An iPhone model that doesn’t officially exist began appearing recently in one developer’s application analytics, possibly indicating that Apple is field testing the next version of its combination iPod and smartphone. Apparently Pandav’s iBart application has been showing usage from an iPhone model identifying itself as iPhone3,1, which is a higher number than any of the current shipping models, according to Mac Rumors.
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iPhone2,1 identifies the current iPhone 3GS and began appearing in developer’s logs several months ahead of its release, too. The iPhone3,1 identifier first appeared in the iPhone’s firmware back in August, leading to speculation that it would be used with the fourth generation model.
Apple isn’t saying what it plans to pack into the next generation iPhone, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from speculating that it will include a multi-core processor and compatibility with Verizon’s cell service. Assuming Apple sticks with its established pattern, the next iPhone model should roll out sometime in July or August 2010.
Did your iPhone catch the new “Duh” iPhone virus? If so, Apple says it’s your own fault for jailbreaking the iPhone. iPhones that have not been jailbroken are not susceptible to the virus, and jailbreakers can take steps to protect themselves.
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The “Duh” virus is the third to target jailbroken iPhones. In a nutshell, Duh seeks out jailbroken (and vulnerable) iPhones and iPods. Once it locates them, the virus alters the root password of the iPhone or iPod and proceeds to download harmful files to the device. Jailbreaking is the method of unlocking and hacking into the iPhone. It removes a number of controls placed in the device by Apple and permits users to access a much wider range of applications that aren’t officially sanction via the iPhone Apps Store.
You can’t blame Apple too much for its stance on the recently released virus that attacks iPhones. Apple noted that, “These hacks [jailbreaking] not only violate the warranty, they will also cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.” If you don’t jailbreak your iPhone, this virus isn’t going to be a problem for you. That means most people (92% – 94%) should be safe.
Because jailbreaking installs SSH networking software, there is a password vulnerability that is easy for viruses to circumvent. There is an easy step to take, however, to a protect jailbroken iPhones. Users can go to Cydia to download and the install the MobileTerminal app. Once that application is installed, users only need to the default password from “alpine” to pretty much anything else.
If you’re taking the risk of jailbreaking your iPhone, it isn’t that much more work to provide yourself with at least a modicum of safety.
A national advertising watchdog is asking Sprint Nextel Corp. to drop its ads calling itself “America’s most dependable 3G network.”
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus made the recommendation following a challenge to Sprint’s ads by rival Verizon Wireless.
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The division said the most recent tests by the researcher Nielsen Co. showed Verizon had fewer calls blocked or dropped than Sprint. Sprint argued that reviewers should look at more than one set of tests to avoid one-time events like weather or bad cell towers.
Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kan., stands by its claims and says it will appeal to the National Advertising Review Board.
AT&T Inc. recently challenged Verizon Wireless over ads claiming it has wider coverage than AT&T.
A second iPhone worm is in the wild, and unlike the jokey Australian worm authored by hacker prankster Ikee two weeks ago, this one is dangerous.
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Unlike Ikee’s hack, which merely rick-rolled owners of infected iPhones, the new Dutch variant targets customers of the bank ING. When triggered, the worm redirects users visiting the banking site to an address in Lithuania which shows a fake login screen for ING online banking. It is essentially a phishing attack run on compromised iPhones.
The panic that will inevitably spread from this story is unjustified. First, if you are a regular iPhone customer you are safe, even if you are in the Netherlands. This is because, like the Ikee hack before it, the new worm will only work on a jailbroken, or hacked iPhone. Further, you will have to explicitly install SSH remote access, and then you will have to leave the root password at its default, which is “alpine”.
If that means nothing to you, you don’t have any reason to worry. If that does mean something to you, shame on you! You should go change that password right now.
And don’t forget, you’ll also need to live in Holland and to be a customer of the ING bank for this to work. This could explain why this “security breach”, according to the BBC, has only affected a few people: “The number of infected phones was thought to be in the hundreds rather than thousands.” And how does it spread itself? “The worm could jump from phone to phone among owners using the same wi-fi hotspot.”
While we shouldn’t ignore the threat of malware to our increasingly powerful and connected mobile devices, nor should we panic. The news of a genuine iPhone-killing piece of software seems to be treated with the same glee as news of a virus for the Mac. Thankfully, none yet exist.
The Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris present a lot for the typical smartphone user to like, including crisp call quality and excellent battery life. A few kinks aside, the Google Android operating system seems versatile and able to handle most minute-to-minute needs in the productivity, communication and entertainment qualities. Despite a few form-factor issues that could make the smartphones off-putting to some users, both Droids come closest to being the long-predicted “iPhone killer.”
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There’s an interesting bit of legalese on the side of the box containing the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless: “DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. and its related companies.”
In the “Star Wars” movies, droids were bumbling robots such as R2D2, inserted into the narrative largely as comic relief. But there’s nothing particularly cute about the form factor of the Motorola Droid: From its weighty, blocky form factor to the way it rumbles “DROID” when you first turn the device on, it seems as if Motorola’s engineers were determined from the drawing board to create the smartphone equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The other high-profile Google Android phone, the HTC Droid Eris, takes a different approach. Unlike the Motorola Droid, which slides apart to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard, the Droid Eris is a single-piece touch-screen device reminiscent of the iPhone. At 4.23 ounces (and no physical keyboard), it is substantially lighter and sleeker than the Motorola Droid, which feels like a miniature brick in your pocket.
However, the HTC Droid Eris comes with a trackball for navigation, which I feel was a substantial mistake; Research In Motion has been eliminating trackballs in favor of trackpads for a reason. Besides clogging with grime after weeks or months of use, the trackball made certain functions of the HTC Droid Eris—such as snapping photos—into mildly annoying chores.
Call and Data Quality
Many a reader has complained to me that they love everything about the iPhone, except for the fact that it’s tethered to AT&T. (For its own part, AT&T has reacted strongly against claims that it has a substandard network, threatening to sue Verizon for the latter’s “There’s a Map for That” advertisements and even enlisting “Old School” actor Luke Wilson to tick through AT&T’s supposed benefits in a 30-second spot.)
Neither Droid, running on Verizon’s network, suffered dropped calls. To the contrary, call quality on both the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris was absolutely crystal clear for both local and long-distance calls. The Motorola Droid feels a little bulky when held against the ear, and the HTC Droid Eris emits a somewhat tinny ring tone; but on the list of potential complaints that one could have with their smartphone, each of those barely rank a mention.
During the past few days, Droid-related message boards have filled with people complaining that the Motorola Droid offers no support for voice dialing with their Bluetooth. This is particularly an issue for road warriors who need hands-free dialing while driving; for others, it may not necessarily be a deal killer. Some community members have been told that Motorola is working on a fix, but I’m wondering whether some enterprising third-party developer may come up with a patch mobile application for the Android Marketplace.
Voice dialing without Bluetooth, however, is surprisingly easy through the one-touch “Voice Dial” widget. Both Droids seemed well-attuned to people’s voices, making calls with no errors.
No, no, no, AT&T. I realize you’re trying to fight fire with fire with your new “side-by-side” ad, but when you play with fire, somebody’s going to get burned. Taking on Verizon head on by comparing your services is not exactly a win for you, especially when two of your points (most popular smartphones and 100,000 apps) are pretty much thanks to a single handset that rhymes with Sly Stone.
And even claiming a “better” 3G experience seems questionable, given your checkered history in that department. But yes, I know you have to do something after your failed attempt to sue Verizon over its ads and Verizon’s unbridled smarm. Perhaps you should have considered being the bigger person and not sinking to Verizon’s level. But if you’re going to fight in the streets, maybe you could have at least invested in a little more than Luke Wilson and a big board o’ magnets. (The full ad is embedded below.)
But now you’ve opened up a can of worms. You realize how this goes, right? To paraphrase Sean Connery from The Untouchables, you pull a Luke Wilson, Verizon pulls an Owen Wilson; you take ‘em to the courts, they take you to the cleaners. If this escalation keeps up, then pretty soon Verizon’s ads are going to be quirky, two-hour long Wes Anderson-directed affairs with Jason Schwartzman pondering the pursuit of life, love, and decent 3G coverage. Possibly in stop-motion.
Sony Ericsson hopes that its coming Xperia X10 flagship mobile phone, its first based on Google Inc’s (GOOG) Android open-source operating system, will help the company return to profit after several loss-making quarters, but it won’t be available until after the end-year holiday season and faces stiff competition.
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Sony Ericsson, the world’s fifth largest handset maker by volume, is reeling from five straight quarterly losses, though it expects to return to profitability next year, according to CEO Bert Nordberg. The company expects to launch a revamped smartphone strategy and new cost-cutting measures to attain the goal.
With all these challenges faced by the manufacturers, customers are sometimes left helpless with problems on their handsets. Dr. Cell Phone is committed to helping out customers with their Sony Ericsson repairs and save them hundreds of dollars and the invaluable environment.
T-Mobile announced it would begin selling its Sidekick smartphone again, over a month after it was forced to suspend sales following a massive data failure on the servers holding user information. The servers were run by Microsoft subsidiary Danger, and Microsoft engineers scrambled after the outage to restore Sidekick user data starting with contacts. T-Mobile had offered affected Sidekick users a gift card and a month of free data service, compensation judged as too little, too late by many users on the T-Mobile Forums.
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T-Mobile will begin selling models of its Sidekick smartphone again, more than a month after being forced to pull the devices due to a massive server outage that deleted user data.
Early in October, a hardware issue on servers run by Microsoft subsidiary Danger wiped the personal data from nearly 800,000 Sidekick users’ phones. In the wake of that incident, T-Mobile had listed the Sidekick smartphones as “Temporarily Out of Stock” on its Website. The general assumption was that sales would be suspended until service was restored.
“T-Mobile is pleased to announce that Sidekick sales have resumed,” a T-Mobile spokesperson wrote in a statement emailed to eWEEK on Nov. 17. “New pricing for the Sidekick LX 2009 will be $149.99 with a two-year contract and the Sidekick 2008 will be $49.99 with a two-year contract.”
Microsoft has been busily working to restore Sidekick user data, releasing a recovery tool on Oct. 20 for T-Mobile Sidekick users through the My T-Mobile Website that would allow them to restore their contacts. At that time, Microsoft promised that it would work to restore users’ photographs, notes, to-do lists, marketplace data and high scores.
But the contact-restoration process was not an entirely smooth one, with many Sidekick users complaining on the T-Mobile forums that their information had only been partially restored. As of Nov. 17, customers on the forums were still voicing displeasure over issues such as missing photos or receiving other peoples’ photos on their devices.
However, the situation overall seems more hopeful than on Oct. 10, when T-Mobile issued a statement suggesting that Sidekick users’ information had been irretrievably sent to data heaven: “based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device … almost certainly has been lost as a result of server failure at Microsoft/Danger.”
To make up for the widespread destruction, T-Mobile offered Sidekick customers a $100 T-Mobile gift card and a month of free data service, although users posting messages on the T-Mobile Forum seemed to generally find the offer insufficient.
Microsoft’s experience with the Sidekick data could affect how it potentially introduces “Project Pink,” a branded smartphone rumored to roll out sometime in early 2010. While Microsoft has categorically refused to comment on the existence of the project, a variety of blogs and rumor sites have suggested that a combined Microsoft and Danger team has been developing two smartphones with a sliding form-factor.
It was a year ago this month that the RIM BlackBerry Bold was launched and I purchased one from AT&T while on a business trip (see my first impressions). The Bold had the BEST QWERTY keyboard available at that time, but that came at the price of width so the phone was a bit chunky. We now see RIM making some design improvements with the BlackBerry Bold 9700 that is launching first with T-Mobile and AT&T here in the US. I have spent a couple of days with the T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700, check out my image gallery, and think it may be the best front facing QWERTY BlackBerry device on the market. I was quite impressed with the BB Tour, but the lack of WiFi in today’s smartphone market is really unacceptable. The T-Mobile BB Curve 8900 is also an excellent device, but the Bold 9700 adds 3G.
The BlackBerry device I recommended for T-Mobile customers before today was the Curve 8900 and this is still a very good device if 3G is not a need for you on your BlackBerry. Honestly, the BlackBerry browser is not that great and I think people with BB devices are focused on email, which works quite well with just an EDGE connection. The Bold 9700 adds 3G and a bump up to 624 MHz processor with the trackball changed to an optical touchpad, which you may or may not like. There is not much more that RIM can do with these BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard devices, but it is great to finally see a 3G model on T-Mobile.
Specifications: The specifications for the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 include:
* Quad-band GSM/EDGE:1900/1800/900/850 MHz * Tri-band UMTS: 2100/1700/900 MHz * BlackBerry OS 5.0 * 624 MHz processor * 256MB ROM * microSD card slot with SDHC support (256MB card included) * QWERTY keyboard and trackball * Integrated GPS/A-GPS receiver * 802.11 b/g WiFi with support for T-Mobile UMA service * Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support * 2.44 inch 480×360 pixels 65k colors display * 3.2 megapixel camera with flash light and auto focus * 3.5 mm headset jack * 1500 mAh battery
The differences between the original BB Bold and BB Bold 9700 are as follows:
* Bold has 1GB internal flash ROM and Bold 9700 has 256MB * Bold has a/b/g WiFi and Bold 9700 has b/g WiFi * Bold has a 2 megapixel camera and Bold 9700 has a 3.2 megapixel model * Bold has a larger 2.75 inch display and Bold 9700 has a 2.44 inch display * Bold display has a resolution of 480×320 and Bold 9700 has a resolution of 480×360
The original Bold was quite a powerful device, but RIM’s ability to make thedevice a bit more consumer friendly (3.2 megapixel camera and higher resolution screen) and much slimmer should appeal to new BlackBerry owners.
When we took our first look at the TomTom app for iPhone, it seemed like a perfectly competent helper for getting from points A-to-B. But, we couldn’t help but to notice that a few of our favorite GPS navigation features were notably absent–particularly TTS instructions and graphic lane guidance.
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Well, there’s good news for users of the TomTom app in the form of a free update which adds these missing features, and a few more.
The update will add text-to-speech (TTS) for spoken street names and POIs as part of the device’s directions, graphic lane guidance which displays a visual representation of complex highway intersections with indications of valid lanes for the route, and a “Help menu” offering a shortcut to emergency number and directions to the nearest emergency services. TomTom is also enabling in-app iPod player control, so drivers won’t have to exit the application to pick a song or playlist.
Also included in this update are a free map update and the inclusion of a safety camera database update. Users will be able to set audio warnings when approaching safety cameras or driving over the speed limit, possibly preventing citations and increasing vehicle safety.
TomTom tells us that the application update has been submitted to Apple and is pending approval. For current users of the TomTom app for iPhone, this will be a free update. For everyone else, the price of the app will remain at $99.
