenario. After all, the booster was originally priced at a solid £160 with a monthly £5 fee. Now anyone who wants to get the newly named Sure Signal Femtocell simply has to dole out £50 for the gadget sans the monthly fee.
There is however, another good reason why Vodafone might be bringing out this technology again. That is in preparation for the Nexus One. As many may already know, the Google phone has been having problems connecting to 3G networks. With the Femtocell, the chances of the device jumping between EDGE and 3G networks are less.
So far, it is hard to see if people really want this 3G signal booster at home. While piggybacking the connection on broadband internet may seem like a clever idea, it is pointless especially when your device can simply just connect straight to the internet via a WiFi router instead. People should just cut the middle man and save £50.
Archive for January, 2010
Pushing Redundant Technology: Vodafone’s Femtocell
Thursday, January 21st, 2010More Details About Windows Mobile 7 Revealed
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
As the days to the Mobile World Conference this February draw closer, more and more details about Microsoft’s new mobile operating system is being announced. While many are not expecting the tech giant to say a word about this much delayed OS in MWC, the amount of info and news regarding the OS is showing that the system might be closer to completion than originally thought.
Recent reports show that Windows Mobile 7 will have two types; a business edition with stripped down features and added new capabilities for office users and a more general public friendly version called the media version. It has been said that the media version will come with HD capability and integrated social networking applications. The new OS is said to be using an interface very much like the Zune.
Xbox Live Games, recently unveiled, will be making its debut on WinMo 7 as well. It has yet to be seen if it will later be retro fitted to work with older Windows Mobile versions. Speaking of compatibility, a big hurdle awaits users of WinMo 7 as the new system will no longer support any application made for older 6.X versions of Windows Mobile. This will definitely leave a lot of older WinMo users discouraged from upgrading to the new OS.
With the general stats on the OS already out, it is no surprise that there are already two confirmed WinMo devices that will launch by this coming autumn. First in line is the HTC Obsession, a big upgrade over the three leaked HTC WinMo phones last year (Photon, Trophy and Tera), the Obsession will have a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and possibly, HD video.
Another confirmed WinMo 7 phone is the LG Apollo which will come with the recently announced dual core Snapdragon running at 1.3 GHz and a 10 mega pixel camera with full HD video recording capability.
The Next Big Android: Motorola Shadow
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
While we all have been busy looking at the awesome wonder that is the Nexus One and have been looking forward to the release of the other Snapdragon powered Android phones such as the HTC Bravo with its 720p HD recording and the massive XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson, Motorola has been busy working on its own super Android device.
Meet the Motorola Shadow. This sexy looking phone (just look at the pictures) is promising to be one of the most interesting Android devices of this year yet. The phone will come with a full slide out QWERTY keyboard that will enable users to type long messages, emails and blog posts without tiring out their fingers with the on screen virtual keyboard.
The phone will come with a large 4.3 inch screen with a resolution of 852 x 480. The most interesting feature is that this phone will come with its own HDMI port, allowing you to play back the videos you shoot with its 8 mega pixel 1080p video capturing camera. So far, this is the highest HD recording capability seen in a mobile device.
Motorola’s Android and keyboard combo has started with the successful DROID (known locally as the Milestone). Despite the device not marketed for business class users, the presence of a keyboard provided an additional functionality to the device that many users enjoyed.
Big on the rumor mill are reports that the Motorola Shadow is actually the upcoming Nexus Two. While it has already been said that the next Android phone would have a physical QWERTY keyboard; neither Motorola nor Google has made any claims to support this belief. If this is to follow the trend of the HTC Bravo and the HTC Nexus One, then we might expect to see Motorola’s Nexus Two to have similar specs to the Shadow sans the HD recording capabilities.
Nexus One’s Successor is Already Being Groomed
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Landmark mobile devices such as Google’s Nexus One will always get a sequel; after all, this is the very first Google phone that the world has ever seen. It even comes with a high-speed Snapdragon processor and has some amazing voice-recognition features. So why is Google so keen on moving on to the next device at such an early stage?
The answer may be in the fact that the Nexus One is doing pretty badly in terms of sales. Honestly, if Google wanted it to succeed, they should just have stores retail and network operators subsidize their phones instead of isolating sales channels through the online store.
Anyway, that aside, there are now reports –and rumors about a new Nexus device. Enter the Motorola Shadow, a keyboard toting, large screened mobile phone that is being considered by many as the Nexus Two.
Motorola made its mark in the Android history by being the first company to release an Android 2.0 device (DROID in the US and later renamed and launched as Milestone in the UK). While no explanations has been given as to why Motorola had dibs on the (then) new Android OS, it comes as to no surprise that their close ties to Google now has the company making the second Google phone. HTC, maker of the first Nexus One, has its ties to Google with the very first Android phone, the HTC Dream (known now as the G1).
While neither Motorola nor Google has confirmed that the Shadow will indeed be the new Nexus phone, the keyboard-bearing Android is in line with earlier reports that the next device to follow the Nexus One would be an enterprise edition model that would have a QWERTY keyboard.
Regardless if this new device becomes a Google branded Nexus sequel or simply Motorola’s latest addition to the Android line, this supped-up Milestone will definitely be a device worth having.
Samsung Sticking to the Low budget Market
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
It will be quite a while before we see a fully fledged Samsung Bada phone and with the Omnia and Galaxy series devices already out, it looks like all new devices coming from Samsung will be made for the low budget market.
The two upcoming Diva phones as well as another addition to the Corby series has been reported to be UK bound. The Divas are confirmed while the Corby Folder clamshell phone is expected to get a name change prior to its UK move.
Speaking of the Diva, it seems like clamshell phones are the big thing for Samsung. Despite the fact that the clamshell design has not been much of a big hit outside of Japan (where almost every NTT DoCoMo phone is a clamshell), there are fans of the unique form factor. Many also claim that clamshells do not break as much as slider phones.
Samsung’s Corby series sold plenty of units thanks to its younger target market. The device was designed and priced specifically for the needs of the younger mobile phone user making it an invaluable investment for many users. This series of mobile phones is better known locally in the UK as the Genio.
Late last year, a new addition to the Corby line up came in the form of a revamped Genio Touch that supported 3G and WiFi –to continue this new feature in the series, the Folder will also have full support for 3G networks. The device has been confirmed to support Bluetooth devices and also has a slot for a microSD card.
The success of the Genio in Europe and across the world (as the Corby) has made it almost fully certain that the Folder will definitely make it outside of Korea. For now, the Folder is set only for within Samsung’s native country.
No Backward Compatibility for WinMo 7
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Some rumors can be quite promising, such as the upcoming dual core Snapdragon which will bring speeds of up to 1.5 GHz possible on mobile devices (well, its semi-confirmed now) and that new Motorola Shadow which might just be the much awaited high end Android with QWERTY keyboard phone.
On the other hand, some rumors are pretty disappointing; such as the report that the new Windows Mobile 7 will not be backwards compatible with applications for older WinMo versions.
Applications, as many smart phone users already know, are the key components that make mobile phones truly worth having. The functional and entertainment value of application are what makes app stores so successful (and also the very same reason why WinMo phone users have been demanding that Microsoft open up an app store for them –the WinMo Marketplace app store was only opened recently).
Anyway, this means that even if you can update your existing WinMo phone to version 7, it still means that you will not be able to access your old application files. Losing game records is one thing, but losing access to new documents and media that has been created by third party applications is another. If this is true, WinMo 7 risks alienating existing WinMo users.
For Microsoft, this means more profit as new WinMo 7 users would have to purchase new applications. For customers and developers, this means that more resources will have to be used. Developers of applications will have to re-write their apps to be compatible with version 7.
It is a given that a new version of an operating system will not be fully compatible with older applications (such as the Firefox Browser and old add-ons), but general support and compatibility is still needed.
Microsoft has yet to make an official statement regarding this; let us all hope that this rumor stays as a rumor.
Integrating Phone Masts to Architecture
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Functionality versus aesthetics; it is a harsh topic, but very few find it hard to understand until it hits close to home. Take CLOWD for example, UK’s very own organization for the limitation of having onshore wind farms. Sure, we all say that having green energy is important and it will save the world, but when people have to start compromising their view of the landscape, the stands begin to change and people start saying no to what would have been a good solution.
Anyway, on a lesser scale, the mobile phone industry is also prone to getting into fits of criticism and disapproval. Many 3G users (and in particular, iPhone users) often complain of weak signals, low coverage and other factors, but when somebody puts up a phone mast on the roof across their apartment window, it becomes a major problem. Even the Church of England was not spared, despite the church itself approving of the plan (it would increase dwindling church profits), many people protested to the idea of having phone masts on the house of worship.
Fortunately, as stubborn as we all are as a human species, we are also very innovative. Robert Voit has spent the last seven years travelling and taking photographs of the world’s most interesting phone masts. Not because of the signal power or the technological specs of the masts themselves, but because of how they look.
Phone masts cleverly designed to match with their surroundings have been masquerading as cacti, dead trees, palm trees (really tall one at that), and pine trees –well maybe not masquerading, but the idea is ingenuous. After all, no one would really mind if they do not see what they deem to be an eyesore.
Now if only those wind turbines can be made to look like giant redwoods.
Windows Mobile 6.6 Coming, Still no Version 7
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Microsoft has been dangling version 7 right in front of everyone in the mobile phone community for the longest time. But with the nearly impossible to use WinMo 6.5 and the ever constant delays, MS cannot possibly expect that they can still get people excited.
Anyway, the new WinMo 6.6 is coming instead of a full version 7. Despite the fact that a lot of people have already expressed disappointment with most incarnations of version 6, the series is still alive until now. Whether we see MS announcing the device this coming February at the mobile world congress remains to be seen but we are expecting the company to deliver more evasive answers when the topic of WinMo 7 is brought up.
Anyway, 6.5 just got updated to 6.5.3 recently and it will now support finger input a little better. Despite the slight adjustment, it still will not save the OS. Should 6.6 be a full capacitive touch-screen conversion of the OS, then MS might be on to something.
Right now, the only devices using WinMo 6.5 worth having are those from HTC. The HTC HD2 uses its own Sense user interface to enable users to access all the features of Windows Mobile without having to use WinMo itself. The same goes for three more upcoming HTC devices, the Trophy, Photon and Tera. The three new phones will use the HTC TouchFlo interface instead of Sense.
Other WinMo phones are not doing well. Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X2 just got booted out of Vodafone’s 2010 line up. The device was supposed to be launched last December but got delayed to January. Vodafone has since then deemed the device’s issues too hard to deal with. The HD2 also got taken out of Vodafone’s direct sales list; they now offer the device exclusively to business class buyers.
Give Your Kids Something Else to Blame, for 59p
Monday, January 18th, 2010
What is the cost of harmony these days?
It is a common fact that misbehavior requires a degree of discipline in order to correct. While punishments are not made for the benefit of the parent, it is too common for children to misinterpret the disciplinary sanction as a corrective measure.
Meet the “Wheel of Doom”, a silly little iPhone application that gives users a roulette wheel of punishments ranging from simple measures such as taking a “time out”, to seriously devious ones such as “No Videogames”.
The app is not meant to help come up with punishments; after all, it does not take a creative mind to come up with “No Dessert”. Instead the app is intended to be used as a buffer for the parent.
It is important for children to understand that it is not by their parent’s hands that they are being punished, but through their own misdoings. However, when parents have to enforce a punishment, children will direct their anger at the parent, thereby losing perspective of the situation. Too often children will hate being told to “go to bed early” and will just keep hating the parent because of it. Having the application will give the children something else to blame for the misfortune of not being able to watch TV (or whichever punishment they receive).
For 59p, this is still a very expensive application. All it contains is a single rotating wheel and multi-colored panels –hardly anything a developer would have problems creating. While the concept is ingenious, there are plenty of other ways to properly discipline a child.
The bottom line, get this app only if you feel that you really need it. Despite the sense behind the idea, there is also the fact that parents should learn how to properly discipline their children without the use of contraptions.
Bravo to Arrive Earlier than Expected
Monday, January 18th, 2010
3 Sweden has released reports that the HTC Bravo will be released on March 2010 (sadly, no prices are confirmed as of yet). This is a major update from the initial announcement that the uber Android smart phone will be released on April. The one month difference may not seem like much to some, but in the mobile industry it can mean a big difference. Take the case of the XPERIA X2, it was delayed for a month and now, Vodafone has taken the device off the shelf, never to offer it again –apparently.
Anyway, there may seem to be more to this news than just a quickly completed phone. Many of you may have already read the reports that Apple is planning to have an announcement scheduled for April-May. While the company has a habit of making iPhone-related announcements during June/July, it seems like the competition between Google and Apple has forced the two companies to show their hands much earlier.
The HTC Bravo first showed itself to the public when a document regarding the HTC 2010 lineup got leaked last year. The leak showed the main specifications of the Bravo, showing off its Snapdragon Processor, AMOLED capacitive touch screen and of course, the 5 mega pixel 720 p video recording camera. Included in the list are four more Android phones, the Legend, Buzz, Salsa and Tide -as well as three WinMo phones: Photon, Trophy and Tera.
The Nexus One shares many of the specs of the Bravo, such as the CPU and the touch screen, though it lacks the HD recording capability. Right now, the N-one is not doing so well in its first few weeks, and unless Google makes the device easier to avail of and starts fixing the problems in the phone people might start turning to the Bravo instead.