You can now use your iPhone 3GS’ camera to help you find the nearest bus stop, as the transportation agency of Portland, Ore., has teamed with Metaio to use augmented reality to help you get around. Metaio’s iPhone app, Junaio, can now be used to access real-time schedules for the next bus. It’s interesting because…
Android-powered Garminfone hitting T-Mobile June 9
T-Mobile said the Android-powered Garminfone will be available June 9 for about $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new, two-year contract. As you would expect from Garmin, the handset takes strong advantage of the GPS chip by offering multiple navigation features. It will come with a car dock, as well as turn-by-turn audible…
Wired teams with Adobe for iPad app
Wired is bringing its technology-magazine goodness to the iPad thanks to a little help from Adobe. The magazine has worked with Adobe on a new digital publishing technology that enables it to create the print and digital version simultaneously. It didn’t dive into the specifics of the technology but it skirts around the banning of…
FCC: 1 in 6 customers face cell phone ‘bill shock’
The Federal Communications Commission said one in six U.S. cell phone customers have been hit with unexpected fees on their monthly bills. Yes, friends, this is the dreaded “bill shock” we’ve all heard so much about. The governmental agency conducted a survey which found that nearly 30 million Americans have been hit with a sudden…
Apple, HP, Dell investigate supplier after suicides
Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard are launching investigations into its suppliers after multiple suicides and a wave of reports suggest the manufacturers operate under sweatshop conditions. Many consumer electronics companies have its products manufactured in China or Taiwan because it costs a lot less to manufacture there than in the United States or nearly any other…
Sony shows off flexible OLED screens
Sony showed off an ultra-thin, flexible OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen that could dramatically change how our phones and mobile computers look. The screens are about the size of a human hair (about 80-micrometers thick) and it can continue to display video while being bent around a 4-mm cylinder. This prototype is the first of…
Samsung Wave gets CDMA version
Well, that was quick. A day after making the bada-powered Wave available in a GSM version, Samsung is releasing a CDMA variant for China Telecom. The CDMA version will be called the SCH-F859 and it will have identical features as its GSM cousin. That means China Telecom users can expect a large, super-clear 3.3-inch Super…
AT&T talks smack about T-Mobile’s ‘4G speeds’
I thought it was odd when T-Mobile was crowing about its HSPA+ by saying it delivered “4G speeds.” AT&T wants to get that weak stuff out of its house and it publicly chided the fourth-largest carrier. AT&T plans to roll out its 4G network based on Long-Term Evolution technology beginning in 2011, but it will…
iPhone 4G/HD will have video chatting, says actors
We know that the next smartphone from Apple, the iPhone 4G/HD, will have a front-facing camera but it looks like loose-lipped actors are saying Apple is already prepping advertisements to show off the video-calling capabilities. This isn’t much of a surprise, as we’ve seen other hints at this, but an actress on Twitter reportedly said,…
BoxTone rolls out managment tools for corporate smartphones
BoxTone is trying to make it easier for businesses to manage its smartphones and the company has introduced a Mobile Service Management product to help companies deal with the onslaught on personal and corporate smartphones. Research In Motion’s BlackBerry has been a beast in the enterprise space because it offers a secure, easily-manageable platform but…