This Week in BlackBerry #65
August 1, 2009
“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." Tip 1. Tip: BB Phone Shortcuts 2. Augmented Reality with Face Recognition 3. T-Mobile to Release Curve 8520 T-Mobile announced the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone with optical trackpad navigation (instead of the traditional trackball). It also features a full QWERTY keyboard (obviously), Wi-Fi, GSM/EDGE connectivity, a 2MP camera with availability expected on Aug. 5. Wireless Week /IntoMobile /Unwired 4. BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac due in September 5. Wal-Mart to Sell BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $50
6. Apple: What Recession? 7. iPhone Blocks Google Latitude & Voice
There is still no official word about when or if Verizon Wireless will ever get Apple’s iPhone, but the wireless operator has confirmed it will be getting the Palm Pre early next year. CNET /Wall Street Journal 9. Palm webOS 1.1 More Business Ready 10. Guy Gets Palm Pre Tattoo for Free Palm Pre 11. Video Chat Phones are Here 12. Congress Studies Texting Ban for Drivers 13. More Americans Online via Mobile Devices 14. Pocket Projectors for Your Handheld 15. GPS Phones Increasing 34% in 2009 16. Free for All WiFi at Barnes & Noble If you have any additions, questions, comments, concerns, corrections, criticisms, cut-downs, condemnations, censures, denigrations, deletions, disapprovals, edits, ideas, hypotheses, juxtapositions, knowledge, lectures, machinations, or if you would just like to be removed from this dreadful weekly newsletter, then, by all means, let me know. Thanks for reading.
~Linus Pauling
Tip
1. Tip: BB Phone Shortcuts
Commentary
2. Augmented Reality with Face Recognition
BlackBerry
3. T-Mobile to Release Curve 8520
4. BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac due in September
5. Wal-Mart to Sell BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $50
iPhone
6. Apple: What Recession
7. iPhone Blocks Google Latitude & Voice
Palm
8. Palm Pre from Verizon 2010
9. Palm webOS 1.1 More Business Ready
10. Guy Gets Palm Pre Tattoo for Free Palm Pre
Other News
11. Video Chat Phones are Here
12. Congress Studies Texting Ban for Drivers
13. More Americans Online via Mobile Devices
14. Pocket Projectors for Your Handheld
15. GPS Phones Increasing 34% in 2009
16. Free for All WiFi at Barnes & Noble
The following shortcuts should work on most new devices:
- Check your voice mail: hold 1.
- Add an extension to a phone number: press Alt and X, then type the extension number.
- Enter a letter in a phone number field: press Alt and the letter.
Commentary
In its most basic form, augmented reality is seen in American football as the yellow 10 yard line, or in hockey, as the brightly high-lighted puck. This week I was excited to see more innovative ideas. What is you could use your phone’s camera to see a FaceBook or LinkedIn icon floating over your friend’s shoulder? Perhaps a virtual business card that follows you around? Maybe a virtual presentation that people can access while you give a speech? Wouldn’t it be neat if you could have changeable virtual information pods and define who can and can’t see them? Interested? Check out this video from TAT -http://www.youtube.com/user/TATMobileUI
BlackBerry
Research in Motion announced that BlackBerry Desktop Software (aka BlackBerry Desktop Manager) will be available for Mac OS starting September this year. The initial release will include features like: iTunes playlists, contacts, calendars, tasks and notes syncing; device updates; backup/restore devices; add/remove applications; multiple devices managing. BlackBerry Desktop Manager will be compatible with Mac OS 10.5.5 and above. Unwired
Wal-Mart will sell Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $48.88 when it debuts on T-Mobile on Aug. 5. T-Mobile outlets will price the handset at $130. RIM is targeting the phone at social-networking fans and focuses more strongly on Wi-Fi and digital media, according to published accounts. New York Times /Information Week
iPhone
Apple announced it had sold 5.2 million iPhones in its fiscal third quarter, representing 626 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter, when it sold 717,000 handsets. Wireless Week
Apple has prevented Google from adding its Latitude location and Google Voice calling applications to its App Store. Wall Street Journal /New York Times
Palm
Palm has released Palm webOS 1.1, which brings several additions to our support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), including remote wipe, PIN/password requirements, inactivity timeout, improved certificate handling, and more. eWeek /Palm
This is just too silly not to mention. Slippery Brick
Other News
It could be just us super geeks who want this, but LG is releasing a 7.2Mbps HSDPA watch phone with video chat. It is called the GD910 watch phone and will soon be seen in Europe on Orange, followed by Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Latin America. I guess there are not enough nerds in the US yet. Engadget
Senators introduced a measure Wednesday that would cut off federal highway funds to states that fail to enact measures within two years that would ban drivers from using text messaging and e-mail features.
New York Times
More Americans are accessing the Internet through mobile devices. Nineteen percent access the Internet with a mobile device on an average day, a 73% increase since December 2007. Overall, Pew found that 56% of American adults have jumped on the Internet via a portable device, with African Americans being the demographic that ranked among the heaviest users. InternetNews.com
Want to show that video from your iPhone or Flip to a group of friends or family or co-workers? Pull that projector from your pocket and plug it in for a cinema on the wall in your family room, conference room, or local restaurant. Pico projectors are here. Gearlog
Strong consumer demand and improved technology will spark a 34% growth in the unit sales of GPS-enabled smartphones this year. GPS devices are "a high-growth segment" that has thrived even economic turmoil as consumers are increasingly willing to buy cars equipped with satellite navigational devices. Wall Street Journal
Barnes & Noble has converted its paid Wi-Fi hot spot service into a free wireless zone under a new nationwide partnership with AT&T that will also allow the retailer’s customers to download more than 700,000 of its eBooks. Network World
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