Rob Beschizza

Kiki, Sony Ericsson's strangest phone ever

Codenamed Kiki, this handset, purportedly forthcoming from Sony-Ericsson, sports a glassy display and an unusual design, but no specs are offered. That's Vodafone, in the mockup image, as carrier. Also, I fully support the call for more green handsets. [Mobil via Unwired View]

Rob Beschizza

Rachel, Sony-Ericsson's first Android Phone

Based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon platform, Sony-Ericsson's first phone to use Google's Android operating system is codenamed "Rachel" and will join the high-end Xperia lineup.

According to German mag Mobil, it could have a 1GHz CPU, 7.2 Mbps data, and an 8 megapixel camera. Depicted on the photos are a 3.5mm jack and a mini-USB connector.

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Mobile unveils first Android mobile [Mobil via Unwired View]

Rob Beschizza

iPhone 3GS jailbreak leaked, Dev Team slammed

George Hotz put out an iPhone 3GS jailbreak for Windows, with OSX to follow soon. This allows the installation of third-party software not approved for Apple's appstore, but doesn't unlock it for use with T-Mobile or other GSM networks.

Download it. Make sure you have windows(but not 7), the latest iTunes installed, and an iPhone 3GS with 3.0 firmware. Connect your iPhone normally. Click "make it ra1n". Wait. On bootup, run Freeze, the purplera1n installer app. Hopefully you'll figure out what to do from there.

Hotz explicitly calls out the iPhone dev-team for waiting until 3.1 to release the crack.

Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the "last" hole in the iPhone. What last hole...this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week.

Fantastic. I wonder if this alternative release will provide Apple with an opportunity to quickly jail the 3GS again in 3.1. Preventing just this scenario was ostensibly the reason for Dev-team's decision to wait.

I make it ra1n [iPhonejtag]

Rob Beschizza

BREAKING! Tinker bell game now available for your cellphone

Just in from Disney is today's Mundane Gadget Spam of the Day. Tinker Bell's unnervingly expressive CGI thighs storm into the 21st century in an exciting cellphone-based game.

Explore "Tinker Bell" -- the mobile game! To download the game now, text the following: Verizon customers: Text TINK to GAME (4263)* AT&T customers: Text TINK to FUN (386)* TMobile customers: Text TINK to GAMES (42637)*

It is some ghastly puzzle app. Remember to get your parents' permission before texting!

Joel Johnson

Solar Gard car window film blocks sunlight, not Wi-Fi

According to a company selling the solution, traditional window film doesn't just block visible and UV rays from the sun, but also catches the 2.4GHz radio waves that carry data in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Solar Gard, a new window film from Bekaert, forgoes the typical metalized particles for a—ahem—"nanotech" formula that provides up to SPF 285 protection from the nasty spectrums, but lets your data pass through unmolested.

If you're interested (and want to get some real-world pricing), you can find an installer who uses Solar Gard at the product website.

Rob Beschizza

Verizon locks customers out of phone upgrades (Update: Freedom!)

Verizon is locking its own customers out of upgrades. From Gizmodo:

Here's something for our hefty "WTF, Verizon?" file: The BlackBerry Tour, soon to be Verizon's top phone, cannot be pre-ordered by existing customers under contract who want to upgrade. What's worse, upgrades may be blocked even after the phone's release.

Cellphone subsidies exist to create a consumer relationship that resembles debt. The question "Why would Verizon stop people buying phones?" yields the answer "Because selling phones is like selling credit." They make a lot more money, but have to be careful about who they do business with: existing debtors are low on the pole because they've already got you.

This is why customer service at the carriers so notoriously ends when you sign up. The only real obligation past that point is that you have to give them money for two years.

Verizon Customers Under Contract Can't Order BlackBerry Tour [Gizmodo]

Update: Verizon changed its mind. Yay!

Rob Beschizza

iPhone 3.1 software emerges

In the next update to the iPhone's operating system are non-destructive video editing, bluetooth voice control, improved OpenGL and quartz performance, and video editing APIs for developers. [theiphoneblog]

Rob Beschizza

How to receive thousands of satellite channels

An amazing story in the New York Times reads like a science fiction pastiche of the last century:

Lee Si-kap, a shy farmer living in this central South Korean town, holds a record: He owns more satellite dishes than any other South Korean -- 85 of them, receiving 1,500 satellite television channels from more than 100 countries, some as far away as South Africa and Canada.

Photo: Choe Sang-Hun/International Herald Tribune

Joel Johnson

Living off the grid with a Palm Pre: Cattle Rancher Edition

File this review from a rancher who used only his Palm Pre to access the web under "phones are computers now":

I did a lot of study and comparison shopping before I decided on the Pre. Again, my family lives completely off-grid. What power we do use comes from our small solar array, and we do occasionally run a generator. I am writing this on a small Acer laptop using wireless radio internet from the nearest small town. I am a writer, I edit a few fairly large websites, and I am an Agrarian blogger. I receive a lot of communications and correspondence from people all over the world, and I need to be able to constantly stay on top of my correspondence while still remaining free to work on my ranch and live the life I preach about and love. It had gotten to the point that I generally spent at least 5 and sometimes up to 8 hours a day in our small cabin on the internet. I needed a smartphone tool and not a toy. When you live on a ranch, you appreciate tools and you know tools have a purpose. I wasn't just out for the newest gadget, I have been looking for a way to accomplish very specific tasks in very specific ways. I needed a tool that would hold up to the rigors of what I do, and that would allow me to do things while I work on the ranch. I know that there are fanboys and tech geeks out there who couldn't wait to break down the Pre and analyze every line of code, etc. I know that there are folks who just want a great platform on which to run multiple apps and games. I basically needed a mobile internet, email, and texting tool that would also provide mountains of information at my fingertips - instantly. I'm not disparaging other phones or other people, but I needed a tool that would be able to respond to my very unique needs.

Joel Johnson

Europe, meet your new phone charger standard

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung, and Texas Instruments have all agreed to accept microUSB as the standard phone charger format starting in 2010. Wonderful, welcome development, and I hope it means we'll get this by proxy here in North America.

Apple playing along has interesting ramifications to not just the iPhone, but to the entire iPod family: Will the long-standing Dock Connector, used by countless third-party accessories, finally be on the way out?

Rob Beschizza

Smartphone guide keeps it simple

Wired's guide to buying a smartphone is nice and straightforward. Send it to the people you know need it. [Gadget Lab]

Rob Beschizza

Dev-Team has iPhone 3GS jailbreak--but the wait continues

Owners of the latest iPhone can look forward to using it with other carriers and installing their own software--but not yet. Dev-Team has a new crack completed, but intends to hold onto it until the right moment.

"We can jailbreak the 3GS right now," writes an anonymous developer at the iPhone-dev.org blog. "But making our jailbreak public at this point in time would benefit relatively few people. It would in fact be detrimental to many more people than it would help. So we feel it's best to keep our version of the jailbreak out of Apple's sights for the time being."

As Apple will be able to identify the bug they exploited once they go public, the team plans to release only after an imminent firmware update (and more international launches of the iPhone 3GS itself) before exposing their methodology.

The comment thread contains some superb internet complaining, running the gamut from allcaps rant to exquisitely-crafted insinuation. Would you like some whine with that sense of entitlement, sir?

Rob Beschizza

Pre takes a bite out of iPhone in new Sprint ad

Joel Johnson

Ghostbusters and the Angel of NYNEX

Geoff Manaugh:

Thing is - spoiler alert - halfway through the film, the Ghostbusters realize that NYNEX isn't a phone system at all: it's the embedded nervous system of an angel - a fallen angel - and all those phone calls and dial-up modems in college dorm rooms and public pay phones are actually connected into the fiber-optic anatomy of a vast, ethereal organism that preceded the architectural build-up of Manhattan.

Manhattan came afterwards, that is: NYNEX was here first.

Joel Johnson

HP releases classic scientific calculator emulators for iPhone

That's not a picture of an old HP 15C Scientific Calculator—or rather, it is, but only as it appears as an application for the iPhone or iPod Touch, available now in the iTunes App Store for $30.

Too expensive? You can get the HP 12C Financial Calculator model software for only $15.

Joel Johnson

Video: Tech Vi on the HTC Hero

I slapped some hair jelly on and a big blast of cologne and joined Popular Mechanics' Seth Porges (friend of the show) and host Randall Bennett to talk about the HTC Hero and the future of HTC on today's episode of TechVi.

Joel Johnson

HTC's latest Android phone, the Hero

Coming in 2009 across the globe, the attractive HTC Hero. The whole thing is covered in Teflon, making it perfect for frying. And in a first for an Android phone, it includes a proper 3.5mm headphone jack.

Joel Johnson

Video: StevenF's iPhone 3GS Unboxing

It's funny because it's true.

Joel Johnson

Didn't get that $200 rebate from Apple for the iPhone 3GS? Wait a bit longer

File this under "From a poor, overworked customer rep at a contracted call center," but when I asked an Apple customer service representative today if I would qualify for that $200 refund that some early iPhone 3G adopters were getting for upgrading to the iPhone 3G, she consulted her supervisor (or took a smoke break) and returned to say, "We've been told that those emails are going out in stages and it will take another week before they're all sent." I hope against hope—that would make my 3GS upgrade basically free (if you ignore my renewed 2-year contract with AT&T).

Joel Johnson

Video Update: My garden is coming along (iPhone 3GS Video comparison)

Except for some habanero peppers and some sugar snap peas that don't seem to want to thrive, my garden is doing quite nicely. It's been a joy to have space to work on it.

I shot this vid with the iPhone 3GS and uploaded to YouTube directly from the phone. It took about 10 seconds to send this 30-second clip, including compressing and sending over Wi-Fi.

Interestingly, the video was viewable on YouTube within about 60 seconds, but there was a little bar at the top that said that processing was still going on. "This video is still being processed. Video quality may improve once processing is complete." I hope so, because while being able to upload right from the phone is great, the video quality is definitely lacking.

Here's what it looks like when I uploaded the original 13.3MB file directly to YouTube. Still not amazing, but definitely better.

Joel Johnson

Four iPhone accessories I'd buy tomorrow...if they existed

The iPhone is an all-in-wonder device, capable of replacing an increasingly large number of other gadgets. But there's some things that it can't do—things that are so specialized that they're best made possible by aftermarket peripherals.

Now that the 3.0 firmware makes the addition of peripherals possible (at least through the dock connector, if not Bluetooth), here are a few accessories I'd like to see:

⌦ Tripod mount – It would be dead simple for a third-party to make a case with a couple of the standard issue screw holes: one in the bottom for portrait; another on the side for landscape. This makes even more sense now that the iPhone 3GS can shoot video.

⌦ Underwater housing – I know—how would you use a touchscreen underwater? I'm just a whiny gadget blogger. It's my job to complain about this stuff—it's up to manufacturers to figure out how to make a touchscreen that works even through a waterproof membrane.

Bonus points if it's actually able to be taken to recreational scuba depths (~100ft). Update: My Google is weak: iDive makes a speaker housing that works with iPhone. (Thanks to @danfrakes seting me straight.)

And because I'm going for ideas here and not bullet points, you could combine something of the first two points and get another good one: an Action case that could be clipped to vehicles or athletes that is rugged enough to withstand a few hard knocks.

⌦ Multitool – You can already get an iPhone case that doubles as a wallet. So why not one that turns the metaphorical Swiss army knife into a literal one? I'm sure someone like Gerber, Leatherman, or Victorinox could make a slim case that held at least a knife, scissors, and a bottle opener. (And hopefully designed it in such a way that you wouldn't be torquing it against the iPhone screen. Krueesush!)

⌦ Keyboard – There have been wireless Bluetooth hacks that need jailbroken phones and ones that work by tricking the phone (which can be purchased), but as of today there's still not a good way to use an external keyboard with the iPhone.

The onscreen keyboard works just fine for daily use, but as someone who writes several thousand words a day, I would love to be able to use a portable full-size keyboard. My little dream is that it could be the Apple Wireless Keyboard paired over Bluetooth, but at this point I'd be happy with something that connected through the dock.

With the speed of the 3GS, coupled with push updates that enable a primitive multitasking, I think I could happily live without a laptop—or even a netbook—for days at a time. But I've got to have that keyboard if I were going to do any real work.

Photo: Mike Rohde

Joel Johnson

Reseller market for iPhone 3G is a lot like used Macs

One of things that long-time Macintosh owners will tell you is that the resell value for Apple computers trends higher than other PC brands. It's not uncommon for even three- or four-year-old Macs to sell for hundreds of dollars, while PCs of similar vintage go for less. It's the sort of thing you tell yourself before you drop a couple thousand dollars on Apple hardware to mute the sting a bit, but in my experience it tends to be true.

I just sold my iPhone 3G—a well-worn 16GB model that was listed with a nice, big picture of the crack in the plastic up around the headphone jack, and isn't unlocked—for $300 on eBay. I'm a bit shocked, frankly. You can pick up the same model brand new at AT&T for $99, or $200 for a 3GS, with a two-year contract.

But for those that don't want to sign up with AT&T, it seems like it's worth paying a few hundred to use an iPhone on another network. That certainly makes the $500 I paid for a new iPhone 3GS feel a lot less painful.

It reminds me an awful lot of what it's like to be a Mac owner who upgrades every 12-18 months. A high initial investment lets me use gear of recent revision, provided I'm willing to keep it in decent shape and resell the old stuff.

And in this case there's an added bonus: I can free an iPhone from the bonds of AT&T service. It's almost like a good deed.

Lisa Katayama

Photo: camping with geeks

Steven Leckart and Brian Lam enjoying the great outdoors.

This post is part of a Theme Day: BBG on Camping.

Steven Leckart

8 iPhone Apps For Camping

I picked up my first iPhone last Friday. I've yet to take it camping, but I'll be heading out into the wilderness this coming weekend. Nothing hardcore, but some light hiking, stove-top cooking and tent living.

Here are the apps I'm most curious to try, even though there's some mixed feedback on iTunes. If you have any experience with these or can recommend additional apps worth paying for (or free ones worth the time), please leave your suggestions in the comments.

I'll be posting any truly useful favorite(s) after I return.

1) TrailBehind ($.99): User-generated maps with info about specific trail heads, summits, streams, state park landmarks, and more.

2) Park Maps ($.99): GPS maps of 250+ national parks and recreational spots in the U.S. The reviews are mixed.

3) Knot Guide ($3.99): Version 1.7 got pretty high marks from iPhone App Reviews.net. Version 3.3 offers instructions on 68 knots. For $4, it better be exceedingly better than...

4) Knot Time ($.99): Only 28 knots, but instructional videos sound clutch. However, some 3G S users are said to be experiencing issues with playback. As soon as an update's in place, I'm game.

5) Flashlight ($.99), Flashlight. (FREE), Torch (FREE) and Super Torch ($1.99): I use a headlamp, but the idea of having a less direct mood light for reading in the tent seems appealing. Since some of these let you tweak the color (i.e. red), too, you can preserve your night vision.

6) Motion-X GPS Lite (FREE): I've read it's one of the most accurate mapping apps. Bonus: you can plot your pace and set specific locations to help you make your way back to camp, for instance.

7) Anti Mosquito ($.99), Repel Mosquito ($.99), Mosquito Repeller($1.99) are just a few of the apps which emit high frequencies that supposedly keep away pests. I'm skeptical. I used Bug Spray (FREE) last Saturday at a wedding in a wooded area in Sonoma County. I got one small mosquito bite on my neck, but that's fewer than some of the other people I was with. Needless to say, I can't really say for sure whether this app helped or not.

8) AccuWeather (FREE): If you're spending any prolonged period of time camped outdoors, you'll want to know more than the chance of rain and current or predicted temp. 411 for humidity, pressure, winds = good. A long-term forecast of 5 to 15 days = good-er.

After the jump, see why it's not such a bad thing to be paranoid about taking your iPhone into the wilderness...

This post is part of a theme day: BBG on Camping.

photo by proviatoes

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Rob Beschizza

iPhone 3.0 software features at a glance

Apple offers a chart explaining which iPhone software features work on each edition of the handset. [Apple]

Rob Beschizza

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

T-Mobile's second handset to feature Google's Android operating system, the myTouch 3G is manufactured by HTC and will hit the U.S. in August. At $200 with a 2-year contract, it'll be offered in white, black and dark red. Other features include Wi-Fi, GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera with automatic uploads, Exchange support and a bundled 4GB microSD card. [T-Mobile]

Rob Beschizza

Man records TSA harassment with iPhone

At CNN:

On a recording a TSA agent can be heard berating Bierfeldt. One sample: "You want to play smartass, and I'm not going to play your f**king game."

They pulled him aside because he was carrying $4,700 in cash -- not because they had any indication he was a threat to flight safety.

Steven Leckart

First Impressions: iPhone 3G S [Verdict: Worth My Wait]

Say what you will about the 3G S &mdash that it seems more like version 2.5, instead of 3.0; that it looks exactly like the 3G and, at the very least, should have featured some design tweaks (like new colors); that you're crazy to spend $200-$300 on a phone in this economy.

Fair enough, but whatever... it's a NEW iPHONE.

I awoke at 4:45 am PST today to stand in line among all the fanboys (and girls) jonesing to get their hands on the latest piece of gadget goodness descended from Mount Appleympus.

In short, I'm STOKED with the hardware bequeathed to us from Apple. A big part of that, however, is the fact this is my very first iPhone*. For two years, I've listened to all of you brag about the updates, flex those apps, and bitch about AT&T &mdash which, in and of itself, seems like a right of passage into the iClub. Well, I have my first semi-rant:

I experienced mega-issues porting my T-Mobile number to AT&T. This was complicated by the fact one port got started, did not go through, and was supposedly canceled by AT&T, but was never actually canceled. Thus, each subsequent attempted port never went through. In the end, I spent TWO hours in the Apple Store. I can't believe it took that long, but I will say Apple customer service was truly fantastic. They allowed me to purchase two phones (one for my wife), despite the fact I only reserved one.

Never mind the bollocks, here's those quick, first impressions

I've had my phone for a little over four hours, and while I haven't put it to the paces with speed tests and other comparisons, I'll go out on a limb, joining my pals at Gizmodo and other writers &mdash some of whom have had this thing for some time now &mdash and declare this iteration to be a solid buy.

• The auto focus works tremendously well for still and video. A simple tap and you're not only there, but the picture re-focuses in a fraction of a section. A simple, tiny slide of the finger lets you toggle between still and video, too. Not instantly, but the minor lag is maybe 2-3 seconds. It's also interesting to see when and where Apple decides to incorporate all the gestures in its arsenal (pinch, tap, double tap, slide, etc.). In this case, sliding works rather well, since two separate buttons simply wouldn't fit the space as comfortably.

• The video quality is pretty damn good (30fps). From a cursory glance, I'd say it looks as good if not superior optics to what I've been getting from the Nokia N97 (i.e. the video I shot this morning of an eager-beaver fanboy bum rushing the Apple Store).

• The processor is noticeably awesome. Again I haven't done any side by sides, but it just feels fast, particularly when you're working between multiple applications, switching from phone to video, etc. You could argue that's my wallet talking. Then again, you can't shake a stick at that added MHz.

• Voice Control is solid, not amazing. It did not recognize my mother's name on the first try, but did when I slowed down (pretty good considering how much Google Voice mangled my last name*). When I requested my phone to play music from Department of Eagles, it did it immediately.

• I can't say much for the battery just yet. But so far so decent. I fully-charged mine and have had it unplugged the last hour during some light usage (Twitterific, texting, maps, camera/video), and only a tiny sliver of the battery icon's disappeared.

• I haven't used the compass.

Now I just need a good case.

*I tested the 3G for Wired's 2008 Test issue. I liked it. But a contract from T-Mobile kept me from making the switch. I've known for 12+ months that I'd be making the switch. My contract literally expired this week. So really, even if they hadn't released a new iteration, it's safe to say I would have bought the 3G.

**To be perfectly fair, I do realize it's significantly easier to recognize a name than it is to translate it to text.

Steven Leckart

Video: Overeager Fanboy Bum Rushes 3G S Launch, Gets Blocked

Here's the #1 guy in line at the San Francisco Apple Store being told to hold his horses for the iPhone 3GS. There's something about that moment of "not yet, dude" that I just love.

Yes, I know the image quality isn't too hot. For what it's worth, I was using the Nokia N97 &mdash review forthcoming

Update: #1 fanboy is Adam Jackson. (thanks Doctor Popular!)

Steven Leckart

"The Shortest Line I've Ever Seen For an iPhone"