Day: June 7, 2006

“Verizon is currently the only retailer of the Q and even has an exclusive. Verizon’s network is based on CDMA technology which differs from the more popular GSM. As a technology it’s better in some respects though audio quality has never been brilliant in my opinion. In use the quality is fine, I find that the high-frequencies are more muted but that interference noise is lower. It is certainly good though and I suspect that the GSM version to follow will be even better. It sounds like a Motorola – which is a compliment.The signal strength indicator often showed a lower number of bars than my reference CDMA RAZR but I didn’t experience any call drops whilst walking and driving.For any older Verizon users – This is a Digital only phone. They’ll know what I mean.In use the phone is responsive and rapid. Being a Smartphone its focus is on being a phone first and a PDA second. Calls can be set up, held, transferred and placed into conference. Calls can be moved from earpiece to speaker to hands-free and back without issue. It is an accomplished effort.Like all Smartphones the Q supports Profiles that change the way the phone operates automatically or by intervention; I have mine automatically answer calls when I’m driving.” Read this review at mobiletechreview.com

“Introducing the newest member of the Pepper Pad Web player family. The first handheld devices to deliver a seamless user experience for entertainment and communication services built around the convergence of the Web and digital media. The Pepper Pad 3 is the first product created by the partnership between HanBit Electronics and Pepper Computer. ENHANCED PERFORMANCE AND SMALLER SIZE – The sleek new Pepper Pad 3 includes all of the award-winning features of the original Pepper Pad plus greatly enhanced Web and video performance, faster Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and a built-in video camera. All of this in a smaller design that makes it even easier to carry and use. WIRELESS INTERNET – With the Pepper Pad 3, consumers can hold in their own two hands the entire world of digital media and broadband services. Right out of the box, consumers can instantly, easily and wirelessly access the Internet and their home network. Consumers can enjoy the richness of the Web and personal communications, including voice, anywhere there is Wi-Fi. DIGITAL MEDIA – Because the Pepper Pad has both built-in Wi-Fi and a disk, consumers can stream and download their favorite music, videos and photos and carry them around the house or on-the-go. No PC or sync required. A/V CONTROL – With the Pepper Pad’s infrared and UPnP capabilities, consumers can wirelessly control their PC, TV, stereo and set-top boxes, with support for hundreds of existing and future A/V devices. LIGHTWEIGHT AND RUGGED – At 2 lbs and less than 0.9” inch thick, the rugged and splash resistant Pepper Pad is perfect for the family room couch, the kitchen counter, the bedside table, the coffee shop or just about anywhere. SECURE AND LOW MAINTENANCE – With the Pepper Pad’s secure, low-maintenance application environment, you and your customers can concentrate on enjoying the world of broadband instead of spending time and money on support and software maintenance. Unlike a PC, it just works.” Learn more here:

“Nokia has reported it started the shipments of a new mobile phone N91 in the US. I’d remind you that Nokia N91 is positioned as an advanced multimedia model supporting all recent technologies.It’s possible to order the new phone on the American site of Nokia at $600. The happy owners of N91 will get a bonus – records from Live8 concert, which took place last July. Here you can learn technical specs and also read the review.” via mobile-review.com

“Net2Phone has sued eBay and its Skype unit, alleging that they infringed on a patent it obtained in 2000 and seeking a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary compensation.Net2Phone charged eBay and Skype with violating U.S. Patent 6,108,704, which describes a method for establishing a point-to-point communications link between two devices via Internet protocol.Net2Phone and Skype compete in the VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) market. They provide services that let users talk to each other via the Internet using either PCs or telephones.An eBay spokeswoman said the company hasn’t been served with the complaint and can’t comment on the lawsuit. Net2Phone didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. Net2Phone filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.Last year, eBay bought Skype for around $2.6 billion, snapping up a fast-growing company that had quickly become immensely popular worldwide because of the high quality of its voice communications and user friendly interface. Founded in 2003, Skype already had around 54 million registered users in 225 countries when eBay announced its intention to acquire it in September 2005.Skeptics have said eBay paid too hefty a price for Skype, but eBay contends that VoIP is a key ingredient for its online marketplace, a service that will significantly improve the communication between buyers and sellers.Skype’s business and usage continue to grow quickly. It ended its 2006 first quarter on March 31 with almost 95 million registered users. Its revenue jumped 42 percent to $35.2 million from 2005’s fourth quarter. In 2004, it had revenue of around $7 million.Meanwhile, Net2Phone ended its 2006 second quarter on Jan. 31 with $25.8 million in revenue, up 19 percent from 2005’s fourth quarter and 45 percent from 2005’s second quarter. The company recorded a net loss of $4.1 million in 2006’s second quarter, narrower than the net loss of $10.6 million in 2005’s second quarter.” via engadget.com

“Anywhere today announced the general availability of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) features for its popular AvantGo mobile Internet service.With AvantGo for RSS, users can easily view mobile RSS subscriptions for free. AvantGo users can add any RSS feed to their account, without installing additional software, and then synchronize using a wireless or desktop Internet connection to receive the feed items in a format optimized for their device.”We were very pleased with the results of the beta test on AvantGo for RSS. Our subscribers have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback,” said Neil Versen, senior director, AvantGo at iAnywhere. “AvantGo is not only free but also enables access to feeds both online and offline – a feature that our subscribers indicated was one of the most important requirements in choosing a mobile RSS reader.”This release expands the content available through AvantGo by including the millions of RSS feeds offered by bloggers and major media. Now users can: * Easily sync and view new RSS items/articles; * Save up to five RSS items per AvantGo RSS channel; * Share photos, allowing users of photo sharing sites that offer photo feeds to use AvantGo as their mobile photo album; * Personalize RSS channels to optimize feed subscriptions, set the maximum allowable size for the channel and whether or not to include images; * Quickly subscribe to RSS channels on-the-fly with AvantGo’s AutoChannel bookmarklet for RSS; and * Promote their own Web site or blog RSS feeds by creating a button that enables users to quickly add their site to AvantGo. iAnywhere’s new AvantGo for RSS service is immediately available for AvantGo 5.7 or above users.AvantGo for RSS supports RSS versions 0.91, 1.0 and 2.0 and Atom syndication formats. Supported devices include Palm OS 5, Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Windows Mobile Smartphone, Symbian OS UIQ and Symbian OS v6.1 Series 60.” Find out more here:

“The first windows mobile smartphone W-ZERO3 in Japan get upgraded to a new variant WS004SH.The Willcom WS004SH is similar W-ZERO3, except the upgraded memory. The smartphone has an outstanding 640 x 480 screen to allow better browsing experience and easier document editing. QWERTY keyboard make text entry faster when compose an email or edit your office document. It has also built in Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) together with Windows Mobile 5.0. This enable Direct Push functionality and providing enhanced device management and security for messaging applications. Opera Mobile 8.6 will be installed by default.Since the release of W-ZERO3 made by Sharp, 150k units has been sold so far in Japan.” More photos at slashphone.com