While RIM and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo still don’t know why their BlackBerry Bold is feeling a little toasty around the keyboard, the duo has ruled out a likely culprit, the battery, as its unwelcome heat source. Word on the street is an estimated 30 people have issued complaints about the mobile device heating up while recharging, with around 4,000 units being sold before DoCoMo halted sales. One analyst speculates the issue — which so far has affected only Japan — may be based on region-specific software of other customizations. We’re sure the pair are working around the clock to get to the bottom of this malfunction, but in the meantime, we recommend dusting off the ol’ 8707h to get that retro BlackBerry feel — y’know, just for kicks.

NTT DoCoMo’s overheating BlackBerry Bold not caused by battery, says RIM originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Ross Miller

Nokia made plenty of folks happy with its decision to include Skype on its new N97 handset, and future N-series devices, but it looks like the usual cadre of UK carriers aren’t among them, and they’re now making their displeasure quite clear. That includes O2 and Orange, who are apparently threatening to refuse stock of the N97 unless Nokia strips out the Skype client, a point they have reportedly made directly to Nokia in “high-level discussions.” Another unnamed “operator source” was apparently even more blunt, saying that “this is “another example of them trying to build an ecosystem that is all about Nokia and reduces the operator to a dumb pipe,” adding that, “some people like 3 may be in a position where it could make sense to accept that. But if you spend upwards of £40m per year building your brand, you don’t want to be just a dumb pipe do you?” For its part, Nokia seems to be staying mum on the matter for the time being, though it’s tough to see a handset like the N97 just sitting on the shelf, so it seems like one party or the other will have to give sooner or later.

[Via mocoNews.net]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia irks UK carriers with decision to include Skype on N97 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, UMTS, CDMA, BlackBerry OS

Sure, the pic’s getting old at this point, but according to the Boy Genius Report, we may not have too much longer to wait to catch the 9630 Niagara in the wild. The radio department in the 9630 is filled to busting — or slowly warming your face — with CDMA, EV-DO Rev.A, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS, with the GSM flavors getting the quad-band treatment. The rumored OS at launch is 4.7.1, though if delayed enough, it could pull through with OS 5.0. The last tidbits in the list are a 3.2 megapixel shooter — and maybe a version without — and the depressing news of no specific release date. Though, If we were Verizon and were sitting on this, you’d like to think that our timeline to launch would be as soon as frickin’ possible.

Is RIM’s BlackBerry 9630 Niagra headed to Verizon as World Edition? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

Sure, the pic’s getting old at this point, but according to the Boy Genius Report, we may not have too much longer to wait to catch the 9630 Niagara in the wild. The radio department in the 9630 is filled to busting — or slowly warming your face — with CDMA, EV-DO Rev.A, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS, with the GSM flavors getting the quad-band treatment. The rumored OS at launch is 4.7.1, though if delayed enough, it could pull through with OS 5.0. The last tidbits in the list are a 3.2 megapixel shooter — and maybe a version without — and the depressing news of no specific release date. Though, If we were Verizon and were sitting on this, you’d like to think that our timeline to launch would be as soon as frickin’ possible.

Filed under: Cellphones

Is RIM’s BlackBerry 9630 Niagara headed to Verizon as World Edition? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

Seems all’s not rosy in North American XpressMusic 5800-land, as tipsters and forums are buzzing with reports that the newly launched touchscreen isn’t connecting to 3G. We did a little spelunking on the newly launched set ourselves, and we can confirm that 3G appears to be a complete no-go — GSM works fine, but apart from a very brief 3.5G blip, we’re getting nothing in terms of UMTS or HSDPA. Also on the block in the trouble department is the ongoing speaker failing issue we’ve heard so much about of late. Apparently the issue stems from a supplier’s earpiece units packing it in — and Mobile-review used science to prove this — due to humidity. The fix? Grab one made in February, we’re told, or if you already have one of the affected Euro-spec units, Nokia has parts in from a new supplier and should be able to sort you out right quick.

Nokia’s XpressMusic 5800 troubled with speaker and NAM radio woes? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

There’s not exactly a wealth of information about this one just yet, but peripheral maker mLani (started by the former founder of SplitFish) looks to be doing its best to make PC gamers feel a bit more at home on the PS3 with this new FPS-minded controller which, coincidentally, looks to compete directly with some of SplitFish’s own offerings. Apparently, in addition to improving your aim in Killzone 2, this one can double as a mouse for your PC and, as you can see above, it’s also wireless, although it’s at least possible that the cable between the mouse and the Wiimote-esque controller has been conveniently omitted. No word on a price, but this one’s supposedly on track for a release in the next three months or so.

[Via DigitalBattle, thanks SK]

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

mLani introduces new FPS controller for PS3 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

There’s not exactly a wealth of information about this one just yet, but peripheral maker mLani (started by the former founder of SplitFish) looks to be doing its best to make PC gamers feel a bit more at home on the PS3 with this new FPS-minded controller which, coincidentally, looks to compete directly with some of SplitFish’s own offerings. Apparently, in addition to improving your aim in Killzone 2, this one can double as a mouse for your PC and, as you can see above, it’s also wireless, although it’s at least possible that the cable between the mouse and the Wiimote-esque controller has been conveniently omitted. No word on a price, but this one’s supposedly on track for a release in the next three months or so.

[Via DigitalBattle, thanks SK]

Update: Looks like mLani has just gotten official with the controller, which is now dubbed the “MoBi” and set for release in the third week of May. Still no indication of a price, but mLani did confirm that both the mouse and controller are indeed wireless, and that the mouse (2000 DPI, 500Hz) comes with its own PC software to allow for full customization. Head on past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading mLani introduces new “MoBi” FPS controller for PS3

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

mLani introduces new “MoBi” FPS controller for PS3 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

It seems like just yesterday that Big Red was firing up its EV-DO Rev. A network in America, and already we’re seeing signs of life with Rev. B. In all honesty, though, we’ve known about the next iteration of EV-DO (and the next-next, for that matter) for years now, but said Chinese carrier has just completed what it calls the world’s first EV-DO Rev. B VoIP call on its CDMA2000 system. In other words, this is the first time a CDMA carrier has achieved a 9.3Mbps download rate and 5.4Mbps upload rate. The lovely part of this is that ZTE can upgrade from Rev. A to Rev. B without any additional hardware, thus paving the way for a quick commercialization in Q3 2009. Huzzah!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

ZTE completes EV-DO Rev. B VoIP call on CDMA2000 system originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph