The Buzz on new Cell Phones

iPad pre-orders are just starting to ship out and Best Buy is getting prepped, but Apple’s just posted up a whole slew of its Guided Tours to hold you over until April 3. Sadly, we’re not seeing any entries for “How Do You Type While Standing Up” or “Why Do I Need A $30 Dongle To Get A USB Port On This Thing,” but the entries for Mail, Safari, iBooks, and the rest do include some revealing new information — and it certainly seems that tap-and-hold will be a big part of the UI paradigm. We’re still watching them all — let us know if you see anything interesting in comments.

Update: Okay, here’s the new stuff we’ve seen so far:

• iBooks has an integrated search feature, a built-in brightness control, and a dictionary that can pull up any word just by tapping on it. The same dictionary is in Pages, too — we’re assuming it’s a system-wide feature available to any app, just like on Mac OS X. We’ve been told in the past that it supports user dictionaries and spellcheck, but we’ll see what actually ends up shipping.
• There’s a quick mention of connecting the iPad to your home stereo in the iPod video, but no mention of streaming to the Airport Express or an Apple TV. There’s a big missed opportunity.
• Typing with one hand on the portrait keyboard in Pages looks just as silly as you’d expect.
• Numbers has a special formula keyboard.
• Tap and hold is everywhere, and unlike the iPhone, the UI has “windows,” which are detailed info panes that float above the main app interface. The iWork apps also all have a “menu bar” area in the upper right that contain several options. You can see how interacting with an iPad will be familiar but still quite different than using an iPhone — depending on the apps, of course.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

We’ve heard various rumors over the past year or so that T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telekom was looking for someone to look over its fledgling American wireless provider, either in the form of a partnership or an outright buyout. Now, many moons later, the company has felt compelled to set those rumors to rest — possibly because it couldn’t find any interested parties. Rene Obermann, Chairman of the Management Board at Deutsche Telekom, believes there is room for four major wireless players in the US (T-Mo is number four, currently) and asks the question: “Why can’t you have penetration rates of 500 percent or 1,000 percent?” The idea here is that, as more and more devices go wireless, people are going to need more and more wireless plans to cover them. But 10 separate wireless plans per person? That sounds ’spensive.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Not everything can be an Android smartphone, fellas… sometimes you just need an unobtrusive design, maybe some social networking connectivity, and a modest price point. That’s what the Samsung U820 says to the world. Barely a blip on our radar when we came across the FCC filing at the beginning of the year, this QWERTY slider features a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel still camera with video capture, headset jack, MicroSD card slot, browser, the Communities social networking widget, and for your UI (dis)satisfaction, TouchWiz 2.0. Available at the end of April 30 in the $80 - $100 range on Verizon.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode — which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you’re some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you’re in luck — the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available — officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 — hit the source link to get started.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Look away now, Droid owners, as Motorola’s finally uploaded the Milestone’s Android 2.1 firmware update to its servers. It’s only officially sanctioned for users in Hong Kong and Macau for now, but judging by the inclusion of a Dutch language pack in the new firmware, it looks like it’s the same stuff that will shortly be rolling out all across Europe as well. In addition to the funky live wallpapers, users will also get a new feature called Motorola Car Home — a special interface for in-car usage — along with some speed improvements. Now, we’re not exactly sure what the rollout plan is for each nation, but Moto’s Facebook page tells us we’ll see an end to the Milestone’s upgrade saga before March is through. The source contains a direct link to the fresh firmware file, and you can find a straightforward upgrade how-to at Android World below. We’ll be right here for your upgrade stories.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

hello blog world. this is socialgeek, one new addition to the AG team! i hope that this is the beginning to a wonderful partnership!

the second new addition i am talking about is the iPad. everyone seems to be super hyped up about it. i am definitely looking forward to it’s release and seeing all of it nifty features and amazing speed. i also hope that there are a lot of iPad accessories on the market soon. the one’s that i have seen on review(s) from various sources are very basic with no flare. i love individualization these days. having something mainstream but making yours. i think the iPad has a lot of potential and hope that it is awesome as i have heard it is.

No need to spot clean your spectacles, and no need to brush the cobwebs out of your dome — you really are seeing yet another IR dongle for Apple’s dear iLineup. Hot on the heels of New Potato’s FLPR, ThinkFlood’s RedEye mini and Power A’s solution comes this: an all-too-similar way to convert your iPod touch, iPhone or forthcoming iPad into a universal remote. Functionality wise, there’s really nothing here that the other guys don’t provide, though the beefed-up database of over 40,000 IR codes should make setting up your system a breeze. Users simply plug this into their dock connector, download the free application from the App Store and then dial up whatever components they have; once loaded, the IR beamer should do the rest, nixing the need to keep those 40 remotes around. It’s expected to start shipping any day now for $69.95.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Verizon seems to have posted a PDF listing some of the improvements in the yet-to-be-released Motorola DROID 2.1 update. The update has a version number of AP: ESE53/BP: C_01.3E.03P and goes on to list a litany of improvements and added features:

Enhancements

• Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the browser, Gallery, and Google Maps.
• New Weather and News application plus widget.
  • The Weather and News app pulls the information you want from the
    Web and brings it to your fingertips. You get weekly and hourly
    weather forecasts based on your location, and news headlines.
• New support for voice-to-text entry.
  • Whenever a text-entry box appears, simply tap the microphone icon on the virtual keyboard and speak.
• New Gallery application with 3D layout. View and share photos taken with your phone and images from your online Picasa Web albums.
• Live Wallpapers offer richer animated, interactive backgrounds on the
  home screen. Access them with a long press anywhere on the home screen. Tap Wallpapers, then Live Wallpapers.

Improvements

• Free Yahoo!® Mail is now supported—simply sign in with your Yahoo! email address and password.
• Google Maps update
  • Personalized suggestions and synchronized starring with
    desktop maps.google.com.
    • Starred items are stored and synced automatically between Google
      Maps on your device and maps.google.com on your computer, making it easy to search for places you’ve searched for before.
  • New night mode in Google Maps Navigation automatically changes the screen at night for easier viewing.
• Improved pattern-lock functionality.
• Improved handset audio when disconnecting a wired headset.
• Email accounts no longer need to be re-entered after an over-the-air update.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Microsoft kicked off MIX 2010 this morning with a keynote that revealed some juicy details for developers waiting to dive into the Windows Phone 7 Series platform. As expected, Windows Phone 7 Series will make use of Silverlight for application development and XNA for game development. Features available for developers include:

• Accelerometer support
• Microsoft Location Service to provide developers with a single point of reference to acquire location information
• Microsoft Notification Service for pushing information to the phone, regardless of whether or not an application is running
• Hardware-accelerated video with digital rights management (DRM)
• Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for the industry’s highest quality content viewing experience
• Multitouch
• Camera and microphone support

To get developers on board quickly and easily, Microsoft is offering a suite of free developer tools which include Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone 7 Series, a free add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC, XNA Game Studio 4.0, Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing, and a version of Expression Blend for Windows Phone. Microsoft is also stepping up its game in the app store department by offering a panoramic design (it will look sleek), try before you buy option, one-time credit card charges for app purchases, mobile carrier billing and ad-supported applications. Lest you think the app store will be a barren wasteland at launch, the list of application partners is impressive and include media moguls like Associated Press, gaming giants like NAMCO and EA Mobile, streaming media stars like Pandora and Sling, popular start-ups like Foursquare and Seesmic, and a host of others including Weatherbug, PopCap games, SPB Software and more. Anyone else get the feeling that Microsoft means business this time around?

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Last month, Verizon Wireless and Skype announced their exclusive partnership in the U.S., along with their plans to bring Skype’s popular VoIP calling and messaging service to your Verizon cell phone. Now, through the miracle of animation — and the help of a woman with a really high pitched voice — Verizon and Skype are shedding a little light on how Skype integration will work on your phone. The video doesn’t get too in-depth, but we do learn that Skype calls will arrive to your Verizon Wireless handset just as normal calls do and the Skype application will run, always on, in the background. The two companies also confirm that Skype calls will not be charged against the minutes in your mobile plan and users of Skype Out will be able to leverage competitive international calling rates from their handset. This got us thinking: we don’t have enough Skype contacts to justify leaving Skype running all day chewing up battery life, but how about you? Do you have a Skype contact list full of friends you are itching to talk to?

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com