iPhone's debut in S.Korea means paradigm shift: experts
by Park Chan-Kyong on November 28, 2009

SEOUL (AFP) – Apple's top selling iPhone made its debut in South Korea Saturday with experts saying the iconic smartphone is likely to serve as a wake-up call for an IT industry basking in an isolated market.

Hundreds of people lined up overnight outside the Olympic stadium in Seoul to pick up their iPhone as soon as it was launched.

The Internet and multimedia enabled iPhone immediately emerged as the country's most popular smartphone with nearly 60,000 people making online pre-sale orders, according to KT Corp, local distributor of iPhone.

KT Corp, South Korea's second largest mobile carrier, said its deal with Apple will dent the dominance of rival SK Telecom, which has a 50.5 percent share of the local mobile market compared with KT's 31 percent.

KT set the price of the 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS at 396,000 won (338 dollars) for customers who subscribe with a monthly service fee of 45,000 won. The price is 264,000 won for customers who subscribe with a monthly fee of 65,000 won.

The introduction of the smartphone with its vast range of applications sparked immediate price competition.

Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest mobile makers, slashed the cost of its most advanced and expensive phone, an eight-gigabyte touch-screen model called Omnia2, by 44,000 won to 924,000 won.

The iPhone has proved to be a massive hit in markets such as the United States and Europe but ran into problems before launching in South Korea due to concerns that location services such as "Google Maps" would breach a privacy law.

Its sale was finally approved in September by telecom regulators who said such services would not encroach on privacy.

South Korean firms have grown under the protection of high trade barriers, which have helped Samsung and LG become the world's second and third largest handset makers.

But local customers pay the highest prices in the world for mobile phones and among the highest for wireless service.

Hongsun Kim of Ahnlab, South Korea's top IT anti-virus and security solution provider, welcomed iPhone's debut in the country, which he said would bring about a "paradigm shift" toward mobile applications and contents.

"iPhone's philosophy is centred on various applications and contents. Mobile telecommunication is just a part of its software," he wrote on his company's website.

"The key word in IT is global openness but as many bloggers point out, South Korea is becoming like the Galapagos Islands of IT," he said in reference to the country's closed IT market.

"There is no country in the world like South Korea which claims itself as an IT powerhouse. But it is not a right direction for us to lock ourselves in and get satisfied with our own achievement," he said.

Website : http://news.yahoo.com/

And you thought the iPhone was already expensive
by Greg Kumparak on November 27, 2009

If I had $3.2 million dollars to throw away on something like a phone, I’d much rather just build an army of robot carrier pigeons to deliver all my messages by hand. Some, I suppose, prefer a bit more rationale in their complete irrational purchases – thus the existence of this $3.2 million dollar iPhone.

The man behind the bedazzler was Stuart Hughes. First he covered it in 22 cts gold plating, then slapped on a total of 190 diamonds – 136 on the front, 53 flawless diamonds on the logo, and one big ol’ 7.1 cts diamond replacing the home button.

If only the “I Am Rich” application hadn’t been pulled off the app store, we could totally make a “There’s an App for that!” joke.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Qik to come preloaded on the Samsung Omnia II
by Greg Kumparak on November 25, 2009

We like to keep an eye on the adoption of mobile video broadcasting applications around these parts. It’s a mighty competitive space, with Qik, Kyte, Flixwagon, Ustream and a number of others all taking a stab at what is essentially the same idea. While the idea as a whole has yet to really take off as something that everyone does, its one that just about everyone seems to appreciate once it’s explained to them. Therein lies the challenge: how do you tell people that such services exist?

One approach is to get it on the handsets right out of the box. If it’s hard to get them to come to you, why not go to them?

The only one of the lot we’ve seen do this so far is Qik, who managed to convince Nokia to pre-install Qik on all of their S60-based phones beginning in July. Today, they’ve announced a new factory-loading partner: Samsung.

After what Qik says was “months of rigorous testing and certifications”, Samsung is now pre-loading the application onto Omnia II handsets at the factory. Samsung managed to sell many millions of the first Omnia worldwide – if the sequel is anywhere near as successful, Qik ought to see a pretty good amount of growth in the coming weeks.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

4iThumbs: The craziest way to make your iPhone keyboard slightly more physical
by Greg Kumparak on November 25, 2009

Remember the iTwinge, that crazy slide-on plastic sheath for the iPhone that would give you a physical keyboard by overlaying real buttons on top of the virtual ones? The 4iThumbs keypad is just like that, except it’s clear, rather than opaque black. Oh, and it requires you to stick a bunch of adhesive crap all over your iPhone.

Good idea? Bad idea? I’ll leave that call up to you – I’m too distracted by their waaaay cheesy commercial (starring not-Justin-Long and not-John-Hodgeman) to think about it. Word? Word. One more video after the jump.

[Via EngadgetMobile]

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Fring gets Skype video chat support on Nokia devices
by Greg Kumparak on November 24, 2009

If we were to make a “Amazing ideas” list and a “Things that have totally failed to take off” list, there would be at least one item that you’d find on both: mobile video chat. Blame the carriers for not agreeing on a standard, or blame the consumer populace for not pressing hard enough; either way, its an idea that has been sitting on the launch pad for ages.

That might be about to change. The popular P2P VoIP service Fring has just announced that they have begun to add support for Skype video calls to their messaging client. Skype has hundreds of millions of users, and this service allows for mobile-to-desktop calls – in other words, mobile video chat finally has a chance at being useful and — more importantly — used.

For the time being, video chat support has only found its way into a handful of Nokia devices: the X6, N97 Mini, N97, 5800, N82, and N95. If you’re not touting an N-series device, fear not: Fring promises that support is “coming soon on other popular platforms”. Time to start adding front-facing cameras to your hardware again, manufacturers!

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Nokia debuts two entry-level sliders, the 6700 and 7230.
by Greg Kumparak on November 24, 2009

It’s not all N900s and lollipops in the Nokia kingdom, folks. Nokia has made a big chunk of their piggy bank with the entry level stuff, and they’ve got two new ones for that market today.

The grander of the two is the Nokia 6700, which comes in a very iPod-Nano-esque array of colors. For around $240 bucks unlocked, you’ll get a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio, microSD expandability, 2.2″ QVGA display, and HSDPA/HSUPA.

The Nokia 7230 tones things down a bit in terms of specs and hues. $150 bucks gets you a 2.4″ display, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, microSD expandability, and Bluetooth.
Look for both handsets in Q1 of next year.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Does there need to be an app for that? Pet Acoustics, the music app for pets
by Scott Merrill on November 24, 2009

It stands to reason that a general purpose mobile computing platform, like the iPhone or iPod Touch, will engender a host of special purpose niche applications. Pet Acoustics is one such application: “Pet Acoustics music has been specifically designed for the hearing sensitivities of your pet, both in frequency, volume and rhythm to calm and soothe your pet anytime, anywhere.” This $1.99 app includes music for dogs, cats, and horses, and includes a timer feature for scheduled playback.

Amazingly, dogs, cats and horses hear two to three times more than humans. In our homes, barns and pet-care environments, animals can develop stress, anxiety, and aggression in reaction to sounds. Pet Acoustics music has been specifically developed to support your pet’s sensitive hearing thereby ensuring relaxation. An easy tool for pet owners, this music will greatly benefit your pet by filling their environment with a sense of safety, connectedness and love.

I don’t doubt for a moment the therapeutic benefits of music for animals. I am skeptical, though, of how well the Pet Acoustic’s “specifically developed” music can “support your pet’s sensitive hearing” through the crappy iPhone speaker. It’s not like the iPhone is a precise audio device, calibrated to produce sounds in that spectrum that animals can hear but humans can’t.

My own experience with the Pet Acoustics music has been mixed. My cat is too inscrutable for me to determine whether he likes the sounds or not. He certainly doesn’t seem to be bothered by them, but he’s a sufficiently easy-going animal that I can’t tell whether he’s any more calm. Our high energy dog doesn’t seem to notice the music at all. She whines and paces when traveling in the car, regardless of whether I’m using the Pet Acoustics app; and at home she’s too interested in licking our faces to reveal how calm the music is making her. I happen to like the music — it’s reminiscent of any smooth jazz station you might find in a metropolitan city — but my beautiful wife gets agitated by it. Go figure.

The timer feature of the Pet Acoustics app intrigues me. Using two separate timers, you can program start and stop times to begin automatic music playback (assuming that the app is open, of course). I can see this being handy in a number of situations. In my own house, my cat is not allowed into my bedroom, because my beautiful wife is allergic to him. So every night he sits outside the bedroom door and wails about how lonely and dejected he feels. I could leave my iPhone in the living room, playing soothing music for him, and schedule it to turn off at a specific time every time. Of course, I haven’t done that yet because my iPhone doubles as my alarm clock, and me waking up on time is marginally more important than my cat being pacified.

The Pet Acoustics app weighs in at a whopping 200 megabytes. It’s not expensive, and it’s easy to use; but I can’t help but wonder if a couple of MP3s would be a better option for most people. If you need the timer feature, then get the app.

Also, there is a Pet Jingles holiday version of the app for sale. So if your pets are really into the holiday spirit like you are, you can share the Yule Tide with them!

This special collection of themed holiday music will bring a joyous atmosphere to your home, a veterinarian office, an animal shelter or anywhere people and pets are gathered throughout the holiday season. Pet Jingles is a unique gift for pet lovers to enjoy while gift shopping, walks with the dog, while entertaining family and friends or to play for pets while they are home alone.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Google lets Android 1.6 in on the Navigation fun
by Devin Coldewey on November 23, 2009

Attention Android owners nlikely to be 2.0-ed any time soon! You can now stop holding your breath. Google Maps Navigation is coming to 1.6, and you can download it right now. It’s missing a feature or two (voice-activated navigation, for instance), but it’s 95% there. Of course, depending on your handset, network, and so on, your mileage (so to speak) may vary.

Werbsite : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Swype to debut on the Verizon Samsung Omnia II
by Greg Kumparak on November 23, 2009

A little over a year ago, Swype announced at TechCrunch50 2008 that they were going to “change how the world inputs text on screens”. By allowing the user to type words by tracing a path between its letters rather than tapping them out one-by-one, Swype claims to speed up typing on a mobile handset while doing away with accuracy annoyances. Swype is the brainchild of Randy Marsden, developer of the Windows Mobile onscreen keyboard, and Cliff Kushler, co-inventor of the T9 input method.

Early next month, Swype will make the jump from the demo stage to a real world product as it debuts on the Verizon Samsung Omnia II.

I got the chance to fiddle with Swype on a prototype Omnia II a few months back (albeit only for a few minutes) and was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked. I threw a bunch of random words at it of varying lengths, and I couldn’t get it to falter. If there was more than one possible option, Swype would present it in a drop-down list. It was quick, it was easy, and I enjoyed the hell out of the 10 minutes I had with it. Once you get the hang of it, it’s sort of magical; to onlookers, it’s like you’re scribbling madness only to end up with a perfectly coherent sentence. I was almost immediately typing at around the same rate as I do on my iPhone after 2 years of practice. Considering that this is all happening on a resistive touchscreen (with my finger, rather than a stylus) on WinMo 6.5, a platform I’ve berated in the past for its keyboard shortcomings, I’d say that’s quite a feat.

While the Omnia II has been available in other countries for some time now, Verizon’s is the first to sport Swype support. Look for Swype on the Verizon Omnia II when it hits the shelves on December 2nd at $199 with a 2 year contract.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Apple And Android Now Make Up 75 Percent Of U.S. Smartphone Web Traffic
by Erick Schonfeld on November 23, 2009

When it comes to the mobile Web, increasingly there are only two mobile platforms which matter: Apple and Android. According to AdMob’s October, 2009 mobile metrics report, the iPhone/iPod Touch and Android phones accounted for 75 percent of mobile Web traffic in the U.S., as measured by all the mobile ad requests it tracks. That number is up from a combined 65 percent in September, 2009.

The iPhone is miles ahead of everyone else, but Android is quickly rising as a strong second. While Android phones managed to increase their share from 17 percent in September, 2009 to 20 percent in October, 2009, the iPhone and iPod Touch gained even more, going from 48 percent to 55 percent share. Meanwhile, during that same month the Blackberry ’s mobile Web traffic share went down from 14 percent to 12 percent, and Palm’s webOS shrank from 10 percent to 5 percent (Ouch).

On a global basis, the iPhone OS now accounts for 50 percent of all mobile traffic, up from 43 percent the month before. Android has an 11 percent global share, which makes it third globally after Nokia/Symbian’s 25 percent share. The U.S. makes up 49 percent of all the mobile Web traffic, according to AdMob’s stats. Thus strength in the U.S. translates to strength in the worldwide numbers.

As major new carriers come onboard, the numbers can shift dramatically. Since Verizon launched the Droid two weeks ago, that single device now makes up 24 percent of all Android mobile Web traffic. The HTC Dream, which is the oldest Android device, is the only one with more, at 36 percent of Android traffic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Droid passes that within the next two weeks.
AdMob was recently acquired by Google for $750 million. Hopefully, it will continue to share this mobile market share data in the future.

Website : http://www.techcrunch.com/

China Mobile starts selling Dell Mini 3i
by John Biggs on November 23, 2009

Dost thou desire an Android phone in Red Passion or Oiled Bronze? Begin thy journey, brave Sir Knight, to China where you will be able to purchase the Dell Mini 3i with 3.5-inch touchscreen for a few coins of the realm.

The Mini 3i, as you’ll recall, is Dell’s first smartphone in almost half a decade and runs the Ophone platform, an Android-based system that will eventually brand most of China Mobile’s phones.

Some specs:

Popular Mini 3i Features:

* Entertainment: Access to China Mobile’s Mobile Market suite of services, games, productivity tools, wallpapers, ringtones and applications. Discover China’s popular Internet sites including 51.com, Kaixin and Renren.
* Customization: Personalize MP3 ring tones, icons and shortcuts. Run widgets on the home screen: sports, stocks, news and weather tickers.
* Navigation: GPS navigation.
* Search: Search contacts, appointments and e-mail from the home screen.
* Camera: 3 megapixel camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture and photo-editing capabilities. A 3.5 inch, widescreen (16:9), 640 x 360 display that’s ideal for viewing photos and videos.
* Popular Messaging: Support for the wide range of messaging platforms and services, including e-mail, IM, MMS and SMS.

Dell Mini 3i OPhone Specifications:

* Form Factor: Tablet/PDA
* Dimensions: 58.35 x 122 x 11.7
* Display: 3.5” nHD, 640×360
* Bands/Modes: Quadband GSM/EDGE
* Weight

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Ringz: First (free) Android app with in-app purchase
by Serkan Toto on November 23, 2009

Apple made it possible for iPhone developers to offer in-app purchase five weeks ago, an option Android devs currently don’t have. But now Shanghai-based mobile technology company Urbian found a work-around to enable in-app purchase, saying they’re the first developers that did. The app in question is Ringz, a puzzle game that’s available for free on the Android market (the iPhone version is in review by the way).

Ringz lets you buy and download more levels (so-called Level Packs) from within the app. If the extension is returned or deinstalled, the extra functionality disappears from the base application. Urbian says some users tried copying the Level Pack files to a different path on an SD card to return them later and then use the extension for free – but this won’t work with their app.

Please click on the following graphic Urbian prepared for MobileCrunch to see how the work-around works.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

TurkeyTimer App Helps With Your Bird-Cooking Needs
by Daniel Brusilovsky on November 22, 2009

Thanksgiving is coming up, and it’s almost time to get your turkey ready for the festivities. And wouldn’t you know, there’s an app for that. TurkeyTimer is trying to make cooking your delicious holiday turkey easier then it currently is.

To use TurkeyTimer, just enter the weight of your turkey, whether it’s stuffed, your desired internal temperature, and whether you plan to baste the turkey. Just to clarify, basting is a cooking technique, and usually involves cooking meat with either its own juices or some type of preparation such as a sauce or marinade. (Thanks, Wikipedia)

Then, using algorithms based on cookbook instructions, TurkeyTimer will track the approximate brownness of your turkey, the approximate internal temperature of your turkey, and about how long it will be until you can take the turkey out of the oven. Once the crisp and delicious turkey is ready, TurkeyTimer alerts you that your turkey is ready, and when the feasting can begin.

So get ready for your holiday meals with TurkeyTimer, which of course is available on the App Store today for $2.99. [iTunes Link]

Pro Tip: Use TurkeyTimer to impress your in-laws during Thanksgiving dinner. I do not speak from personal experience.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Uh-Oh: Gameloft moves away from Android development
by Greg Kumparak on November 20, 2009

The sudden surge in interest in Android (largely due to all of the hype surrounding the Droid) has caused a lot of developers to reconsider the platform. Atleast one major development house, however, isn’t impressed.

Earlier today, Alexandre de Rochefort, Finance Director of Gameloft, told an investor conference that the company had “significantly cut [their] investment in Android platform, just like … many others”. Gameloft is one of the largest mobile games companies around, having pulled in roughly $132 million in the last three quarters alone. While there are plenty of fish in the developer sea, this can’t be one that Google is happy to see swim away.

The reason they’re cutting back, adds Rochefort, is that Google hasn’t done enough to “entice customers to actually buy products” on the platform. Regardless of how you feel about Google’s approach to the market, you can’t argue with the numbers: according to Rochefort, they’ve sold “400 times more games on iPhone than on Android”.

Consider this a gauge for Android’s success over the next year and a half or so; if Android can grow at a fast enough rate and sell enough handsets to keep the big dev teams on board (and, perhaps, even regain Gameloft’s interest), we’ll know things are going alright.

[Via Reuters]

Information provided by CrunchBase

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

FunMail Takes The Work Out Of Picture Messaging
by Greg Kumparak on November 20, 2009

Everyone loves picture messaging – or at least, they love the idea of it. The iPhone carrying masses clamored for it, then celebrated once they got it by sending everyone pictures of their immediate surroundings and beloved pets before forgetting the feature exists. After the novelty wears off, it’s generally reserved for the occasions when there is genuinely something interesting to show. Need the wife’s advice on whether to buy the blue shirt or the green one? Picture message. Want to ask her out to coffee? You’ll probably stick with text.

FunMobility, a company thats been cashing in on cell phone media (like ringtones and wallpapers) since 1999, is looking to change that with FunMail, a service which they’re dubbing as “every-day picture messaging”.

Here’s how it works: first, the user blasts their text into the free FunMail application on the iPhone or Facebook, which then breaks down whatever the user typed for context. FunMail’s “Media Brain” then returns a handful of context-related graphics (pulled from Creative Commons sources and their own user-generated library), with your original text inscribed. For example, “Want to go get coffee?” returned the results below:


The user picks the graphic they want, and off it goes via MMS, Facebook, or Twitter. As it’s sent from mobile-to-mobile in the standard MMS format, the messages should appear just fine on any picture messaging-enabled handset, whether it has the FunMail app or not.

If FunMail were charging the user for this, it’s hard to imagine that it’d see much use — it doesnt, after all, add anything but a bit of fun to the conversation. Fortunately, they’re not charging a cent. The service is free to the users (save for any fees surrounding sending/receiving MMS), with FunMail planning to make their money via partnerships. Carriers ought to dig it (and thus potentially pay FunMail to port it to other handsets) because it could increase MMS revenue, while the context-sensitivity opens the way for promotions. If instead of “Want to get coffee?” you typed “Want to grab Starbucks?”, FunMail could offer up a Starbucks coupon as a message graphic to seal the deal.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this takes off. As it’s climbing onto the shoulders of an already well established communication method and they’ve watermarked each picture they send, there’s some aspect of virality here. It does seem a bit extraneous to tack a picture onto a message that would be perfectly acceptable as just text – but that’s something that happens many many thousands of times each day across the social networks.

You can find the FunMail iPhone App on the App Store here. [Note: iTunes Link]

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

3G BlackBerry Pearl 9100 breaks cover
by Matt Burns on November 20, 2009

RIM has been busy outing updated BlackBerrys and the Pearl wasn’t forgotten. An updated version is apparently on its way and these early pics clearly show that the phone is shapping up nicely. Everything is there from the slender candy-bar form factor to the SureType keyboard. Everything but the pearly trackball though. That’s been replaced with a trackpad.

CrackBerry didn’t say when the phone will be released or state any technical specs. Apparently the site had these pics under an embargo and were allowed to release them today. That could very well mean that the phone is nearing announcement. It’s getting kind of late for a 2009 release so perhaps we’ll see it in the first quarter of 2010.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Video: Sharp’s chocolate cell phone
by Serkan Toto on November 20, 2009

You know when a given country, in this case the nation of Japan, is over-saturated with cell phones when you get to see something like this: A cell phone that’s supposed to be similar in shape to a chocolate bar, available in two versions: Melty Bitter (brown) and Melty Strawberry (pink). The Sharp SH-04B [JP] is part of NTT Docomo’s winter line-up of new handsets for the Japanese market (unveiled ten days ago).

What you get is a clamshell cell phone that comes with a chocolate bar-like coating on the outside and a number of pre-installed, chocolate-themed wallpapers, photo frames and menus (see below). Technically, the handset isn’t too spectacular: 3-inch WVGA ASV screen, 8MP CCD camera, waterproof, 1-seg digital TV tuner, Bluetooth, etc.

]



Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Smartphones to overtake

Smartphones to overtake non-smarties in 2015
by Jeremy Kessel on November 18, 2009

Really? Who could have guessed? I’m not an official big-shot analyst by any stretch, but I’m pretty sure that I could have made the same conclusion, as could anyone who knows anything about technology trends (like spoiled teenagers). But alas, an actual organization, Telecom Trends International (who?), has just released a report saying that smartphones will indeed overtake “regular” phones by 2015. Gotta love these glimpses into the future.

This report, which includes 27 figures and 19 tables (for the record), says that sales of smartphones surpass “regular” phones in 2015 and will constitute two-thirds of total mobile handset sales by 2016. The thing is, how do we even know what will separate (if there is still even a distinction) “smart” phones from “non-smart” phones some five years ahead of time? Sure, in today’s world of smart and dumb phones, we analysts can make predictions of this sort. But these type of prognostications tend to leave a bad taste in my technology-loving mouth.

The thing with mobile phones, and technology in general, is that they are forever changing/morphing/evolving. Predicting that smartphones will overtake “regular” phones in 2015 is no different than me saying, “tablets will surpass ‘traditional’ laptops in 2012″ – both are purely nonsense. While maybe while maybe factually accurate (in today’s world), these types of reports and findings seem to assume that the world can’t possibly change over the course of five years. A ridiculous notion, given the insane exponential curve of Internet/computer technology enhancements over the last 25 years.

With all this in mind, I am going to go out on a limb and prophesize* that by 2015 all handsets on the market will be considered “smart” phones by today’s standards. In other words, given the rapid development of next-gen networks and handsets, 99% of all mobile devices by 2015 will not fit in any of today’s “categories” as all mobile phones will have crossed the “smart” threshold by that time, thus making reports like this meaningless.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Nokia N900 now available in the US

Nokia N900 now available in the US
by Greg Kumparak on November 18, 2009

We’ve got news, both good and bad. What do you want first? We’ll start with the bad news first. It’s easier that way, you know?

Bad news: We were supposed to have an N900 review — or at least a first look — up by now. Nokia assures us a review unit has been sent, but it’s M.I.A. As we see it, there are only a two options: it either got stolen by bears, or Nokia’s messing with us because we totally owned the N900 story way back in May.

Good news: We may not have one yet, but you can get one! It’s available immediately at either of Nokia’s flagship stores (located in New York and Chicago), or NokiaUSA.com (though the site seems to only offer pre-orders, at the moment). It’ll set you back a hefty $650 – and while we can’t say its worth it before we give it the customary run-through, it’s definitely worth stopping by a store to check it out.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Sharp to go Android

Sharp to go Android next year as first Japanese cell phone maker
by Serkan Toto on November 18, 2009 .

Android is still in its infancy in Japan where most domestic makers still stick with their proprietary operating systems, with basically no one outside the geek community knowing what it is. But things are changing slowly. Last week, SoftBank (the country’s third biggest cell phone carrier) announced an Android-powered phone for next year when the company announced their new models for the next months.

And yesterday, Sharp announced at an event in Tokyo it will roll out a yet to be specified number of Android-based handsets as early as the first half of next year. Sharp commands the biggest market share of all eight cell phone makers in Japan so this is very good news for the Google OS in what is the most advanced mobile society in the world.

The company didn’t reveal which of the three big carriers in Japan will be supplied with the Android handsets, but said they will offer models with features unique to the Japanese market. One of these features might be a tuner for 1seg, a digital TV standard used in Japan and some parts of South America. Other possibilities include Japan-specific e-wallet or electronic train ticket functions.

Via Keitai Watch [JP]

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

AT&T Network Upgrades

AT&T plans San Francisco Bay Area network upgrades for 2010
by Jeremy Kessel on November 17, 2009

Hey SF Bay Area iPhonestas…good news! Your beloved carrier, the one and only AT&T, has big plans for major 3G network upgrades across the SF Bay Area come 2010.

Apparently, the lovely folks over at AT&T have pumped some $65 million “from 2008 through the 3rd quarter of 2009 to complete a substantial upgrade of its local 3G wireless network in the greater San Francisco Bay Area with the launch of additional wireless spectrum in the 850 MHz band.” Based on the endless complaints I hear from my iPhone carrying friends ’round these parts, this has got to be music to their ears.

Independent of just pleasing iPhone owners, this is obviously also good news for all AT&T customers throughout the Bay Area. As more and more customers make the switch to data-happy smartphones, carriers must improve the robustness of their 3G networks to meet the growing data demands. Luckily, it sounds like this improvement should help, big time.

As a result of this upgrade, local customers are expected to experience better 3G wireless connectivity, performance and enhanced in-building wireless coverage. The enhancement also increases network capacity, and is intended to support the ever-growing demand for 3G mobile broadband service. In the greater Bay Area, AT&T upgraded close to 850 cell sites as part of this enhancement, the majority coming in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

More specifically, AT&T is launching additional wireless spectrum in the 850 MHz band. According to press release, the 850 MHz spectrum “generally results in better in-building coverage.”

AT&T 3G customers should see improved quality and coverage throughout dozens of greater Bay Area communities, including San Francisco, Brisbane, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, Pacifica, Sausalito, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Corte Madera, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Alameda, Piedmont, Hayward, San Leandro, San Mateo, Burlingame, Millbrae, Hillsborough, Palo Alto, San Carlos, Belmont, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Richmond, Albany, El Sobrante, El Cerritos, Pinole, Crockett, Hercules and more.

AT&T has also increased capacity to “hundreds of cell sites across the bay area” in order to better meet the growing massive data demands of its Silicon Valley customers and plans to flip the switch on its higher speed HSPA 7.2 3G network sometime in 2010. But like lipservice from any of the major carriers, we’ll all need to see “it” to believe “it” before we give AT&T credit for its supposed improvements.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

T-Mobile

T-Mobile UK employees caught peddling personal data
by Chris Velazco on November 17, 2009

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.

T-Mobile UK and the British authorities have been taking steps to handle the incident, with the Information Commissioner’s Office going as far as trying to stick offenders with a prison sentence instead of the ordinary £5,000 fine that comes with a violation of Britain’s Data Protection Act. The article itself keeps mum about exactly what kind of data was sold, and to which “phone firms” eventually ponied up for it. To date, the actual damage done doesn’t seem to be too bad – at worst, customers have complained about receiving unsolicited phone calls right before their contract expired, but it raises very serious questions about the trustworthiness of a company that handles sensitive information on a daily basis. Between stateside service outages and and now this, we have to wonder whether or not T-Mobile will be able to shake off their newfound status as the magenta-headed stepchild of the wireless industry.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

car cradle for iPhone

Pictured: Magellan's new iPhone car cradle
by Greg Kumparak on November 16, 2009

Hey, you! I know you. You’re the one that gets all hot around the collar over shots of unreleased iPhone accessories, aren’t you? Boy, oh boy – are you gonna love this..

Sure, it’s not much – but here’s the world’s first look at the just announced, GPS-boosting, speakerphone-touting iPhone car cradle from Magellan. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Hey! That looks a lot like the TomTom iPhone car cradle!”, don’t worry — you’re not crazy. The Magellan cradle looks a bit smoother around the edges (is that a mixture of matte and glossy plastic we see?), but the similarities are striking enough that we’re starting to wonder if these are both manufactured in the same house. One more shot after the jump.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/

Moto Droid Ability

The Moto Droid’s Ability To Autofocus Varies From Day To Day – No, really.
by Greg Kumparak on November 17, 2009

Here’s a weird one for you: A few hours ago, Motorola DROID users began reporting that the cameras on their handsets were suddenly.. better. The camera’s ability to auto-focus, which I’d railed in our review of the product, seemed to drastically improve overnight. And it did!

Most assumed that Verizon and Motorola had managed to sneak out some sort of stealth over-the-air update, patching the camera’s settings on the fly. A number of sites reported as much. Some even took offense to this idea, declaring that such things shouldn’t be allowed without their explicit permission. According to the folks that should know best, there was no over-the-air update at all; the camera fixed itself, and in 24.5 days, it’ll break all over again.

Almost immediately after the fix, users began to dig. One clever fellow went out on a limb, and set his Droid’s clock back two days – and sure enough, the camera lost its newly gained auto-focusing abilities.

According to Google Engineer Dan Morrill, there is an unfortunate bug in the Droid’s autofocus routine. It improperly rounds a timestamp used in the calculations, which somehow throws the entire focusing process off. Today it works, and tomorrow it will work…but 24.5 days from now, the bug will be back. Hopefully Motorola and Verizon will have pushed a (non-stealthy) fix by then.

This isn’t the first time a clock has been the root of a glitch; in December of 2008, 30GB Zunes around the world suddenly stopped working. It was later revealed that the Zune failed to account for 2008 being a leap year. Once January 1st, 2009 rolled out, all of the Zunes were back in working order.

Website : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/