Cell Phone Hub

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

BlueSky Positioning looks to have taken advantage of the altogether too cleverly-named SIMposium conference to trot out what is surely its biggest product to date: a complete GPS system embedded on a SIM card, The Register reports. Partly responsible for that shrinkage is the use of Assisted GPS (or A-GPS) instead of standard GPS, although they still had to contend with some serious power consumption challenges and the small matter of actually getting a signal. That was apparently accomplished by using the cellphone itself as a makeshift antenna, which supposedly provides just enough of a signal when the SIM card comes into contact with it. While its seems to have gotten the size right, BlueSky's SIM card does currently fall short in a few fey areas, failing to pass ISO tests for flexibility and robustness. That doesn't seem to be holding 'em back, however, with the first production samples reportedly on track for June.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

We're still not totally sold on the "trust us, you don't need a physical keypad" angle that LG and Apple are taking as of late, but it seems that LG's betting we will be with a pair of patent apps filed this month. The first, aptly-named "Mobile communication terminal having multiple displays and a data processing method thereof," essentially describes a handset consisting of two touch displays that can be operated in a variety of configurations. We've seen phones like this before so we're not too sure what new tech LG is bringing to the table here, but hey, if a top-5 manufacturer wants to starting churning them out, we're all for it. The second patent, "Mobile terminal providing graphic user interface and method of providing graphic user interface using the same," suggests a touchscreen UI involving the use of dynamic icons (picture the items on your phone's menus moving around the screen randomly -- no frustration factor there!) that react in interesting ways to user's choices. Any firmware update for our KE850 on that one, LG?

[Via Unwired View]

Read - Dual-display phone
Read - Animated touch UI

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

With services like NTT DoCoMo's FeliCa-based Osaifu-Keitai in Japan and Mifare deployed through much of Europe, perhaps one of the last great hurdles to widespread acceptance of phone-based e-wallets is a lack of standardization. Either that, or most people don't feel the need to pay for things by tapping their phone on various devices, but we digress; the point is that the GSM Association has now taken up the cause of getting everyone on the same page with its global "Pay-Buy Mobile" initiative. We really mean global, too -- among a slew of carriers, AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and KTF are on board, representing the US, Japan, Europe, and South Korea, respectively, and the manufacturer camp counts Nokia, Samsung, and LG as its members. The first Pay-Buy Mobile trials are schedule to kick off this October, a schedule that is probably helped along by the availability of existing software and chips from Sony and NXP and the GSMA's pledge to build off financial institutions' existing NFC initiatives. We can't promise we'll use it -- but yeah, if it's secure, go ahead and build it into our phones, folks.

[Via Phone Scoop]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Hot on the heels of Nokia's own bus stop gimmick comes none other than Solo, which has erected a clever display on a number of waiting areas to allow perfect strangers to yap it up on giant mobiles. The interactive billboards each sport a larger-than-usual flip phone, which allows curious onlookers to mash an enlarged walkie talkie button and get on the horn with a faraway stranger. The active two-way radio setup was reportedly installed in transit shelters in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary, and the system supposedly connects users in the different cities to one another when a conversation is initiated. Unfortunately, Engadget HQ doesn't happen to reside in the land of the Canucks, so for our brethren in the north, why not stop on by and give a shout to a fellow Canadian, eh?

[Via Core77]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Household, Wireless

Trust the folks at NTT-Neomeit (an NTT West group subsidiary) to find new and even cooler ways to use your cell phones -- and we're thinking this is off-the-scale cool -- it seems Neomeit is not happy with you simply watching TV, listening to music, or playing games with your cell, so they have busted out whole-home automation from your pocket. Using a web interface on your phone, commands are sent to a wireless router in your home which are relayed to either a remote control power switch, or an infrared transmitter. The scenarios where this could be useful are pretty endless, from turning on lights, recording a show you didn't setup or even setting fire to the entire home lighting up the Xmas tree as you arrive home to wow the family. The same page will also allow for device usage monitoring, so you can see what's what when you are away from home. A beta trial will get underway in May with launch expected in September for about $4 a month. Sweet!

[Via Pinktentacle.com]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Apple's Q2 financial results are in, and along with the almost predictable profit and sales achievements -- $855 million in profits, 34% year over year growth, $12.6 billion cash on hand... you know, the usual -- Apple fleshed out a few details about two of its "closed" platforms, the iPhone and the Apple TV. Apple promises to "surprise and delight" users of both with new applications and software features as they go along, many of which will be free. Apple also noted that it's using "subscription accounting" to make sure it doesn't have to relive that 802.11n scenario of charging a nominal fee for upgrades. When asked about how widely the iPhone will be available in June, Apple didn't have a whole lot to say, other than they won't be able to predict demand until they start shipping -- we predict they'll sell a few.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Engadget Mobile's got a nice little internal Q&A for AT&T employees about the you-know-what. We won't spoil the surprise, head on over and check it out.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

We've been salivating a bit since hearing the BlackBerry 8830 would be released sometime in May on Verizon Wireless, and our dreams appear to be coming to fruition. Hey, a BlackBerry with 2GB microSD support and possible built-in iTunes got our heads rockin' -- what can we say? With word on the street that Telus (in Canada) and Verizon (U.S.) would be the first carriers to get the new 8830, this morning's news confirmed it. Both Verizon and RIM announced today that the CDMA / GSM worldphone is coming to Verizon Wireless on May 14. If you're into a full QWERTY BlackBerry with CDMA EV-DO support in addition to GSM / GPRS (900 and 1,800 MHz only), you're about to be rewarded for your patience. Sprint customers will have to wait until July -- but starting tomorrow, interested customers can pre-register at the carrier's site.

Read - Verizon press release
Read - Sprint pre-registration (starting April 26)

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Symbian is back in the news this morning after another night of promiscuity. Having been spotted shacking-up with with LG and Google just yesterday, the Nokia bedfellow was just outed with this cutie, Samsung's new SGH-i400 smartphone. It's not the first Samsung S60 slider we've seen, nor will it be the last. In addition to some pretty bold "symbian OS" branding in the upper-right corner, the i400 brings a regular ol' 2 megapixel camera, dedicated MP3 key, stereo speakers, A2DP Bluetooth, MicroSD expansion, and support for full web browsing on its 2.3-inch "wide display." No word on a 3G radio here so we'll have to assume the worst (tri-band GSM/EDGE). We do know that it'll make its debut in Russia in July and then "other European countries" shortly thereafter. Hey Russia, welcome to Europe!

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!