Samsung today announced availability of the Samsung Stride, a simple flip phone on U.S. Cellular. The Stride packs a 1.3 megapixel camera and uses U.S. Cellular’s EasyEdge services to download games, ringtones and wallpapers. The Stride is available for $30 with a contract agreement.
From Samsung
All credits and information was found phonescoop.com
If we know you at all (and we think we know you pretty well) you’ll probably be amused and titillated to learn that Vodafone has announced that its first Vodafone-branded Android phone will be available this May. The Vodafone 845 — which we first saw in an FCC filing a couple weeks ago — certainly is, in the UK idiom, a “budget blower.” Featuring Android 2.1, a 2.8-inch (240 x 320) touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera, 128MB RAM, and 512MB storage, there is nothing too terribly wild here, but you know what? Sometimes a company just needs to hit a comfortable, middle-of-the-road benchmark. The kids at the UK mobile website Fone Home have a handsome gallery for you to check out, so do hit that via to get rolling… but not before you peep the video after the break.
Update: OK, maybe the title of this post was a little misleading. We meant to say that this is the first Vodafone-branded Android handset — as you’re probably well aware, this carrier is certainly no stranger to the beloved open source OS.
All credits and information was found on engadget.com
Kyocera today announced the new Sanyo Juno, a quick messaging phone available today on Boost Mobile’s pre-paid lineup. The new phone is basically a Boost version of the Sanyo SCP-2700, originally available on Sprint, loaded with Boost-styled wallpapers and games. The Juno is a simple messager with a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3 megapixel camera and GPS for navigation. The Juno will be available in “impulsive pink and deep blue” for $100.
All credits and information was found on phonescoop.com
Today at WES 2010, RIM’s Mike Kirkup discussed some of his company’s plans for BlackBerry App world. It was noted that the new Pearl 3G and Bold 9650 would be the first devices to have App World pre-loaded, and that App World would be a built-in feature of all future BlackBerry devices. Carriers can have it removed, however, if they so choose.
Kirkup also said that RIM is adding carrier and credit card billing to BlackBerry App World 2.0 and that the developer revenue split will still be 70 percent, regardless of the payment method the customer chooses. Kirkup said that there are currently two carriers already in testing phases for billing, but he declined to name them, saying that he did not expect any carrier billing partner announcements to take place at the WES event.
Kirkup also mentioned that BlackBerry App World is now approaching 1 million application downloads per day at this time.
All credits and information was found on mobileburn.com
Updating Android applications has always been a pain in the butt thanks to Google’s insistance that each app be updated by itself. But according to a 4chan poster who apparently has a reputation for being in the know, Android 2.2 will make it possible to have apps automatically update themselves. His proof? The image you see before you.
All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com
There’s a lot to be happy about in iPhone OS 4. Like multitasking, and threaded inboxes. So why doesn’t it feel right?iPhone OS 4 isn’t a drastic overhaul, or a radical reinvention of the iPhone formula; it’s just another predictable step forward. But the little things it delivers in response to popular whims are what feel most awkward and ill-fitting—things like custom wallpapers, folders and even the way it handles multitasking.
iPhone 4.0 is in still beta, which is a good thing, because that means Apple still has time to improve on what has been previewed. We’re not sure how much will actually change between now and this summer, but here’s what we hope Apple pays closest attention to as they get down to the wire:
Wallpapers
One of Apple’s more paradoxically admirable qualities is that it doesn’t give people what they ask for. When they do, well, it can look like this. And it’s gross. Worse, this is just the default wallpaper. Can you imagine what people’s iPhones are going to look like when they start adding their own ugly wallpapers? Wallpapers work on the iPad, because there’s a ton of space. On the iPhone’s smaller screen, packed with icons, it’s too much. With the iPhone’s simple black backdrop, Apple actually saved people from themselves.
At the very least, keep the default wallpaper black, and throw in some more serene alternatives.
Folders
The iPhone’s system of organizing apps stops scaling after a certain point—somewhere around 6 pages filled with little squares, the system collapses into a pile of stabby pain and frustration, long before you even hit the maximum number of 11 pages of apps. Folders attempts to fix this set of issues, letting you pour multiple apps into one little icon, organizing them however you wish, and bumping the maximum number of apps to just over 2,000 (which, BTW, means you’re crazy).
There are several problems with Folders. Foremost, if iPhone OS is a new computing and interface paradigm that’s designed to break us out of the desktop model, why is Apple going back to an old metaphor like Folders? Even simply calling it something different, like Stacks, would be slightly better from a mental model standpoint.
Second, it is messy file management. Each folder can hold up to 12 apps inside, but the folder thumbnail that you see in the home screen only shows nine icons. If you do have 12 apps, opening the folder reveals a neat and tidy three rows of four. But if you prefer nine, as many obviously would, you get a scrambled, non-logical layout—two rows of 4, plus a little orphan icon on its own row. It’s a strange paradox for a company that takes pride in consciously clever design, especially when there’s a pretty easy way to make Folders work better.
A final more trivial point is that it clashes with the overall iPhone aesthetic. The weird dimpled, vaguely rubber texture under the enclosed apps. The floating folder title. The odd fade-and-slide animation. It’s all kind of misplaced.
A slightly cleaner look and concept is really all that needs to happen here.
Multitasking
Multitasking. A godsend. Except the way it actually works. Double-tapping the home button brings up a single row of recently used apps, a snaking trail of icons that grows indefinitely until you perform a full restart or manually quit each one. They’re dispersed in what feels like a random order, requiring you to flick, flick, flick to get to the app you want. It’s just as easy, if not easier, to bounce back to the homescreen for your desired app. If the number of recent apps grows to a certain number, why not use more of the screen real estate—say two rows of icons—to make it easier to get to the app you’re looking for.
Oh, and task management. It makes sense Apple doesn’t want people to think about it, but if you actually do futilely attempt to task manage, it’s kludgy at best—press and hold an icon, wait until it dances, then tap the minus button to kill the already paused process.
Let’s face it: The iPhone interface simply wasn’t designed from the beginning for users to juggle multiple apps. So on the whole, it feels bolted on—well, it is—rather than seamless. Is there a way to elegantly do multitasking without completely upending the iPhone’s interface? Maybe. So far, this isn’t it.
All credits and information was found on gizmodo.com
Verizon Wireless said that it is currently sending out an over-the-air update to customers with the Motorola Devour. The update is not a system upgrade to Android 2.0 or 2.1, but it does offer a number of stability improvements. According to Verizon, the email application is easier to use for setting up accounts and the browser should crash less often. Additionally, the phone’s home and menu keys will be more responsive, and call performance will be improved. Users will be notified when their device is ready to perform the update.
All credits and information was found on phonescoop.com
A San Francisco woman is suing Apple over what she claims are dishonest practices revolving around the use of liquid contact indicators (LCI). The small tabs, which are supposed to change color in the presence of liquid beyond the manufacturer’s specifications for normal moisture and humidity, have been common in Apple devices since 2007. The woman, San Francisco resident Charlene Gallion, claims that she was denied service due to a false positive by her iPhone’s LCI, even though she claims it had not been exposed to water. Because she was unable to verify Apple’s claim about a positive LCI, she claims in her suit that Apple’s warranty is “rendered illusory.”
All credits and information was found on phonescoop.com
Motorola’s Devour has somehow managed to get a little lost in the mix, primarily due to the wealth of Android options on America’s two main CDMA carriers right now. The design is certainly appealing, particularly to those still averse to virtual keyboards, but it’s the Blur user interface that really sets this apart from the Droid. Of course, we didn’t exactly find a whole lot to love about the total package (compared to the other Android options, anyway), but that’s not to say there’s nothing to discuss. On the contrary, actually. Did you plop down a crisp Benjamin to get yourself a Devour? Are you still happy with the decision? How’s Blur been treating you? Would you retool any of the hardware / software aspects? Get honest down in comments below, and yes, feel free to consider this the group therapy you’ve thus far refused to pay good money for.
All credits and information was found on engadget.com
long-rumored HTC Droid Incredible, the newest phone in the carrier’s Android lineup. The Droid Incredible will be available online from April 19, and in stores from April 29. The new device will cost $300 with a contract, and a $100 mail-in rebate, which comes as a debit card, is available. Verizon also says that shortly after launch, the phone will get access to Skype and NFL Mobile, two services the carrier has been pushing recently. The phone features a 3.7-inch, WVGA touchscreen using OLED tech, as well as an 8 megapixel camera around back. The interface is Android 2.1 with HTC’s newest Sense UI on top. Inside, a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor drives the action.
All credits and information was found on phonescoop.com