Well, not really crawling; it’s awesome having Stefan back. This week we’ve managed to wrestle time zone issues down and got the prodigal son, Stefan Constantinescu, to get on the weekly podcast. Considering his time at Nokia (NYSE: NOK), we go over the N97 a fair bit in preparation for our head-to-head review with the Touch Pro 2. The Android-powered Hero gets sufficiently gushed over, as well as the introduction of HTC’s Sense user interface.
We’ve got a fresh giveaway this week - you might have seen Ben writing about Vuzix here, there and everywhere, and now we’ve got a pair to give away! These glasses work with iPhones, computers with S-Video and any mobile phone with video out to provide an immersive multimedia experience. This particular model, the AV310, usually retails for $249.95, so it’s well worth your while to drop a comment for a chance to win ‘em.
Vodka veteran Absolut has just released a free iPhone app that suggests drinks depending on a wide variety of criteria, like time of day, mood, type of liquor, occasion, and lots of others. After picking one, it even includes instructions on how to mix one up. As a reference alone, that’s a pretty sweet app, but you can even tweet and update your Facebook status about what you’re drinking. (Hey, some people even blog about their drinks.) GPS integration also lets you see what’s being drunk in your area and around the world. Fine timing on the launch, considering Independence Day is tomorrow… Interested? You can nab Drinkspiration from the iTunes App Store here.
One more tidbit of Canadian mobile news before I take a breather over here. Best Buy Mobile has confirmed that the TELUS (NYSE: TU) HTC Snap and HTC Touch Pro2 are ‘coming soon’. Rumored pricing to purchase the HTC Snap outright is sitting at $449.99, while the Touch Pro2 is coming in at $549.99.
No launch details for the Snap or Touch Pro2 were revealed, but in the flyer above, all details within are ‘good until July 30th’. So, chances are we’ll see all 3 of these devices before then. In fact, the TELUS BlackBerry Tour is scheduled to drop on July 15th (starting at $249.99 on a 3-year contract), so we could very well see all three devices launched on that date. That said, I’d lean more towards a solo Tour launch on the 15th, with the Snap and Touch Pro2 coming sometime between the 16th and the 31st. We’ll see!
Here’s the latest rumor from the land of Canadian mobile. Word has it that Samsung lovers in the Great White North are in for a treat. Samsung is set to release the ‘Link’ via Bell on July 15th. Not much else is known at this point (no pricing or device specs), but as you can see from the amazing image above (can you feel the sarcasm?), the Link will at the very least feature a full QWERTY keyboard. No slider here.
Stay tuned for more on the Samsung Link… I’m very interested to learn more about this one!
Facebook for iPhone is awesome. Anyone that has used it usually raves about it, as It makes interacting with the site ultra-easy (and fun)… and I have to admit, I pop it open once a day just to see what’s going on. Awesomely, (Is that a word!?) Facebook has announced that the new Facebook for iPhone 3.0 is nearing completion, and we should see it available for download in the near future. Look for enhancements such as a new homescreen, new notes and events pages, plus an updated news feed. Also, and probably much more noteworthy, Facebook for iPhone 3.0 could very well let you create photo albums, upload photos, zoom photos, tag photos, and a lot more. Stay tuned for more on this. It’s coming soon… I can feel it.
Now how cool is this concept… This is a device I could take out to the lake with me!
This ‘Cheers’ mobile phone concept by Tryi Yeh is truly one of a kind. The device is powered by a green alcohol-cell, which would be much more energy efficient according to the designer. There’s also a function button on the top of the device which allows you to easily access any of the phone’s functions. This one would be all touchscreen as well, with no buttons to speak of other than the function button/booze cap on the top of the device.
‘Cheers’ to Tryi on this one. Never seen anything like this before… and I want one… ‘What are you talking about officer!? Nah, that’s my cell phone!’
Awhile back we had heard rumblings that Rolando 2 was coming to the iPhone very soon… I had actually almost forgotten about it, until last night when we received an email about it. Yes, thankfully, Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid is now available in the App Store! It’ll set you baak $9.99, but in my opinion, it’s one of the best puzzle/strategy games out there.
No ‘Lite’ version of the game is available just yet, but I would not be surprised if one pops up in the near future. The original Rolando game spawned a free version as well, but it appeared some time after original release. So, if $9.99 is a little too rich for your blood, just hang on… a free version may become available.
ZTE, the Chinese handset maker who makes devices for operators world wide and has a nice chunk of market share in China, has submitted the Coral 200FM to the FCC for approval. It’s a budget device, specs are unknown, but the thing that stands out is the solar panel on the back. We heard about this thing back during Mobile World Congress, and people said it would be nothing by vaporware. Looks like they’re wrong.
The super sexy HTC Hero is at the FCC’s labs. We’re talking about the version of the device that can sing along AT&T (NYSE: T)’s and Canada’s Rogers (NYSE: RCI) Wireless 3G networks. The question is will AT&T pick it up? They have a good relationship with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), which might be pissed to see such a contender being offered by their carrier partner. On the other hand, AT&T shouldn’t want to miss the Android wave, hence we may see them start offering the Hero alongside the iPhone.
Anyway, that’s something we’re still speculating on. The good thing is that the paperwork needed for launching the Heroic launch in the States is getting close to an end, and you’ll always be able to grab the device unlocked, sans any strings attached.
NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) is joining the mobile money market with its own remittance service. Starting from July 21st, individual users (as opposed to corporate customers) of the carrier’s i-mode service will be able to remit up to 20,000 yen (about $208) per transfer by simply inputting the payee’s mobile phone number. The payee then receives a mail notification on its mobile phone and is given the option of depositing the money in a domestic bank account or having the amount credited to their monthly phone bill. The payee can receive remittances totaling up to 200,000 yen (about $2,080) per month.
Best of all, the service doesn’t require any registration or opening of a specific bank account!
Cost wise, the charges per payment (including consumption tax) will be 105 yen for the payer and 65 yen for the payee. The payee is not charged, however, if the remittance is deposited into a Mizuho Bank account or credited to their monthly phone bill.
Well, not really crawling; it’s awesome having Stefan back. This week we’ve managed to wrestle time zone issues down and got the prodigal son, Stefan Constantinescu, to get on the weekly podcast. Considering his time at Nokia (NYSE: NOK), we go over the N97 a fair bit in preparation for our head-to-head review with the Touch Pro 2. The Android-powered Hero gets sufficiently gushed over, as well as the introduction of HTC’s Sense user interface.
