Product differentiation is getting more and more difficult these days. The lozenge-shaped, touch-enabled, all-purpose computing device is fast on its way, and while things like the Courier are still serving up surprises, you could be forgiven for thinking most of these big blank screens are pretty similar. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see some smart additions to the tablet form factor in this concept design by T3.
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T3’s “Netpad” puts a few new twists on the tablet format
Oh, it’s all going off in the UK at the moment, with the news that thousands of UK subs on the T-Mobile ( NYSE: DT ) network have unknowingly had their data sold on to third parties, for what is apparently substantial sums of money! For those that don’t live in the UK, we tend to take our data privacy quite seriously indeed – there are plenty of laws that are designed to protect – but what do you do when people on the inside are harvesting your details and selling them on to middlemen?
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UK: T-Mobile subs have their data sold on unknowingly
Orange today announced a partnership with Twitter, which will enable customers to send and receive Twitter updates directly from their mobile phones using text messaging. It also sees Orange become the first mobile phone operator to enable customers to upload and share photos on Twitter via MMS. The partnership has been designed to give Orange customers fast and simple access to Twitter without the need to download special software or pay extra for services.
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Orange and Twitter get it together, with MMS support included!
Here in the states, T-Mobile has been no stranger to screw-ups , but we’d always just figured that their UK counterparts were stand-up guys. After all, they’re British – as we all know, every one from that side of the pond is charming, affable, and rocks a bloody good accent. Unfortunately, it looks like not everyone employed there is as scrupulous as their customers would hope – a story by the BBC has confirmed that T-Mobile UK employees sold private subscriber data to a third-party broker.
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T-Mobile UK employees caught peddling personal data
The incessant whining about AT&T’s network coverage is especially loud here in San Francisco, and that’s largely because a lot of hipsters, techies and workaholics here own data-sucking iPhones. Fortunately, AT&T says it’s been investing in upgrades to improve bandwidth in the Bay Area. Some highlights from AT&T’s press release : Approximately 850 local cell sites have been upgraded to include 850 MHz, the majority occurring last quarter In 2009 so far, AT&T has added nearly 40 new cell sites in the Bay Area and added significant backhaul HSPA 7.2 slated to roll out in the Bay Area next year Since 2008, AT&T’s network in the San Francisco area has experienced a 3G data traffic increase of 2,000 percent Investments between 2008 and the third quarter of 2009 total nearly $65 million “We know there are still challenges in the area, and these upgrades and investments will continue,” an AT&T spokesman said in a statement.
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AT&T Rolls out Wireless Upgrades in SF Bay Area
Microsoft Windows continues to dominate the PC market with a 90 percent market-share stronghold, but when it comes to smartphones, Microsoft is getting beat up worse than a mustachioed villain in a Jackie Chan movie. Windows Mobile has lost nearly a third of its smartphone market share since 2008, research firm Gartner reports. Windows Mobile had 11 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, and last quarter Windows Mobile’s market share plummeted to 7.9 percent.
Originally posted here:
How Microsoft Blew It With Windows Mobile
Snaffle, an iPhone application created by lastminute.com labs , is one of those ridiculously awesome programs that makes you slap your forehead and make you wonder why no one else has done this before. Load it up, it uses the iPhone’s GPS to find out where you are, and then it displays shops around you that have a special promotion running.
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HD Video: iPhone App: Snaffle: Location based coupons in the London area
Here’s something yourself or your sister might be particularly interested in: A digital camera that helps you to pretty up pictures taken with it on the go. The so-called Love-Digi Moving Photo Camera [JP] is made by Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy and based on the cultural phenomenon of Purikura , photo booths in Japan that especially teenage girls use to create decorated snaps of themselves.
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Love-Digi Moving Photo Camera is a portable photo booth – almost (video)
I’ve been wary of any “vibrating massage” devices ever since the beating I received after rummaging through my parents’ closet as a child, but I’m willing to check out the USB Massage Scarf because of one amazing component: “high energy particles”. That and the amazing email pitch that landed in my inbox today: “Dear editors, The gadget I recommend today is surely a revolutionary tech item and will capture everyone’s eyeball closely.” Who could resist? Actually, the pitch is so good, here is the rest of it, for your information gathering pleasure: The scarf features high-energy particles with warm and wind-proof cloth, which is pretty suitable for wearing during cold days
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Tail-Swallowing USB ‘Massage Scarf’ Is an Infinitely Creepy Loop
The first thing you’ll say about the Eastside Fixed from Campus Cruisers is “Wow, an aluminum fixed-gear for just $300!” The next thing you’ll shout is “Wait, how did they make an aluminum fixed-gear weigh 21 pounds?” It’s true, 21 pounds isn’t heavy, but fixed-gear bikes don’t have much to add weight other than the frame and wheels, so even a steel framed bike (the usual fixed choice) can come in at less. Things get odder from there on. The $300 price is good only for the first 50 sold, after that rising 50% to $450
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Eastside Fixed: Low-Priced Frankenbike
Highly shady and controversial Taiwanese news site Digitimes is claiming that HTC, maker of such famous devices as the Android powered Hero and Windows Mobile 6.5 packing HD2 , is going to be releasing a feature fone in early 2010 that will run Qualcomm’s Brew MP operating system . The first American operators to offer Brew MP devices are going to be Verizon ( NYSE: VZ ) Wireless and Sprint ( NYSE: S )
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Brief: HTC to offer Qualcomm Brew MP powered feature fone in early 2010
Telstra, an operator from down under, created a new user interface in house called the “ TelstraOne Experience ” and have discovered that by making mobile fones easier to use, they can successfully increase usage of their data services. While many of you are rolling your eyes right now, saying “no fucking shit”, this new evidence may make handset makers rethink their feature fone OS user experience instead of pumping resources into yet another failed project that attempts to compete with the iPhone
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Austrilian operator Telstra discovers that slapping a better UI on feature fones increases data usage
After Russia , Samsung is bringing its Android-powered i5700 Galaxy Spica to Europe. The 800 MHz CPU-equipped device will certainly help Google ( NSDQ: GOOG )’s OS run faster, while also ensuring the smooth DivX video playback. Rest of the specs include HSDPA support, 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, 3-megapixel camera with auto-focus, GPS, digital compass, WiFi, microSD card slot, 1500mAh battery and so on.
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Android-powered Samsung i5700 Galaxy Spica ready for Europe
TeliaSonera and Altimo agreed to merge their interests in Turkcell and Megafon into a new company, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. AF Telecom, Megafon’s third major shareholder, is also invited to join the partnership, though we’re not sure about their response at this moment. The idea is to create an international operator, with over 90 million subscribers in Russia, Turkey and the CIS countries, which will focus on developing both Turkcell and MegaFon, as well as look for expansion into new emerging markets
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Megafon and Turkcell to be merged into a single holding company
It’s not fun times this evening if you’re on the BIS (BlackBerry ( NSDQ: RIMM ) Internet Service) this evening/morning. Multiple reports of BIS outages from around the world are coming in left right and center. At this time it’s not quite clear what is going on, but all I can tell you is this one looks like a large outage.
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BlackBerry Internet Service Down for the Count? BIS Outages Reported Worldwide…
Intro Stylophone Ghostbusters Genesis Portable Eyeclops Zippity Ball and Cage Intro GRAND Flash Album Gallery Skins for GRAND FlAGallery developed by CodEasily.com – Flash Templates, WordPress Themes and WordPress plugins The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed.. The problem with creating a category for toys on CrunchGear is that almost everything we review is a toy – it’s fun, cool, and great to play with for at least a day or two until our attention is inevitably drawn to something else
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Gift Guide 2009: Toys
O2 ( NYSE: TEF ) Litmus (which is the mobile and web application development community from O2) is ready to spread it’s wings – and they’ve decided the best way is a targeted marketing campaign for 1 million O2 UK customers. For developers this is a bit of a boon, since there should be a steady flow of consumers over the course of November – and moreover, they are targeted be a group that have criteria such as whether the O2 customer owns a sophisticated device that would be suitable for experimentation with apps, have they previously used mobile data services and which customer segment they sit in
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O2 Litmus targets over 1 million O2 Customers
Sometimes you know when you are going to get a quality iPhone gaming experience, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was no exception – developed by and Two Tribes (and distributed by Chillingo) for Fox Mobile Entertainment, this game oozes quality! In case you were wondering what the game is about: In Scrat’s new iPhone adventure, life is not looking any easier, but at least this time he has you to lend him a helping hand.
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Hands-on Review: ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ for iPhone
I haven’t played through all of Super Mario Galaxy , but what I did play was pretty forgiving. Compare that to the punishing, yet rewarding, difficulty curve of the original games or newer games like Demon’s Souls — it’s like comparing a sprint to a ramble. However, Miyamoto has stated in a recent interview that Mario Galaxy 2 will be “really challenging,” which is encouraging.
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Good news: Mario Galaxy 2 will be hard; Bad news: they’re not giving up on Wii Music
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE~! You probably already know this, but Modern Warfare 2 has been banned in Russia because of that controversial level, No Russian . In the mission, you, an American soldier in the employ of the CIA, team up with a Russian terrorist who shoots up a fictional Russian airport.
Intro Flip Mino Creative Vado Kodak Zx1 Sony Webbie HD Insignia Compare Intro GRAND Flash Album Gallery Skins for GRAND FlAGallery developed by CodEasily.com – Flash Templates, WordPress Themes and WordPress plugins The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed.. Pocket-sized camcorders continue to grow in popularity thanks to falling prices, shrinking form factors, and enhanced video quality. While there are plenty on the market to choose from right now, this guide will focus on models selling for less than $150 .
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Gift Guide 2009: Pocket Camcorders
If you’re a fan of shooing Nazis and Zombies, then this game might be what you’ve been waiting for. Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies brings the consoles’ ever popular “Night of the Undead” map pack, where you and your teammates work together to defend a point from wave after wave of Nazi Zombies, and brings it to the iPhone. Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies features 2-player co-op over bluetooth, as well as 4-player co-op over Wi-Fi. Players can also create public or private online matches, so fight alongside strangers or your your best buds to fight off the zombie invasion. Controls are all on-screen and offer auto-targeting of the shooting reticule, but players can also zoom in and shoot from a more accurate perspective.
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Achtung! Braaaains! Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies Brings Nazi Zombies to iPhone