Cell Phone Hub

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

In the latest major twist in this epic battle between wireless chipmakers, a US District Judge has slapped a permanent injunction on any products containing those Qualcomm 3G chips ruled to be infringing on Broadcom's so-called '686 patents. Not only can Qualcomm no longer offer infringing devices nor the chips themselves in the US, the retroactive nature of the ruling means that the company can't even provide service or technical support for '686 products already on the market. At this point, with a voluntary licensing agreement seemingly off the table, the next move for Qualcomm is establishing a plan of action to show Judge James Selna how it plans to redesign its products into compliance. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Reuters]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

We're not planning on seeing any sort of confirmation from Sprint on this, but word on the street has it that the carrier has actually halted shipments of the LG Rumor to its retail outlets. Apparently, the handset has a "known issue where certain sets of key presses during startup can trigger a complete erasure of the phone's firmware." Purportedly, the device cannot be restored once triggered save for at the factory, but LG is hard at work creating an updated firmware that "removes the code from being accessible." Once that's completed and approved, existing users can expect an over-the-air download to be made available, and users to-be can expect the mobiles to start showing back up with the update already loaded on.

[Via PhoneScoop]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

It probably doesn't come as much of a shock to you that plenty of texting goes down midnight-ish tonight, and naturally the carriers are gearing up for just such an onslaught. Palm isn't so optimistic about the proceedings: according to a study it commissioned in the UK with lpsos MORI, 70% of people who send messages at midnight experience a delay in delivery, with places like London experience 77% delays, and 23% of Britons waiting over six hours for their text messages to arrive. Palm suggests an IM or email might be in order, and smartphone users will have better luck getting their messages delivered over the comparably unclogged data networks. Verizon seems more excited about the prospect, expecting the 284 million text messages sent last year on its network between 12pm New Years Eve and 4am New Years Day to rise to 300 million. Telstra expects to process more than 53 million messages across Australia, and will have a "small army" of techs on hand to monitor network performance. Canadians are expected to send 50 million texts this year, according to Virgin Mobile Canada, with the average canadian sending two text messages each -- double that of last year. However and wherever you party, stay safe out there -- friends don't let friends drink and text their estranged exes.

Read - Palm study warns of delays
Read - Verizon predicts 300 million
Read - Canada doubles in texts
Read - Telstra's small army in Australia

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

Plenty of waterproof phones and other small weatherproof devices have made it off the assembly lines and into our clumsy clutches, but P2i, a small spinoff company using tech originated within the Defence Science and Technology Lab in England, could be bringing waterproof gadgets to the masses. The Ion-Mask is a special invisible coating that is chemically bonded to the device and repels water. It should allow waterproofing to make it into devices that are too small for the seals that are usually used to do the trick. Devices can have joins and gaps coated for a general level of water repellence, or have individual components treated for even more protection. The tech was originally designed to repel toxic vapors and liquids from soldier uniforms, and could also be making its way into athletic shoes. Three leading phone makers are apparently in discussions over using the tech in upcoming phones.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

An image surfaced on the BlackBerryForums this morning that purports to be of the upcoming BlackBerry 9000 series. The forum member with the scoop claims that the device has no touchscreen, and that rumors are raging even within RIM as to whether touchscreen devices are in the works. What can supposedly be confirmed is that the device in the picture is part of the 9000 series, 3G is being tested on multiple devices, and that HTML email is in the works for the BlackBerry service, possibly in conjunction with the launch of the 9xxx devices.

Update: Turns out this picture was swiped from an eBay auction, and while that doesn't necessarily mean it's not an upcoming BlackBerry device, it does call into question the accompanying commentary from the forum user who posted the image, so take it all with a grain of salt.

[Via Pocket-lint; thanks Cellenin]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

It seems pretty clear by now that the images and videos floating around of an iPhone running firmware 1.1.3 are legit, but if you still have doubts as to their veracity, a new walkthrough that's been posted should put those to rest. We've already been nauseated by seen the jiggly icon home screen, and now we get a look at the new multi-recipient SMS feature as well, along with a brief rundown of Google Maps' impending cell-based location tracking -- which should also help Apple legal narrow its search for this rogue iPhone to somewhere in the Lynnwood, Washington area. Click down below to catch the full vid after the break.

Continue reading iPhone firmware 1.1.3 video walkthrough posted

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones

What's that we see? The Nokia N95 8GB listed on the Nokia US retail site? Okay, calm down, it's not the US-specific version (read: it uses 2100MHz WCDMA, i.e. European 3G), but you'll still have a 2.8-inch mammoth screen, A-GPS, a five megapixel camera, and the rest of the goodies that maybe, just maybe, you'll be willing to fork out $780 for, even knowing that a US version HAS to be right around the corner.

[Thanks, Preston]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Many of us know The Sharper Image best as a purveyor of massaging lounge chairs (which makes their stores a must-stop location in the mall), a chronic pusher of ozone generators, and as a perennial favorite in SkyMall catalogs as we bide our time on the redeye. What we don't know The Sharper Image for, though, is its broad selection of no-name phones procured from Chinese manufacturers. We just happened to be flipping through TSI's latest catalog today and came across these four little gems, three with "The Sharper Image" proudly emblazoned across their faces. The pack includes a touchscreen equipped Chocolate knockoff (very 2006, but still quite strapping), a branded version of the AMOI N810 Windows Mobile 6 Professional device, a black slider that looks like death incarnated, and an ultra-generic silver clamshell that looks straight out of the early part of this decade. The good news is that they're all unlocked and range from a very reasonable $169.95 to $499.95; the bad news, however, is that you may have to keep your thumb over the TSI logo to keep the public mockery to a minimum.

%Gallery-12422%

Read - Sharper Image 101TSI
Read - Sharper Image 008TSI
Read - Sharper Image 007TSI
Read - Sharper Image 005TSI

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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