Just got a tip from an insider at T-Mobile (or is it Google?) that tells me the HTC Dream will feature a keyboard and trackball almost identical to the Sidekick. Does this mean we could see a Sidekick competitor on T-Mobile? It’d be an odd move but the Android-based Dream will most likely be for the geeked out power user.
That’s about it for now. More information as it comes…
Normally, we tend to stay away from the played out consumer electronics but this particular one deserved a mention. The reason? This is Sony Ericsson’s first cellphone ever on T-Mobile’s US network. Known as the TM506, it’s a decent clamshell phone that will feature 3G, one of the key selling points for T-Mobile since it just rolled out its US 3G network. UMTS, 2-megapixel camera, HSDPA, A-GPS that can be used with TeleNav, media suite and MyFaves support.
Overall, it looks like a decent phone and a great start for T-Mobile and Sony Ericsson’s relationship. In a weird PR move, neither SE or T-Mo have announced a price. I’m going to take a shot at around $149 with a one-year contract. Take it with a grain of salt.
RECORD EXECUTIVE: Biz, we need a new hit. Any way you can integrate McDonald’s into it? We get a check every time you mention french fries.
BIZ MARKIE: OK OK, I GOT IT! How about we take some fries and merge it with a phone and shit, and then next thing ya know, you got the french fry phone!
REC: Hmm, but do you think it’ll play well into today’s urban youth?
BIZ: Fo’ sure, boyyyyyy!
REC: Alright. Let’s roll with this fucker. For a promotional item, we’ll come up with a phone that’s shaped like some french fries.
BIZ: Didn’t they do that shit in that flick Juno?
REC: No, no…that was a hamburger phone I believe.
BIZ: Off the chain!
REC: Right. Let’s get this to market. I’m thinking free or $18 for people who will actually pay for it. You’re a genius, Biz! Have any ketamine?
For the fashionista who just doesn’t have time to get jammed full of cock, here’s a pair of Blackberry earrings for you. Classier than a pair of zippers, these will symbolize your commitment to your device and undying love for it. The next time you’re popping a squat on the toilet with these on and your Blackberry device in your hand, I want you to remember that you’re a total RIM job.
Zing!
Your cellphone doesn’t quite have the power the PSP has, though it’s trying. The Seiko Epson Corp are pushing the future of cellphone software forward with their 3-D display for mobile phones. With about 500 PPI of resolution, this 3D display is a sight to see with no 3-D glasses needed:
“[It's] one of the world’s highest resolutions of direct-view-type displays that do not use projectors,” says Goro Hamagishi, general manager of the Display Development Center, Corporate Research & Development Div, Seiko Epson Corp.
This is done using a special lens called lenticular lens that, when placed over pixels, is possible to make different images be seen from different angles. Similar to the ‘real-time’ 3-D image rendering system, several cameras are used to shoot images from different angles. It is then that the 3-D image takes its true form. The company plans on commercializing this display within the next two years. Until then, you’ll have to hold yourself over with Doom RPG for your cellphone.
Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee have designed this jagged edged wooden phone dubbed the Maple Phone. It’s made up of African Blackwood and sports some of the latest features you’d find in any cellphone to date. An MP3 player, digital camera and the basic functions like calling and SMS are all incorporated into this wooden phone that’ll have every hippy bitching about the preservation of woodlands in America.
Though it doesn’t display your mood like the FuChat, this unique handset has a display that is placed at the back, revealing itself as you slide the handset. It isn’t until you touch the wood (ha, touch the wood!), that the phone shows it’s true form and screen display. No word on a release date or if the phone will be as cheap as the HOP1800, but you can bet Frodo will be showing this phone to all his hobbit buddies in the shire.
Portable devices are with you wherever you go. That’s exactly why Duracell wants to charge your phone or iPod. By powering handheld devices with its PowerSource Mini, Duracell can save you precious battery life so long as you charge via mini USB. Currently it comes in two forms: one for your iPod and the other to power your BlackBerry.
This isn’t any ordinary battery charger- it can power two, that’s right, two devices simultaneously with its second USB port. While it serves the same purpose as an emergency AA battery, it packs a meaner punch with a boring design. No word on the pricing or whether or not it’ll ever be able to charge inexpensive Bic disposable phones, but one things for certain: you’ll never not have enough juice to surf porn on your BlackBerry during your daily commute home.
At long last, Apple has finally equipped some of its developers with the tools needed to begin authoring iPhone background applications. This will eventually remedy problems with the iPhone regarding running applications in the background. The same thing could happen to a drug dealer trying to convert ounces to grams. He/She suddenly gets a phone call then, BAM, all that hard work leaves business dry and sales at a stand still. Apple is fixing this by adding the “Push Notification Service” they mentioned at the WWDC.
AppleInsider writes:
Instead of allowing potentially dozens of third party services to simultaneously access an iPhone directly, the push service would funnel all transmissions from developers’ servers through a central Apple server, which would then relay the data to iPhones through a single persistent and well-managed background connection.
This is the best news on the iPhone we’ve heard all week. Wait a minute, this is the only news on the iPhone we’ve wrote all week. That’s not like us at all. It’s because Vince got that new Sierra Nevada Sidekick, which pretty much renders any other phone pale in comparison.
This kid has managed to render OnStar obsolete and he’s all the way on the other side of the world doing it! The self taught gadget wiz, Morris Mbetsa, has managed to create an anti-theft device and tracking system for vehicles that’s cellphone-based. The owner can take control of their vehicle’s ignition and disable it with his/her cellphone at any time. Locking the car remotely as well as the ability to listen in on any conversations taking place within the vehicle all via your cellular phone are two other features Mbetsa has added to his invention.
Sometimes stickers that make your car look beat up or fake head units just won’t do the trick to prevent would-be thieves. We like what this young man has done and we look forward to seeing more of his amazing hacks.
Found in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this odd display of art features a SOLO cup with a string in it tied to a an empty pay phone booth. It’s supposed to reflect how cellphones have overshadowed obsolete technology like the pay phone. No idea if this actually works, but it’d bring back childhood memories of sitting in a tree house with water balloons and a tin can phone.
