We love a good rumor. But, if there’s one thing we love more, it’s the back and forth between the blogosphere and spokespeople that these rumors generate. Following on rumors that Dell and Google are working together on a mobile phone, a Dell spokesperson has denied that Dell has no hardware to debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Furthermore, Dell has no intention of attending the expo.

Interestingly, there was no explicit denial or confirmation that Dell was working on a mobile phone. So we could possibly see Dell re-entering the handheld market with an Android-based handset in the future. That’s pure speculation, but hey, it makes sense.
It looks like there will be no announcement about a new handset from Dell and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) in a couple weeks, but we’ll keep our eyes open for other interesting developments.

[Via: Electronista]

Jet-setters looking to quickly check in and manage their American Airlines itinerary can rest easy. American Airlines has recently launched a mobile version of their website that allows travelers on-the-go to check their flight status, itinerary, check-in, etc. directly from their mobile phone.

Of course, you’ll need access to a web-browser to access the American Airlines mobile webpage, but chances are your handset is good to go – most handsets worth their salt these days have data-capabilities. Simply visit American Airlines’ website (AA.com) from your mobile phone or PDA, and the website will detect your mobile browser and serve up the streamlined version of the website.

Later this year, American Airlines will also be launching an enhanced version of their mobile site. The new version will add features, allowing customers to book flights, change reservations, and even check for hot deals. And, Spanish-speaking fliers will be happy to to hear that a Spanish version will be launched later this year.

Combined with the electronic, mobile phone-based boarding passes starting to take-off (see what we did there?), it looks like the airline industry is finally catching up with the times.

[Via: InformationWeek]

The problem with a full touchscreen handset is that there’s usually little room to ergonomically fit a physical QWERTY keyboard alongside the display. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is working ’round-the-clock to bring S60 Touch to market, and it looks like they’re also working to develop a suitable keyboard solution.

This here patent application, titled “Mobile device with virtual keyboard,” details a method in which the mobile phone would display a virtual keyboard on its display. Sounds familiar right? Here’s the catch.

There’s no projected keyboard, there’s no on-screen keyboard. The mobile phone’s camera is used to detect the movements of fingers in front of the handset. The position and movement of the fingers is overlaid on a virtual keyboard on the handset’s display. Your fingers type on a blank, empty surface and the mobile phone registers those movements as key-preses.

Audio sensors would also be used to detect when a finger taps the desktop, which tells the phone that a “key” has been typed. An interesting idea indeed, but we have to wonder how well this technology will work in loud environments (coffee houses) that would obscure the tapping noise, or when you don’t have a hard surface upon which to “tap.” It’s definitely possible to “type” in mid-air and simulate the “clicking” noises yourself, but if we saw somebody spazzing out and flicking their fingers in the air while clicking their tongue, we’d call the cops on that “looney.”

Mobile device with virtual keyboard patent application (PDF)

[Via: Unwired View]

The newest entrant into the wireless-charging, magnetic-induction game comes in the form of a partnership between Mobile & Wireless Group (MWg) and Slashpower.  The two companies have joined forces to bring wireless charging (by which electrical currents are induced by magnetic fields) to a handset near you.

As with all wireless-charging solutions, MWG and Slashpower will have you place your handset on a special “charging pad” – which will charge your device by magnetically inducing the electrical fields that move those Lithium ions to the “charged” side of the battery.

Until now, wireless charging solutions have required that mobile phones be retrofitted before they work with the charging-technology. MWg and Slashpower are working to integrate these components into handsets that should be made available in the second half of 2008.

Forget the wires, bring on the magnetic fields!

[Via: textually]

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) [mobile phone manufacture] and CSR [provider of GPS solutions to mobile phone manufactures] teamed up to create the EGPS forum to improve the speed of acquisition as well as the accuracy of GPS in mobile phones. Benchmarks for performance will be created by the end of the first half of this year and the forum is open to “a broad array of participants from the telecommunications industry that will include handset makers, LBS companies, network infrastructure manufacturers, as well as carriers.”

[Via: Mobile Burn]

Following on AT&T (NYSE: T)’s launch of business/corporate iPhone accounts, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s iPhone partner overseas has announced their intention to do the same. O2 (NYSE: TEF)’s corporate/business customers in the UK will soon be able to take advantage of their corporate pricing discounts with the iPhone.

An O2 spokesperson stated that they “Want to offer it as a service for business users looking to use the smartphone in their office.”

If you’ve been waiting to link your iPhone to your corporate/business account, you’re wait is almost over. Business tariffs will be available for iPhones in 2008.

[Via: Pocket-Lint]

Well the iPhone didn’t really win, it just sorta walked away with its life. Here’s a quick little “How (NOT) To” guide for taking care of your iPhone:

• Don’t place iPhone on trunk of car on cold, windy, day in Kansas
• Don’t drive off with iPhone still sitting on said trunk – especially onto a highway
• Don’t stand on side of highway, waiting to retrieve fallen iPhone, causing a big-rig truck to run over iPhone

But, should you forget the above helpful tips, you’ll be glad to know that your iPhone can survive a run-in with an 18-wheeler and still work perfectly – albeit a bit scuffed up.

Mike Beauchamp, Kansas resident, apparently found out the hard way (or, really, the only way) that an iPhone can be run over by a multi-ton truck and still work.

As I watched helplessly from the shoulder, the semi plowed my phone at full speed, throwing it to the ditch on the other side of the highway. At this point, I figured I’d retrieve it just for the purpose of seeing the crushed iPhone in disarray, mangled and crunched lifeless in the grass…Much to my surprise, as I approached, I heard the familiar sound of my ringtone — the iPhone was alive and ringing! As I picked it up and cradled it gently in my hands, I saw the screen displaying my caller ID — the screen still worked! I slid my finger gently over the answer slide and paused as I held the tattered and torn device to my ear — my heart must have skipped a beat when I heard my mom’s voice at the other end of the phone — the phone still worked! I ran back to my car and sat on the side of the road for about 15 minutes inspecting it, testing it, and looking it over — how in the hell had it survived being trounced by an 18-wheeler at 70mph?!?”

Who knew the iPhone was a ruggedized handset?

With previous anonymous bids (the FCC is keeping bids secret until end of auction)  on the coveted 700Mhz “C” block hovering below the $4.6 billion reserve price required to ensure “open access” rules are enacted, we were starting to get a little nervous about giants like AT&T (NYSE: T) or Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless snatching up the spectrum and keeping it locked down. Well, it looks like our fears have been assuaged with the announcement that the FCC has received a bid of $4.7 billion for the “C” block of the 700Mhz spectrum.

The current bid has the potential to see it through to the end of the auction, netting the anonymous bidder (Google (NSDQ: GOOG), perhaps?) a sweet slice of the 700Mhz pie. Seeing as how the next round of bidding (Round 18) will open with a minimum bid of $5.3 billion, it’s not hard to imagine that the $4.7 billion bid will take the trophy – we’re thinking that could very well be Google.

Google previously pledged to put up a bid to meet the $4.6 billion reserve price on the “C” block, which triggered the “open access” rules in effect. The “rules” will give the company’s Android platform a suitable playground in which to play. But, seeing as how all bidding is anonymous, we can’t verify that Google is responsible for this highest-bid.

In either case, open access is here, baby! Bring on the 700Mhz “C” block!

[Via: RCRNews]

Hilarious pic from Engadget Mobile

MobiTubia is emTube with a pretty UI, but it just doesn’t feel right. Call me minimalist, but I strongly prefer the work Sebastian Jedruszkiewicz has done compared to Sittiphol Phanvilai, in fact I feel emTube should have won the Open C competition instead.

Try out both before and let me know which one you like. Don’t even mention the official youtube application, the video quality is horrible.

Thanks for the tip Mr X.

Point your barcode reader here to grab MobiTubia:

The Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E90 look a like, but not really, Asus M930 is out and about. TamsWMS got the scoop, check out all the images on their site. Will covered the product launch and official specifications two weeks ago.