Thursday, November 27, 2008

iPhone Power Slider Case




Folks who are always complaining that the iPhone doesn’t give you enough mileage per charge will want to check out the Power Slider case, which has an integrated battery, aimed at letting your iPhone last longer. It might make your iPhone look a tad bigger, but it seems like a fair trade for more battery life, and the cover seems to look like it belongs with the iPhone’s color scheme. There are 5 LED indicators to indicate the power level, and a pass-through port will allow you to sync the phone without having to remove the case itself.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

LG Prada II Coming To Europe




Fashion fans get your cash ready, as LG’s highly anticipated Prada II fashion phone is gearing up to be released in Europe. A website to promote the phone is already up, and will provide you with goodies such as wallpapers and information on accessories. You’ll also get the Prada Link, which is a Bluetooth watch that should compliment your Prada II very well, a pair of headsets and a leather pouch. Hopefully these items will be included with the phone, which isn’t cheap at €600, but then again, nothing about fashion is ever cheap.
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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Start-up Meraki to sell solar-powered Wi-Fi gear




Mesh Wi-Fi provider Meraki is going green with a new solar-powered repeater.
The company, which builds low-cost and easy-to-manage Wi-Fi gear, said the Meraki Solar Wi-Fi repeater will ship starting December 4. The price of the solar repeater costs between $749 and $1,499.

Sanjit Biswas, co-founder and CEO of Meraki, said he expects customers in developing markets, where power infrastructure is not reliable or nonexistent, to be especially interested in the product. But he said that there has also been interest among customers here in the U.S. and other developed markets.

"Some people might want to set up a Wi-Fi on their roof or somewhere else they don't have power," he said. "And then they realize how much it will cost them to get an electrician to wire that area."

news from here.

For this reason, Biswas said that the Meraki Solar repeater is ideal for installations in places like city parks. Even the higher initial cost of the solar equipment will still be cheaper than running power to bay stations and radios throughout a large area like Central Park in New York, he said.

Meraki had announced its solar-powered product last year. But the product was delayed when the company decided to change battery types after receiving feedback that the batteries ran out of power too quickly. The company now uses lithium iron-phosphate, which gives it greater capacity. Biswas says the new battery can store enough energy to power the Wi-Fi radios 24 hours a day seven days a week even during times of limited sunlight.

In addition to its solar-powered repeater, Meraki introduced a new Wi-Fi radio wall plug, which features a hole to screw the unit to an outlet. The design is part of Meraki's push to sell its gear to apartment buildings and complexes. The company has been experimenting with product designs and ideas for better coverage in multiple dwelling units as part of the free network it offers to San Francisco.

Earlier this year, Meraki announced it would help the city provide free Internet access to low-income housing projects as part of its plan to unwire every neighborhood in San Francisco. Meraki, which is based in the Bay Area, sees the San Francisco Wi-Fi network as an important test bed for its products and services.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

BlackBerry Storm




There was endless speculation regarding the pricing of the BlackBerry Storm, and the only way to silence the speculation is to release the official price, which is what Verizon has just done. The BlackBerry Storm will be going for $199 with a two-year contract, after a mail-in rebate. With a price like that, it looks like RIM is serious on taking on the iPhone and defending its corporate dominance. It’s good to see that even with the $199 pricepoint, Verizon didn’t skimp on the accessories, as they’ve bundled an 8GB microSD card with the phone. The BlackBerry Storm will be available online and in stores from November 21st.
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NES-inspired Nikes look cool, won't help you save Princess




Leave it to Nike to make a video game fashion collaboration stylishly cool. Earlier this month, we showed you a pair of its surprisingly appealing Nintendo-inspired sneakers. Well, Nike just announced its second design in the series and this one is a little more unique than the first.

The Air Max Terra Ninety takes a couple of Nike's most popular models and mashes them into a hybrid shoe reminiscent of the Air Max 90 and Max Air. The overall colorway retains the familiar Nintendo controller palette and also incorporates the Nintendo D-pad design into the midsole. Unlike other streetwear collaborations, Nike won't require you to mortgage your firstborn son to pick up a pair of the Air Max Terra Nineties. They're available now for an affordable $130.

News from here.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Roundup: Checkpoint-friendly computer bags




Regular Crave readers have seen a steady stream of products unveiled in the months since the Transportation Security Administration issued guidelines for "checkpoint friendly" bags, which let you zip through airport security checkpoints without removing your laptop.

Eager to see how manufacturers would tackle the new product category, we obtained a handful of bags--from the huge Mobile Edge ScanFast Backpack to the tiny Solo Netbook Mini--for real-world testing. At first we were concerned that TSA agents wouldn't know about the new bag designs and would make us remove our laptops anyway. But we carried several of these bags on business trips and cruised through the checkpoints without incident.

So, if you're a frequent flyer or shopping for one of these bags, check out the latest checkpoint-friendly bag reviews.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bell Gets The HTC Touch Pro Before Telus




Telus subscribers might be left screaming in anguish at this bit of news, as it seems that Bell has managed to get the HTC Touch Pro out of the stable before Telus. The phone is going for $239.95 CAD (about $195), which isn’t that bad, though the 3-year contract term is a real sour note. If you think you’re willing to stick to the same phone for 3 years, then go ahead, but most people would think that it’s a little long
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Monday, November 17, 2008

Pharos Traveler 117 & Pharos Traveler 127 Announced




Pharos introduced two new GPS smartphones that offer full-featured navigation and lightning-fast 3.5G connectivity on an unlocked, Windows Mobile handset. The Pharos Traveler 117 and 127 are Pharos' first phones to include Pharos Smart Navigator, a unique hybrid navigation product that is the first to combine navigation software + location services on a Windows Mobile device
Traveler 117 GPS Smartphone
The Traveler 117 is a GPS smartphone with 2.8” flush touch-screen VGA display. The Smartphone features the very latest 3.5G communications capability based on a tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA and a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE class 12 cellular modems. It offers industry-leading 7.2Mb/s download and 2Mb/s upload speeds enabling fast Web browsing, email and other Internet services.There are two on-board cameras, a 2 MP digital camera for recording pictures and video, and a 0.3 MP camera for video conferencing.The unit comes with Pharos proprietary Smart Navigator software and server-based travel information and navigation service. Additionally, the device is pre-loaded with Microsoft Live Search, providing free information about traffic, gas prices, movie times and weather. The Traveler 117 is powered by the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 with Microsoft Outlook Mobile (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Inbox), Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile, Picture, Notes, ActiveSync, Calculator, Game, Voice Recorder, MSN Messenger, Media Player 10. The device gives up to 7.5 hours of GSM talk time, 5 hours of WCDMA talk time and 200 hours of standby.

Features

* Qualcomm MSM7201-90, 400MHz Processor
* 2.8” VGA 480 x 640, 65K color (can be expanded to 262K) TFT LCD with touch panel
* Unlocked 3.5G smartphone for use on any GSM network
* Tri-band 850/1900/2100 MHz, UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA: 384K/7.2M/2M bits per sec
* Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, GSM/GPRS/EDGE
* Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
* 2MP camera for picture or video; 0.3MP front camera for video conference
* Free real-time traffic, gas price, movie and weather information
* Talk time: GSM: up to 7.5 hours ; WCDMA: up to 5 hours;200 hours of standby
* Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player
* Outlook Contacts, Calendar and Tasks
* Email and Internet Explorer

The Traveler 127 is a GPS smartphone with both QWERTY keyboard and 2.5” touch-screen QVGA display. The Smartphone features the very latest 3.5G communications capability based on a tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA and a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE cellular modems. It offers industry-leading 7.2Mb/s download and 2Mb/s upload speeds enabling fast Web browsing, email and other Internet services.There are two on-board cameras, a 2 MP digital camera for recording pictures and video, and a 0.3 MP camera for video conferencing. The unit comes with Pharos’ proprietary Smart Navigator software and server-based travel information and navigation service. Additionally, the device is pre-loaded with Microsoft Live Search, providing free information about traffic, gas prices, movie times and weather. The Traveler 127 is powered by the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 with Microsoft® Outlook® Mobile (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Inbox), Word Mobile, Excel® Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile, Picture, Notes, ActiveSync, Calculator, Game, Voice Recorder, MSN® Messenger, Media® Player 10. The device gives up to 7.5 hours of GSM talk time, 5 hours of WCDMA talk time and 200 hours of standby.
Features

* Qualcomm MSM7201-90, 400MHz Processor
* QWERTY keyboard and 2.5” touch-screen QVGA display
* Unlocked 3.5G smartphone for use on any GSM network
* Tri-band 850/1900/2100 MHz, UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA: 384K/7.2M/2M bits per sec
* Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, GSM/GPRS/EDGE
* Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
* 2MP camera for picture or video; 0.3MP front camera for video conference
* Free real-time traffic. gas price, movie and weather information
* Talk time: GSM: up to 7.5 hours; WCDMA: up to 5 hours; 200 hours of standby
* Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player
* Outlook Contacts, Calendar and Tasks
* Email and Internet Explorer

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Rogers To Pick Up Nokia E71




Rogers’ subscribers will be happy to hear that Rogers Wireless will officially pick up Nokia’s E71 handset. The phone will be able to take advantage of the Canadian operator’s HSPA network, and will have features such as a 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and microSD storage expansion. The phone will cost around $500 unlocked, so if money is tight, you might want to wait and see how much Rogers is willing to subsidize the phone for.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Nokia Wahoo Coming?




Looking for a QWERTY flip phone, but don’t want the BlackBerry Flip or Samsung’s Cleo? Well, all you’ll have to do is be patient it seems, as reports of a new Nokia flip phone with a QWERTY keyboard have surfaced. The phone also has a rather cute sounding codename, “Wahoo”, which does sound a bit like the “Yahoo!” search engine. There isn’t a release date for the phone just yet, but if the UMTS radio band didn’t give it away yet, the phone should be heading to AT&T. The specifications of the phone include:

* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
* Dual-band UMTS/HSDPA (850MHz /1900MHz)
* Dual displays (internal and external). The internal display is 240 x 320 2.2-inch display, while the external is a 1.36-inch with 128 x 160 resolution one.
* 2.0 megapixel camera with flash
* 2.5mm headphone jack
* Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP


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Thursday, November 6, 2008

Sony Ericsson PlayNow Goes Live In Sweden




Sony Ericsson has officially launched its PlayNow Plus unlimited music downloads service, which is somewhat similar to Nokia’s “Comes with Music”. Unfortunately for us, the service is currently only available through Sweden’s Telenor, though it’s only a matter of time before other carriers start picking it up too. Hopefully by the time it reaches us, there will also be more handsets supporting this feature.
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Monday, November 3, 2008

Samsung Omnia with Improved Specs




"Samsung today announced the Korean market launch of “T*OMNIA”, the Korean version of “Samsung OMNIA”. Samsung OMNIA, renamed as T*OMNIA, will be available from mid-November under exclusive deal with SK telecom. Compared the original Samsung OMNIA, T*OMNIA equipped upgraded 3.3″ WVGA touch screen (480x800) and added Satellite DMB function, an essential feature for Korean users who would like to enjoy Mobile TV. The smartphone will be sold in 2 different version, SCH-M490 with 4GB internal memory and SCH-M495 with 16GB internal memory.T*OMNIA also comes with a five-megapixel CMOS camera included auto-focus (AF) and image stabilizer, offering Wi-Fi connection and GPS features. DivX supported touch player and Samsung’s patented sound quality technology “DNSe”(Digital Natural Sound engine) help the users enjoy various dynamic multimedia experience.“T*OMNIA” offers an enhanced multimedia experience with HSDPA networks with speeds as fast as 7.2Mbps. With Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0, users also will be connected to a range of peripherals including wireless headsets and mobile printing." via slashphone.com
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