Sygic Mobile Maps for iPhone has got a major update. It is bringing a whole UI reworking to its users free of charge – sweet! It is traffic-ready and the traffic info system will be gradually launched to the regions during this quarter. Additionally, it supports speed camera or road incident sharing between the app users and much more – such as:

• Fresh new look and feel of the whole application
• Natural scrolling through menus with no buttons needed
• Pinch to zoom the map
• Dynamic menu animation
• Optimized music playback during navigation
• iPhone-like keyboard
• Contacts integration enhanced by means of utilizing 1400 common abbreviations for address segments across 24 languages
• Policetraps community – share mobile and static speed cameras and get warnings updated in real-time. Sign up on policetraps.com or report anonymously. Tap the bottom part of the navigation screen to report speed cameras or incidents
• Traffic info icon is already present in the main menu – it will be activated at the moment of launching the service, availability and launch time depends on region
• Useful indicators – network signal, battery status, GPS signal strength icon and time – now present throughout the menu on top right panel
• New instruction voices added
• The address input within the country simplified by means of skipping the country name input field – the user can still decide to take the step back if he/she happens to be in different country compared to the last route
• The app is ready for Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Local Search and Sygic is awaiting the green light from Google. The weather information feature is also ready and awaiting activation

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well I know I’ll be checking it out in my Local iTunes store (the UK)!

Sygic Mobile Maps (UK & Ireland) / £29.99 (but update is free if you already have the App) [iTunes link]

I am constantly on the lookout for the ultimate Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone case – I’ve seen and tried lots of pretenders to the throne, but I think finally I might be nearing the end of my mission. Why? Well, the Knomo Sleeve for iPhone 3G and 3GS (retailed by Mobilefun) is a pretty good effort!

Here’s the promo material:

This luxurious leather sleeve is designed exclusively to fit an iPhone 3G. Hand crafted using the highest quality soft full grain leather and finished with a velveteen interior, it allows full access to headphone jack, sleep/wake button, silent switch and volume control. It provides the ultimate protection for the iPhone 3GS / 3G.

• Custom designed to fit the iPhone 3GS / 3G
• Luxury handcrafted genuine full-hide leather case
• Slim and smooth design makes it easy to slip into pocket
• Full access to headphone jack, sleep/wake button, silent switch and volume control while still in cover
• Leather exterior and velveteen interior

The case is snug to begin with, but loosens up slightly over time. As alluded to above, there is a neat effort by Knomo to cater for the volume control without removing the device from the sleeve (you also have access to the headphone jack and on/standby button):

Obviously the case has quite a luxury feel to it too – leather works well in the construction of the case, and if you’re looking for something to inject a bit of class in to your range of iPhone accessories, this might be the case for you!

You can get the Knomo Sleeve for iPhone 3G and 3GS from Mobilefun for £25.00 – a bargain! There are also other iPhone accessories available from Mobilefun, who claim to have the largest selection in their store!

As an apparent answer to all those Nexus One customers who have been complaining that Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is taking too long to respond to customer service emails/inquiries, Google has rolled out a new Nexus One customer support hotline. Now, instead of just emailing the traditionally closed and uncommunicative search giant, Google is offering Nexus One owners and soon-to-be users a phone number that they can call to talk to a live person. Combined with the Google’s decision to lower the Nexus One return fee, it seems Google is looking to boost the Android phone’s flat sales.

Here’s Google’s statement on the matter:

“By design, we focused initially on providing the best possible customer support through our on-line channel, and our experience in the four weeks since the Nexus One launch enabled us to significantly enhance that on-line support offering. We have been able to address a large majority of customers’ inquiries successfully through on-line support, in combination with phone support from our partners, HTC and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT). That said, our approach with our new consumer channel is to learn fast and continue to improve…Live phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience.”

Starting today, Google will field all your Nexus One customer support questions through their new toll-free phone number. If you’re in the US, just dial (888) 48NEXUS (63987) between 4 a.m. and 7 p.m. to talk to a real, live person. If you’re thinking about calling to get technical support or in reference to your T-Mobile service, you can find phone numbers here.

Google’s Nexus One sales have been fairly flat since the Android phone was launched earlier this year, but things may change with Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s decision to reduce its early termination fee. The Nexus One maker has been getting some bad press surrounding the Nexus One’s $350 early return fee – something Google calls their “equipment recovery fee” – and has even drawn an official inquiry by the FCC. It’s not clear why, exactly, but Google has announced that it has dropped the fee for returning a Nexus One down to $150.

Still, the drop in fees doesn’t make the Nexus One a cheap smartphone to return. Google’s new $150 “equipment recovery fee” rides on top of T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s $200 ETF fee, so it’s still going to cost you a pretty penny to give the N1 back to Google. If you return the phone within 14 days of purchase, you’re free and clear of the penalty. But, should you return the phone after 14 days, you’ll be stuck paying Google’s fee in addition to T-Mobile’s ETF.

Check out Google’s new Nexus One terms of sale here.

We’ve already seen Flash running on the Nexus One, but apparently other devices running anything less than Android 2.1 won’t support it. Call it a hardware bottleneck, but the droid and Nexus One are the only devices out there presently that will run Flash 10.1. Along with Android, Windows Mobile and webOS plug-ins will be available in the first half of this year, likely with BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) not too far behind.

If the limitation is strictly software-based, then it won’t be all lost – upcoming devices like the X10, which are launching with Android 1.6, will likely be able to upgrade to 2.1, and potentially support Flash. I’m not seeing where Adobe made the announcement of this limitation to 2.1, but in the same breath, they also forecasted that over half of smartphones will be packing Flash by 2012. Now, who wants to take bets that the iPhone will get it by then?

Gentlemen, start your iPhones!  Gameloft has just released its entry into the simulation racing space with ‘GT Racing Motor Academy‘ for the iPhone.  Its got 100 fully licensed vehicles across 25 real world car manufacturers, which considering this is an iPhone title is a huge feat.

GT Racing Motor Academy includes a career mode with 6-player races which can be played locally or online.  You can also test drive, buy any of the over 100 vehicles in the game, or just look at how shiny those paint jobs look. It also has full Gameloft LIVE support for you trophy seekers out there.

From the looks of it, this could be a game that Gran Turismo fans could certainly enjoy.  The App Store has a bunch of racing games, but none that can be considered a serious entry into the simulation space.  Depending on GT Racing Motor Academy’s success, I’m sure we could see more serious simulation racing titles instead of another kart racer.

[iTunes Link]

Here’s a concept that’s a bit odd. Take Twitter, a service that allows you to post a 140 character message that the people who follow you can read. No matter how many people follow you, you only see the tweets of the people who you want to pay attention to.

Now do the same thing, but for voice. That’s Bubbly. You dial a number, leave a message, the people following you are then notified via SMS, and they can call in and listen to whatever nonsense you had to say about the new Hannah Montana album.

The service is made for operators to purchase and deploy on their networks, meaning you can’t sign up for Bubbly on your own as an end user, but it’s an interesting concept none the less. While I’m not sure I’d find much use for this, since I’d rather just send out a mass text message, I can see how something like this would actually get me to start using my phone as a phone again, albeit asynchronously. That’s the problem with phone calls after all, they require your immediate attention.

The service has seen over 150,000 users sign up over the course of a week in India.

Full press release after the break.

Update: Headline updated after being contacted by the folks behind Bubbly. There is a recording limit: 60 seconds. That makes the service even more interesting in my opinion. One can say a lot in 60 seconds, but not enough to blather on and on.

Read the full article »

To the people who need to know code names, the next version of Android has officially been dubbed Gingerbread by Brian Swetland, a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) employee working on the Android kernel.

Feature list? Nein.

Release date? Between now and the end of the world, aka 2012.

[Via: Engadget]

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) makes phones in several countries spread out over the world, but Salo is special. It’s the only factory that the Finnish company has in Finland, and it’s mainly used for devices that are difficult to produce and require highly skilled workers. Yesterday Nokia announced that it’s cutting 285 people from that Salo factory, or practically 13% of the roughly 2,200 employees working there. With that bad news however also comes some good news, the temporary layoffs that the factory has been having for what feels like forever are coming to a stop by June of this year. The factory is also going to realign their focus to the “high-value smartphone market, especially in Europe”.

What does this mean for you? Well unless you’re one of those people that has to have a “Made in Finland” Nokia this really doesn’t mean anything. If you are one of the previously mentioned anal retentive characters, then you’re going to have an even better chance of getting a “Made in Finland” device.

The MBRN3300 might not exactly roll off the tongue, but it fits inside a product category that you’ll see become more and more prevalent as countries start realizing that burying copper or fiber optic is simply too expensive, and that deploying a wireless network is a much better idea from both a cost perspective, and from a KSP (key selling point) angle since you can offer your customers internet on the go. Now if you’re living in America you’re probably never going to see one of these, but for people in Europe and Asia, the idea of plugging in a box, powering it on, and getting internet access out of the air is glorious. No USB dongles, no software, just connect to a WiFi access point and enjoy a wireless network.

There will be 3 models available, the MBRN3300C that does 3.1 Mbps EVDO Rev A, the MBRN3300E that does 7.2 Mbps HSPA, and the MBRN3300H that does 21 Mbps HSPA+, all powered by Ericsson wireless technology so you know it’s robust and the best the industry has to offer. Each model spits out 802.11n and also has 4 ethernet ports.

No word on price, but Netgear say it’s available now, and I believe them since the MBRN3300 product sheet [PDF file] is dated November 25 2009.

[Via: Netgear Press Release, Ericsson Press Release]