Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Amp’d, MVNOs
The latest word from Amp’d — also known as the Defunct MVNO That Wouldn’t Die — is that its network will finally be shut down (for real this time) tonight at midnight. Interestingly, the latest text message sent out to customers still using its phones suggests that they port to Prexar Mobile, a darkhorse that has just acquired “strategic wireless assets” from Amp’d, presumably in a bid to make the port process as seamless as possible. Customers will be able to continue to use their Amp’d phones (though without all the Amp’d content, we’d guess) and will have to sign up for a Prexar plan, at which point they’ll be granted 100 free text messages. Whoopee.
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Original post by Chris Ziegler
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
The wireless power business sure seems to be getting
crowded these days, with upstart Powermat Ltd. only the latest company promising to free your gadgets from yet another cord. Unlike some similar products, however, Powermat’s system looks to actually be ready to charge your devices, with the Loews Regency Hotel Business Center in New York City the first to put it to use. While the company eventually sees its technology being directly integrated into various electronic devices (like every other company), in the meantime you simply hook your device up to a so-called “puck,” which in turn wirelessly picks up the signals from the power mat it’s placed on. No word on when you’ll be able to get a Powermat for yourself, but the company does say the system will be “inexpensive.”
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Original post by Donald Melanson
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
I told you July 19 that a company called Plusmo would soon unveil its iPhone service, providing app-starved, bandwidth-challenged iPhone users with a super-fast and ENDLESS SEA OF COOL WIDGETS AND APPLICATIONS. Well today is the day. Check it out!
(props to The Web. To Go.)
Original post by Mike
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Handsets, Apple
Arguments have surely ensued over the iPhone’s polarizing touchscreen keyboard, and while you just knew it was lurking out there somewhere, the patent application describing the aforementioned device has finally surfaced. Dubbed “Keyboards for Portable Electronic Devices,” the documents outlines an adaptive board with multi-symbol icons, and aside from using it solely on the iPhone, it looks like the technology could be implemented on nearly any handheld gizmo. Of course, the verbiage does mention handset mainstays such as word recommendations and predictive text entry, so it’s hard to believe that all of this stuff is completely Apple’s creation. Regardless, who needs license agreements when you can just hack one for your own good? [Warning: PDF read link]
[Via UnwiredView]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Cellphones
Hearing that a cellphone saved someone’s life isn’t exactly surprising these days, but it was the manner in which a bundle of handsets enabled doctors to continue on in a recent operation that differentiated this one from the rest. Reportedly, the backup generators at the Policlinico Juan D. Peron hospital in Argentina failed to activate after the power went out whilst an appendix surgery was ongoing, but rather than panicking, a family member gathered up a number of phones in order to provide enough light for the surgeons and anesthetists to keep on keepin’ on. According to the hospital director, the operation went on without proper lighting for no more than 20 minutes, but thanks to the beaming LCDs, the fellow under the knife came through just fine.
[Via Switched, image courtesy of foto8]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Original post by Darren Murph
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Gaming
Oh boy, another patent lawsuit filed in that litigious folly called the Texas court system. This time, the suit pits Parallel Processing Corporation of Newport Beach, California against that legal whipping boy, Sony. PPC alleges that Sony’s Cell processor — the horsepower inside the PS3 — violates a patent for “synchronized parallel processing with shared memory.” Filed on July 26th, the five-page complaint by PPC states that Sony’s actions are causing “irreparable harm and monetary damage” to the company and are therefore seeking the usual: compensation for damages (with interest) as well as the impounding and destruction of all Sony products infringing on the patent. Good times.
[Via gi]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Original post by Thomas Ricker
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Handsets, ATT, EDGE, Apple, OS X
When the time came and your battery died, you were probably thinking you’d have to send your iPhone off to Apple as part of their expensive and complicated battery replacement program — but now you’ve got a sketchy DIY option instead. Once again, a mysterious Chinese company has stepped in and “created” a “solution” to your problem with its iPhone battery replacement kit. For just $20, which is cheap enough to elicit genuine concern, you get a 1400mAh, 3.7V iPhone battery, some type of screwdriver-like tool, a strange plastic shiv, and an instruction manual (presumably in English, but you never know). All you have to do is crack open your $600 phone, de-solder your old battery and solder in the new one… and probably some other, more complicated stuff too. At this price, it seems unlikely that this battery won’t explode, so buy at your own risk, and definitely try at your own risk.
[Via I4U, thanks Luigi]
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Original post by Joshua Topolsky
Posted on 31 July 2007 by
Filed under: Culture, Handsets, Apple
If you felt a bit snubbed after reading up on just how much loot you’d be paying out if and / or when your dear iPhone does break, you’re not alone by a long shot. Reportedly, New York’s Consumer Protection Board “issued a letter to Apple’s CEO Monday asking for the iPhone to be a little more consumer-friendly,” noting that the $79 charged to replace the battery, $29 “loaner fee” for using a temporary handset, and the ten-percent restocking fee were all asking too much. Moreover, the CPB suggested that “consumers should be able to replace the battery themselves,” which admittedly seems to be a (somewhat) common belief. Granted, not all of these requests are exactly rational, but more importantly, we highly doubt his Steveness is gonna go change up price schemes to appease a few disgruntled board members, amiright?
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Original post by Darren Murph
