by Techno Witch on December 31, 2008
Pink seems to be the rage colour for mobile phones at the moment, and Best Buy has got hold of the pink Samsung Instinct on Sprint and has it on their website as ?Coming Soon.?
Now yes it?s a Samsung Instinct, and yes it?s also pink, but just what makes it worth the extravagant price tag Best Buy is asking I just don?t know.
The price for being one of the first to own a pink Samsung Instinct from Best Buy is a staggering $599.99, which is kind of laughable I would think as no doubt you?ll be able to grab a pink Samsung Instinct for near enough the $200 mark quite soon.
by Techno Witch on December 31, 2008
The whisper is that HTC is intimating that the new ?Cupcake? update which addresses a whole bundle of bug and applies fixes and also carries a virtual keyboard for text and emails will be coming to the Google Android T-Mobile G1 soon.
Apparently the guys over at Engadget picked up the news of this direct from HTC so its looking substantial, and also note that the ?Cupcake? update will come soon via over-the-air.
Although HTC doesn?t have any say in what updates actually get pushed to the T-Mobile G1 or even when it gets pushed, HTC believes it is only a matter of time before T-Mobile pushes it out.
by Techno Witch on December 31, 2008
Not so long ago we mentioned that French authorities were seeking to scrap Orange?s exclusivity with the Apple iPhone 3G, well now FNAC a French retailer is selling unlocked and contract free Apple iPhones.
Seems the French Competition Council was successful in overturning Orange?s exclusivity deal with Apple and has force Apple to allow 3rd-party vendors such as FNAC.
However, the unlocked and contract free Apple iPhone 3G comes at a considerably high price as FNAC are expecting would-be iPhoners to shell out a staggering ?799 for the 8GB which is $1123 and for the 16GB ?899 which is $1263?no thanks.
by Techno Witch on December 31, 2008
G1ers may have noticed that the Google Android Market has much less available application that the Apple iPhone at the same length of time as the iTunes App Store, and the reason for this is because to date the Android Market only allows free applications.
However, this is about to alter as app developers are receiving emails from the Android Market announcing it will support paid apps early in the first quarter of 09.
So his means that developers can now start charging for their apps in the Android Market ad thus the applications count is about to boom. Then we can watch just how the Android app Market stacks up against the Apple Apps Store, should be interesting.
by Techno Witch on December 31, 2008
It?s usually nice to get a mobile phone with preloaded wallpapers and stuff, but there seems to be a bit of an upset with one particular multimedia pack on Nokia handsets in Russia which bears the image of Stalin.
Nokia has made an attempt to distance themselves for the Stalin theme floating about on their mobile handsets by issuing a statement that basically denies all and any involvement in the sale of said handsets.
Now, personally I can?t really see the gripe as these particular Nokia handsets are being sold in Moscow, so unless you?re planning a trip just to get one it?s not likely we are going to be seeing Stalin?s image on many western handsets is it.
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Sprint has a heart for the local community by announcing the availability of local, 10-digit phone numbers for internet-based Relay (IP), Instant Messaging Relay (IM), Video Relay Service (VRS) and Federal VRS customers. Their ?Call Now? service will enable IP and VRS users to be assigned a local 10-digit phone number so that they can receive calls directly and make 911 calls based on their geographic location. No longer will callers have to deal with dialing a toll-free number to reach Sprint Relay users with this new setup. VRS numbers are currently available while IP numbers will kick into action from tomorrow onwards.
With ?Call Now,? Sprint Relay users can be contacted directly by their family, friends and colleagues by dialing their personal 10-digit phone number and will automatically connect with a Relay operator or VRS interpreter. In addition, customers can set up their account profile including their physical address with city, state and zip code. The account profile will be ready for VRS or IP relay users to make 911 emergency calls.
This is good news as it shows Sprint isn’t just deaf (no pun intended) to the needs of their customer range.
Press Release
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Don’t we all love receiving gifts and presents? After all, it makes us feel loved, and there is that indescribable feeling of tearing open the wrapping paper to discover what we’ve been hankering after all this while sitting there, right in front of us. Unfortunately in this day and age, there are some presents that we receive which could come with a pretty serious defect – imaging getting a new digital photo frame that upon plugging into your computer, results in an attempt infecting the said PC with a virus. Yes, that is actually happening for folks who have received several different models of digital photo frames from retailers like Wal-Mart, Amazon and others. Talk about a blue holiday season!
Among those affected would be recipients of a Mercury 1.5″ Digital Photo keychain from Wal-Mart (it would be prudent to assume the same for those who picked this up from other stores as well) to be purportedly greeted by a virus. Both DPFMate.exe and FEnCodeUnicode.dll files were discovered on some of these Mercury keychains, while Samsung’s SPF-85H 8″ digital photo frame is something like a bad apple – it has been struck by a worm as well. Amazon did fire out an email alerting customers about the Samsung frame a few days before Christmas, with the explanation that the W32.Sality.AE worm will show up in the “SAMSUNG FRAME MANAGER XP VERSION 1.08″ software on the installation disc.
This isn’t the first time that it has happened, and it certainly won’t be the last, either. It makes us wonder why would disgruntled workers at companies churning out these devices include malware – can’t they talk it out with their superiors or enlist the help of their union if they need better terms and conditions in their contract? Negatively affecting the holiday mood for everyone else, especially innocent people is not the way one goes about solving things.
Source: Arstechnica
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
The holiday season often involves a whole lot of travel, and regardless of the mode of transport, kids will be kids. You will certainly be bombarded with questions such as “Are we there yet?” for at least a few hundred times, even more so if you’re on a long road trip instead of taking a flight that affords more mercies for your ears. After all, children these days tend to get bored much easier compared to their counterparts a generation back mainly because of the environment they grow up in – there are just too many distractions around and they need to be “wowed” in order to capture their attention. Good for you if you own an iPhone – you’ll be able to load it up with the iKids Play software that offers five fun, creative and positive alternatives to gaming for “i” generation kids.
iKids Play activities will rely on the iPhone’s unique strengths, using tactile and fine motor skills, spatial coordination, color recognition, listening skills, and practice reading books aloud to help keep them riveted to the device without flooding everyone in the car with the same inane questions for the umpteenth time. Well, at least this is much better compared to some of the kids-based garbage offered on the DS if you’re into portable entertainment. This is actually the classic “mommy survival bag” that has been updated to meet the needs of kids in the 21st century, packed with storybooks, coloring books, drawing pads, crayons and pencils has been digitally redesigned as a downloadable application.
For those who want a physical preview, you can pick up print versions of the children’s picture books at bookstores or online, while newer iKids Play books will be made available for purchase once a month at the Apple Apps Store in order to keep things fresh.
Press Release
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
By Congressional standards, the Digital Television Converter Voucher program has been a roaring success. So much so that the program may run out of voucher coupons limit by the first week of January nearly a month before the February 17, 2009 transition deadline. Congress appropriated $1.34-billion for converter box vouchers to help absorb the cost of the mandatory digital handover. And nearly all of it has been handed out, which is not surprising considering that the program received 1.5 million requests for vouchers per week. So time, and available money are running out fast.
The rules of the program state, that once the entire fund has been exhausted in sent out vouchers, no further requests will be honored, unless the vouchers go unspent. Any funds left unspent will be redirected to new vouchers which will be released as funds allow. This means that those waiting until the very last minute to make their request may have to wait and see if any funds are leftover from unused voucher coupon cards.
The cards, which provide for $40 towards an analog to digital converter, can be used to purchase any of 60 models of boxes with a price range of between $40 and $100. Will Congress move to approve additional funding? With the bailout, and unused vouchers still needing to be accounted for, it would seem unlikely. So if you want one, you better hurry and request one now.
Hat Tip ? Reuters
CES 2009 is upon us yet again – has it been a year already? Time certainly flies by too fast for our own good.