The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
Looks like Google’s Erick Tseng has come out during a taping of The Engadget Show to say that the next version of Android will be codenamed “Froyo;” as in “frozen yogurt.”
I’m cool with that; and besides, who doesn’t like a nice dish of frozen yogurt on a hot summer day? Just make sure you don’t drip any on your phone.
[Via Engadget.com…]
Most smartphone fans started out life using devices referred to a “personal digital assistants”, or PDAs. Over the last 10 years, the most iconic PDA was the “PalmPilot.” Apple has reignited a second mobile computing renaissance first with the iPod, then iTunes, and most recently, the iPhone and the iPod touch. While we wait for Apple to unveil their next mobile computing platform, rumored to a new tablet computer, AppleInsider has published a very good historical accounting of mobile computing.
“A variety of vendors have tried to deliver tablet-like products over the past two decades, but none have been a standout success. This has the tech world watching with bated breath to see if Apple can apply its aura of desirability to the tablet segment in the same way that it has managed to do in desktops, notebooks, MP3 players and smartphones.”
Read the full AppleInsider article…
[Via AppleInsider.com…]
Someone saw me with my iPhone recently and asked how to go about converting an .mp3 file they already had in iTunes into a ringtone they could use on their iPhone. Since I haven’t activated my iPhone’s phone service, I never checked out how to make a ringtone. Sure you can buy them from the iTunes store, but it seems silly to spend extra money for a 15 second song clip after having already purchased the full song.
Turns out that the folks at Art of the iPhone have a good tutorial on how to convert a non-copy protected song in your iTunes library into an iPhone ringtone.
Head over to ArtOfTheiPhone.com for more details.
[Via ArtOfTheiPhone.com…]
File this under the WAG rumor department, but new rumors about Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPhone OS 4 are making the rounds on the Internet.
“The Korea Times claimed Tuesday that sources at KT said the new phone would have an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, would feature video chat functionality, and a removable battery is “highly likely.” The report also said the new iPhone would include dual-core processors, more powerful graphics capabilities, and a superior camera.”
I can see Apple breaking out their design kung-fu to bring us new OLED screens and even a forward facing camera for video conferencing, but a removable battery? Apple? Come on. Apple is dropping removable batteries from their MacBook and MacBook Pro note books. Can you really see Apple switching to a removable battery on the iPhone? I’m less sure about the addition of a dual core processor on the iPhone. Sure, the extra horsepower could be used in next generation 3D games, but I’m concerned with how a dual core processor will impact the battery.
Read the full article over AppleInsider.com.
[Via AppleInsider.com…]
Following a few short weeks after the introduction of Palm webOS 1.3.5 and 1.3.5.1 here in the US, O2 Pre customers in Europe where treated today to the Palm webOS 1.3.5.2 update.
By and large, Palm webOS 1.3.5.1 and 1.3.5.2 appear to be identical as there doesn’t seem to be anything in the release notes that jumps out at you as being different.
Just like the US edition, Palm webOS 1.3.5.2 includes the fix for the pesky Calendar and Exchange ActiveSync sync issue and effectively removes the application install limit that some customers who loaded their Pres up on App Catalog and homebrew apps ran into.
For the complete list of updates included in the European Palm webOS 1.3.5.2 update, visit the Palm webOS European updates page.
The update is available now and can be installed on your Pre smartphone by running the Updates application.
In the on-going back and forth over changes in the fees that Verizon Wireless charges their customers for ending their contracts before the 2-year maturation point, the FCC feels that the wireless carrier still has some explaining do to.
During the CES show, that wraps up today in Las Vegas, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says that he is still looking for more details.
Sinead Carew, a reporter for Reutuers, writes:
“I thought that response raised more questions than it answered. The bureau is looking into that,” he said but declined to say what the FCC‘s next move would be in that case. Verizon Wireless had cited increasing costs for the fee hike.
“There’s a very real level of consumer confusion around these areas,” Genachowski said.
[Via Yahoo News…]
Now where have we seen this issue before? Seems like folks using smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system are caught up in the same issue that Palm webOS customers where until the release of the 1.3.5 update back on December 28.
At issue is the fact that when you install an application on your device, the app and potentially all of its data, are stored in the phone’s memory space and not on the microSD card. This issue gets a little tricky as the app and required files can get stored in memory, but data files created by the user can be stored on the microSD card. It seems that the hacker community has some ways of dealing with this issue, however, Joe and Jane Average likely won’t be making any modifications to their phones or the Android OS just to squeeze more apps onto their phone.
The good news is that Google has acknowledged the issue and says that they are going to address the issue in a future release of the Android OS. The only questions that I have is when will this update be released and for what versions of the Android OS and smartphones will it be released for?
[Via EngadgetMobile.com…]
I stumbled upon another webOS application shortcut.
If you begin to type “address” or “people” on your Palm Pre or Pixi, Universal Search will find the Contacts application.
Cool, huh?
Here’s a quick recap of the short cuts I’ve found so far:
add = Contacts
date = Calendar
sms = Messaging
pref = Displays webOS’ “control panel” applications
peo = Contacts
I just had a problematic 30 minutes to deal with. My Pre, my every day cell phone, for whatever reason, stopped responding to input. The last two pieces of software I added to the phone was the Palm webOS 1.3.5.1 update (to address the Calendar and Exchange ActiveSync issue) and the new 3D game, Monopoly by Electronic Arts mobile.
DataViz has updated Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. This is a free upgrade to current owners of the Exchange attachments edition of Documents To Go.
“[W]e are happy to announce that a new version (3.0) of our “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” for iPhone/iPod touch is available in the App Store. Documents To Go is now the only mobile Office application for iPhone with support for viewing and editing of all three Office formats (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). And we have no plans to stop there! In the next several months we will be adding some really exciting new features to the product, so be sure to stay tuned.”
What’s new in version 3.0
* Edit & create PowerPoint presentations:
o Edit/add bullets and text in Outline view and see changes immediately in Slide view
o Edit/add speaker notes
o Sort, add, duplicate and delete slides
o Promote/demote bullets
o And more!
* Added support for Gmail attachments
o Edit/view attachments using Docs To Go
* Product name change
o From “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” to “Documents To Go Premium”
Pricing and Availability
“Documents To Go Premium” is available now for $14.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at: www.dataviz.com/itunes. All customers who purchased a previous version of “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” will receive a free update to version 3.0. For more information: www.dataviz.com/GetiPhone
DataViz is also working on finishing a free update to the base edition of the “Documents To Go” product ($9.99) with an in-app purchasing option for customers to upgrade to the features of the “Premium” version. The time frame for the upgrade for the base edition was not specified.
For more information, please visit the DataViz website.