For the ultimate in BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bling, you need to look no further than the folks at Computer Choppers. The company offers the absolute best in luxury customization services for all sorts of tech. They’re probably best known for their custom plated and anodized laptops… But if it’s a computer or any sort of electronic item, chances are Computer Choppers can customize it for you.

The latest feather in their cap is a new customization setup for the BlackBerry Curve 8900. As you can see by the images above and below, she’s a beauty:

Today we’re officially unveiling the first of our 24kt Gold Blackberry lineup, the 8900 Curve. Prices start at $999 USD / €720 EUR for a new unlocked unit with optional black or gold keyboard. For current owners, individual parts can be ordered. Contact us for details. All plating comes with a protective clear coat for everyday use. Diamond jewelry and other plating finishes are available by request. International customers welcome.

The hottest product on the market just got a bit hotter.

Awesome. Now, excuse me while I peruse the rest of the Computer Choppers site… Daddy needs a new gold-plated MacBook Pro

[Via: CrackBerry]

Still haven’t managed to get your hands on the Palm Pre? You’re not alone. The webOS powered device is in high demand these days, and stores are gearing up to sell-out of the next-wave of Pre’s. Case in point, Best Buy.

Latest word is some Best Buy locations may be adopting a policy used in the past with the iPhone. To get in on the pre-order, you’ll have to cough up $50 in exchange for a gift card. The card can then be used towards your purchase of the Palm Pre. Think of it as your ‘golden ticket’ to your shiny new Pre. This is kind of nice in a way… Eliminates the need to stand in line a day ahead of time in hopes of getting one of the coveted devices. No fuss, no stress… Oh, it’ll feel so good when you get it in your hands, right?

My advice? Check in with your local Best Buy store to inquire about current inventory and pre-order policy. The next shipment of Pre’s is due to hit us sometime around July 8th.

[Via: PreCentral]

Earlier today a few reports noted that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA was offering the G1 for only $49.99. While a price drop makes sense, I thought a drop from $149.99 to $49.99 seemed just a little bit drastic. Sure enough, later this evening it seems as though initial reports may have jumped the gun. The $49.99 pricing must have been a blip or error via the T-Mobile site. Or something. Perhaps someone hit the ‘price drop’ button over at T-Mobile by mistake. I bet it was Catherine Zeta-Jones snooping around headquarters.

Whatever the case at the moment, I think it would be safe to assume we’ll see a price drop on the G1 once the myTouch 3G drops. A price drop to $49.99?… I kind of doubt that, but I’ve been wrong before. I guess my question is this… When the myTouch 3G is finally released, how much do you think you’ll be able to snap up a G1 for? Free? $49.99? $99.99? Speculation is fun. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Dang, and I just sent back my HTC Magic. Mobile video streaming service Qik has released an early version of their application into the Android market. The app lets you record, stream, set privacy, description and title, and let friends know you’re recording on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  Qik has already plugged into Nokia’s Ovi, BlackBerry, and iPhone already, among plenty of other handsets. If you’ve got a Magic or a G1, check out the Market and get downloading!

[via MobileCrunch]

Trimming in Public is a series where I go through my list of 293 RSS feeds, 10 feeds at a time, give some detail as to why I subscribed to a particular feed, and then decide whether or not to keep on consuming that feed. In Episode 1 I explained what RSS is and how to use it, please read that if you need a refresher on why RSS is awesome and why you should be using it if you take reading news on the internet seriously. The prefix to Trimming in Public is “Becoming a better blogger, reader and helping me take out the trash.” For the bloggers out there who read IntoMobile, I hope you get a better idea of what I do to keep on top of the news. For the readers who read IntoMobile, I know that this site isn’t the only mobile focused technology publication on the internet, and by sharing which sites I read I’m hoping that you’ll keep on coming back here. Taking out the trash has an obvious explanation, I can’t keep up with my RSS feeds and need to trim my list. For those who want to download my complete list of 293 RSS feeds, feel free to grab my OPML file.

Check out Episode 8 after the jump, and all episodes by clicking on the Trimming in Public tag:

Read the full article »

Those Dev Team guys, they’re a genius bunch. Following on the recent release of the iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak application, PwnageTool 3.0, the iPhone Dev Team has delivered on their promise of a simple software-unlock utility for the latest iPhone OS 3.0. The much-anticipated “ultrasn0w” utility is now live and ready to unlock any  iPhone OS 3.0-powered iPhone 3G to work with any GSM network on Planet Earth.

Now, before you get all excited about unlocking your brand-new iPhone 3GS, keep in mind that ultrasn0w will only work on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G. iPhone 3GS owners, keep your fingers crossed for a future unlock solution.

Ultrasn0w essentially replaces the older “yellowsn0w” unlock utility that rose to fame as the first software-unlock solution for the iPhone 3G. The release of iPhone OS 3.0 prompted the iPhone Dev Team to release an updated unlock utility capable of hacking the latest baseband firmware that comes bundled with the iPhone 3.0 OS – the ultrasn0w utility.

The original iPhone can be easily unlocked using PwnageTool 3.0 alone. iPhone 3G users will have to jailbreak through PwnageTool and then install the new ultrasn0w utility.

The ultrasn0w software unlock utility allows the average iPhone user to hack their iPhone 3G’s baseband firmware (modem firmware). The baseband firmware is a distinct piece of code that has nothing to do with the iPhone OS. The baseband firmware controls how the iPhone’s GSM radios connect to GSM networks, and it’s the hacking of this firmware that allows any iPhone or iPhone 3G to roam free of any carrier locks.

Follow these steps (from the iPhone Dev Team) to use ultrasn0w to unlock your iPhone OS 3.0-powered iPhone:

1. Ensure you have upgraded to iPhone OS 3.0
2. Jailbreak your iPhone 3G using redsn0w or PwnageTool (this will also install Cydia/Icy)
3. Run Cydia or Icy
4. Please add the repo repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia or Icy.  That’s “ultrasn0w” with a ZERO, there is no “o” un ultrasn0w
5. Search for ‘ultrasn0w’ in cydia or icy and install ultrasn0w
6. Reboot your iPhone 3G

Once rebooted, your iPhone 3G should work with a SIM from just about any GSM carrier in the world. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA users will want to disable 3G (Settings>General>Network) before installing ultrasn0w.

Thanks, pimp!

The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s new WebOS has proven to be the touch-based mobile OS most capable of taking on the iPhone OS. The WebOS’s slick, finger-friendly interface makes for a truly rewarding experience to be sure. And, just like the iPhone, the Palm Pre can run unofficial third-party applications with ease. In fact, the regular Joe Smartphoneuser can install “homebrew” apps on the Palm Pre far more easily than on the iPhone.

WebOS coding gurus xorg, spotter, and simplyflipflops have proven, with their “SimplyFlipFlops” WebOS application, that homebrew apps can be easily installed on a non-hacked (non-jailbroken) Palm Pre. As it stands, the SimplyFlipFlops app is nothing more than a proof-of-concept that shows how simple it is to run unofficial apps on WebOS – all it does is install an icon onto the homescreen. The developers hope the app will help jump-start the WebOS development community:

Our intent is to help the webOS development world release applications. We do not support or encourage using this information for malware. We completely oppose misuse. To protect yourself, do not open links from your Pre email application that has an .ipk at the end unless you intend to load that application and you trust the source of that application.  This applies to other email systems on other platforms as well.  The ability for Pre to do this is not unique.

The birth of the WebOS homebrew revolution could be just the kind of boost the App Catalogue needs to go head-to-head with the iPhone’s tens of thousands (albeit, mostly crap) iPhone OS applications.

You can install the SimplyFlipFlops app by emailing this .ipk to yourself (courtesy PreCentral) and opening the .ipk through the Palm Pre email app.

[Via: PreCentral]

A couple of device releases for the Canadians in the crows this fine afternoon. Word has trickled down to my inbox that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and C510a are both now available on the Rogers (NYSE: RCI) network.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is a hefty device, weighing in at 158 grams. This slider features a full QWERTY keyboard with a 3″ VGA touchscreen with a resolution of 800×480. There’s a 3.5mm audio jack on-board, microSD card expansion slot (up to 16GB), 3.2MP camera with auto focus and LED flash, VGA video recording, WiFi, GPS, and the device runs on Win-Mo 6.1. The three-year contract will cost you $249.99, or if you’d prefer to buy it outright be prepared to fork over $599.99. You can check out all the details at Rogers.

The Sony Ericsson C510a is a more economical model, and is built in the classic Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) candybar style. It’s got a 3.2MP camera with digital zoom and picture editing, plus there’s GPS to help you geo-tag your pictures. 30fps video is also available on the C510a. The display is 2.2″ with a resolution of 240×320. The price? $79.99 on the three-year contract and $229.99 outright. Read more over at Rogers.

Thanks John!

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Yet more studies have confirmed what iPhone users have known for years. iPhone owners apparently aren’t just more happy with their devices, they’re indeed more loyal to the iPhone brand. Especially compared to the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) crowd. New stats from Crowd Science have been released that indicate a solid 40% of non-iPhone smartphone users would make the switch to the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) handset, with a whopping 82% indicating that they would do it all over again.

Even more intriguing is the Piper Jaffray statistic that 56% of iPhone 3GS buyers were upgrading from a previous iPhone, up from 38% the year before. And, a good 12% of early iPhone 3GS adopters (those that braved launch weekend lines at Apple Stores) were ditching their BlackBerry smartphones for the iPhone’s more finger-friendly offerings – up from the 6% of last-year’s early iPhone 3G adopters that left their BlackBerry smartphone by the wayside in favor of the new Apple smartphone.

On the flip side of the loyalty-coin, we have the unfortunate reality that the iPhone brand seems to have an advantage over BlackBerry. The Crowd Science survey showed that just 14% of non-BlackBerry smartphone users would make the jump to the BlackBerry platform. Compared to the 40% of non-iPhone users willing to switch to the iPhone, BlackBerry has their work cut out for them. And, when it comes down to satisfaction levels, the iPhone claims higher overall customer satisfaction compared to BlackBerry users.

“These results reflect the great challenges Blackberry faces in stemming the iPhone stampede,” said John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science. Of course, given enough time, Palm (NSDQ: PALM)’s WebOS and Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s Android OS might yet prove to be significant challengers to the iPhone’s popularity.

Crowd Science PR after the break.

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A few short weeks ago, Rogers unleashed the HTC Magic and Dream, allowing Google’s mobile OS, Android, to descend upon Canada like a swarm of open source, robotic, bright green locusts. I, for one, welcomed our new insectoid overlords. Will had already enjoyed the bleeding edge of Android when it first came out in the fall with T-Mobile’s G1, but since then we’ve experienced the much-touted Cupcake update, and a new piece of hardware to carry the world’s second-newest cellphone platform. The G1 didn’t really come off as a comfortable, let alone sexy smartphone; the chin was bizarrely angled, and could easily get in the way of typing, and the whole thing looked fairly chunky. On the other hand, the Magic, announced in Barcelona at MWC, was a proper device that could easily appeal to the mass market, and make Android more than just a developer’s sandbox. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) will soon be releasing the MyTouch 3G, their version of the Magic, so read on for a peek into the future.

Update: Samples from the camera now included in the gallery.

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