Month: April 2010 (Page 4 of 7)

      iPhone OS 4 is gonna be awesome…if you have a 3GS

      April 13, 2010 /

      iPhone OS 4 multitasking.The iPhone OS 4 announcement was monumental. It’s bringing the long-awaited ability to multitask along with some customization options, organization options, and new search and content management features all over the operating system. It’s a fantastic update, but not everyone will be reaping the full benefits. In fact, the majority of the iPhone user base won’t get to all those new goodies.

      Apple has only approved the 3GS for a full OS 4 feature rollout. The original iPhone won’t get OS 4, period. The 3G will only get parts. Though it’s probably still worth it to make the upgrade, you’ll be missing the multi-tasking, the custom home screen backgrounds, and potentially some of the other processor intensive features. It’s not that big a surprise (though the wallpaper thing did catch me off guard) – the 3G has some trouble with the current OS – but it still sucks.

      It points to a problem that has longed plagued Apple customers – the update cycle. For Apple as a company it’s worked quite well. What better way to stick it to your fanboy friends than getting the newest version of that thing they’ve been hyping to you for six months. Hell hath no fury like a fanboy bested.

      Apple, iPhone, News

      10 Kick-Ass gadgets coming in 2010

      April 12, 2010 /

      Kick-Ass gadgets.I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer for Lionsgate’s upcoming Kick-Ass but it looks funny in that quirky, charming, kid-movie kind of way. We decided to put together a list of this year’s gadgets that will also kick some serious ass and put it up on our parent site, Bullz-Eye. The best part about the list is the fact that it does not include the iPad. Yes, Apple haters, if you want to enjoy a gadget list for the upcoming year without the world’s flavor of the month, this is your chance.

      I tried to cover a wide range of products so everyone could have something to love. Obviously Project Natal and Playstation Move are the big video game releases for the year, and though I didn’t use the iPad, the iPhone 4 is on there (sorry guys, iPhone OS 4 looks great). I’m also looking forward to the nPower PEG and MagicJack’s upcoming femtocell. On the whole, it’s going to be a pretty solid year for gadget geeks.

      Websites

      The femtocell situation

      April 12, 2010 /

      Microcell 3G.After Gizmodo posted a quick review of AT&T’s upcoming Microcell 3G, I wanted to take a look at the femtocell situation as a whole. By and large I think femtocells are a great idea. They provide a relatively low cost method for increasing your cell signal at home. The cost could be lower though, as in free, and would breed a lot of good blood between provider and consumer.

      As it stands there are a few options for a femtocell. There’s the AT&T Microcell 3G, which costs $150 plus $20/month if you opt for the unlimited Microcell minutes plan. Without a plan your femtocell minutes will be deducted from your monthly account as usual. You can get Sprint’s Airave, which runs $100 plus $15/month for unlimited calls on one line. MagicJack is also reportedly releasing a femtocell, which will likely be the most reasonable of the bunch, at an undisclosed unit cost and the $20/year service fee.

      It’s hard to fault MagicJack for the yearly fee since it isn’t a service provider, and yet it provides the best service out of any of these solutions. It seems odd, in the case of AT&T and Sprint to pay to use your existing broadband connection to send data more reliably than over the cellular network for which you also already pay. It reeks of customer extortion.

      Consider an alternative – AT&T says hey guys, we’re really sorry about our crappy network performance, but these femtocells will run you $50 one time, won’t count against your cellular minutes, and will drastically improve your home service since we’ve basically replaced your home phone anyway. Do you know how many people would buy one? Everyone. Every single person with a cellphone would get one of these things, and everyone would be a lot happier with their current service.

      You can bet people will flee from AT&T once the iPhone is available elsewhere. This is just another reason to leave.

      Mobile

      Palm’s Pre is the mobile hacker’s dream

      April 12, 2010 /

      Palm Pre getting hacked.As smartphones get more and more robust, hackers are looking for new ways to get the most from what have become powerful mobile computers. Manufacturers want to keep that from happening, though, which is why we have situations like the strict lockdown on the iPhone’s OS. There is one OS that still gives hackers the freedom they desire: Palm’s WebOS. With news that Palm could potentially be purchased, it’s sad to think this might all go away. In the meantime, though, it’s pretty damn cool.

      It turns out WebOS can be hacked to run virtually any Linux program. The proof of concept was done by installing OpenOffice on a Palm Pre. A Pre people! Okay, it’s not that exciting, but it is a neat discovery, even if it doesn’t have much practical application.

      The hack is much more involved than typical homebrew installs. You have to root the phone, install a new windows management system, modify the startup system, and then install everything using Debian. Why you would do all of this is beyond me but just knowing that you can has to feel good, right? Right guys? Palm users? Palm does have users…right?

      Source: PreCentral

      Mobile

      How do you beat Apple lawsuits? Buy Palm!

      April 11, 2010 /

      HTC vs. Palm.According to Bloomberg, Palm is for sale, and the top candidate might not be somebody you’d expect. HTC is currently the target of an Apple lawsuit claiming 20 counts of patent infringement on iPhone IP. Buying Palm could give Google’s handset maker of choice the patents it needs to fight the Apple suit. Smart play, fellas.

      HTC isn’t looking for hardware – it needs an operating system. As it stands, only Google and Apple have what is considered a modern mobile operating system (sorry, RIM, you aren’t even close). Unfortunately, HTC would probably only use the purchase to give it enough patents for a war with Apple, not because it actually thinks WebOS will go anywhere. Palm didn’t sell nearly enough handsets to keep the world interested in WebOS.

      HTC wants to avoid is a costly licensing settlement with Apple that could affect profits far into the future. Spending several hundred million dollars on a dying company could be the cheap alternative it’s been looking for.

      Mobile, News

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