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O2 UK gradually rolls out iPhone unlock, forgot to give us the instructions – 2731th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:07 +0000

Filed under: Handsets, O2, HSDPA, Apple, iPhone OS

Last week O2 UK announced that they will start unlocking iPhones while they lose the exclusivity deal with Apple. We signed up straight away (via the link below) and didn’t hear anything until today — just five days after O2 unlocked the first batch of iPhones, according to tweets from fellow users. As you can see in the picture half of our text message from O2 went missing for some reason, but luckily the procedure was easy enough for us to decipher: simply put in a non-O2 SIM card, then connect to iTunes and boom! You can see all this illustrated in the gallery. Sadly we’re stuck with O2 for another twelve months, but are there any UK folks here planning to switch carriers soon?

Gallery: O2 UK gradually rolls out iPhone unlock, forgot to give us the instructions

O2 UK gradually rolls out iPhone unlock, forgot to give us the instructions originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Richard Lai

Achtung! Motorola Milestone now free on contract in Germany, sort of – 2729th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:06 +0000

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, O2, Android

Already jealous of the multitouch functionality afforded by Motorola Droids (or Milestones, as it were) sold outside the United States? Well, you might just want to look away for this one — it seems that that O2 is now practically giving away the phone in Germany. Specifically, it’s selling it for a mere €1 with a 2 year-contract, which itself can be had for as little as €20 per month. As with other non-US carries, however, you’ll have to make do without Google’s own free navigation service, but you will at least get a 60-day Motorola’s MotoNAV service in its place, and the endless joy that comes from telling your American friends that you got a free Droid.

[Via MobileTechWorld; thanks Bob]

Update: As some commenters have helpfully pointed out, that €20 a month for two years is actually on top of a standard contract, which certainly makes the deal a tad less attractive — although you can technically still walk away with a Droid for just a handful of Euros.

Achtung! Motorola Milestone now free on contract in Germany, sort of originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Donald Melanson

UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted – 2730th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:06 +0000

Filed under: T-Mobile, Misc

Let’s be honest, who here is actually surprised that underpaid and overworked data workers would sell on our details for a few extra quid? Given the number of uninvited calls to our unlisted phone numbers, we know for a fact that somebody has been dishing our personal contacts to those Nigerian princes and caring loan consolidators, so it’s no shock to learn that T-Mobile employees have been fingered for committing the deed and are now facing prosecution. We’re told that inappropriately leaked information made its way into the hands of brokers, who then “cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire” without T-Mob’s knowledge. Disappointed by the failure of current fines to discourage such illegal information trade, British Justice Minister Michael Wills has even called for “custodial sentences” to be levied against the poor slobs responsible. So, if you’re scoring at home, that’s now two black eyes for T-Mobile when it comes to keeping our data safe. For shame.

UK T-Mobile customer data sold to cold callers, responsible staff to be prosecuted originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Vladislav Savov

AT&T’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 starts shipping out to top bananas – 2728th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:05 +0000

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, ATT, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, BlackBerry OS

Got an AT&T Premier account at your disposal? Does your nine to five require you to wear a suit on every day that ends in “y?” If you’re nodding your head and simultaneously thinking about just how tight that top button is around your neck, there’s a decent chance that you can get AT&T’s version of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 right now. ‘Course, those on T-Mobile have already been enjoying the spoils for a few hours now, but judging by the unboxing shots in the read link, that window of US exclusivity looks to be all but shut. So, anyone jabbing the boss for an upgrade?

AT&T’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 starts shipping out to top bananas originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Darren Murph

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? (Update: it’s a date-related self-correction) – 2727th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:04 +0000

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, Android

While we were busy looking into external speaker problems on the Droid, it would seem Moto was itself hard at work remedying a separate issue with the device. A number of users on support forums have complained of the Droid’s camera failing to focus and giving them “red corners” when attempting to take pictures, but now — suddenly and without warning — their ailment has gone away as if touched by the hand of an omnipotent being (or, alternatively, a silent firmware update). This particular autofocus problem was mentioned in Verizon’s 5-page treatise on known issues with the Droid, though the planned resolution was an official update by December 11. The fix seems to have been delivered early, as green corners are sprouting up all around, but this silent update conduit sounds a bit nefarious, no?

Update: Sure enough, we can confirm from testing one of our own Droids that the issue has been resolved. The endless quest for the green focus box is over, and you can now finally begin scanning all your discount cards into Key Ring.

Update II: And things have turned surreal. Dan Morrill, from Google’s Android team, has confirmed that there’s a date-related bug in the Droid’s camera software that leads to it having cycles of good and bad focus that depend on the date. Our own testing confirmed this, as backdating to the 11th of November returned those red bars of failure. Apparently, the cycles last 24.5 days, meaning that you’ll have good focus all the way to December 11, when the real fix is expected to drop. So breathe easy, Gotham, there are no phantom updates, just an oddly date-sentient camera.

[Thanks, AlexL and Kaiser]

Read – Android Forums
Read – Howard Forums

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? (Update: it’s a date-related self-correction) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Vladislav Savov

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition is… a 5330 with mobile TV – 2726th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:03 +0000

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

It’s not often that you see an existing handset remixed with entirely different kinds of radios built in, so color us a bit surprised this week to see Nokia announce a new version of the 5330 slider this week sporting DVB-H mobile TV tuning compatibility. Knowing what we know of DVB-H, its presence signifies that a North American release is a straight-up no-go, which is actually a bit of a shame — it’s a slick-looking Series 40 handset with a 3.2 megapixel cam and 3.5mm headphone jack for €155 (about $230) without a hint of contract or subsidy. Then again, just how badly do we want to watch football on a 2.4-inch display?

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition is… a 5330 with mobile TV originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Ziegler

Magellan debuts GPS app / car kit for iPhone and iPod touch – 2725th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:02 +0000

Filed under: Peripherals, Misc, Apple, iPhone OS

Magellan’s new iPhone navigation app won’t do much for the iPod touch on its own, but it looks like the company’s forthcoming Premium Car Kit will in fact work just fine with the handheld out of the box, unlike TomTom’s similar Car Kit. Otherwise, there aren’t exactly a ton of surprises, but the cradle is fully adjustable to accommodate a range of sleeves or cases, and it’ll of course also charge your iPhone or iPod touch, and give it some amplified sound courtesy of the built-in speaker. The navigation app itself also seems to be more than ready to challenge the competition, with it boasting spoken street names, NAVTEQ maps, 3D landmarks, in-app music control, a pedestrian mode, and a price tag of $79.99. No word on a price or release date for the cradle just yet, but Magellan says it is “coming soon” — iPhone users can get the app from the App Store right now.

[Thanks, djphatjive]

Magellan debuts GPS app / car kit for iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Donald Melanson

T-Mobile cautiously resumes Sidekick sales at lower prices – 2724th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:01 +0000

Filed under: Handsets, T-Mobile, Danger, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS

After a protracted “let’s be absolutely certain we’re in the clear” period, T-Mobile has gone ahead and lifted its self-imposed moratorium on Sidekick sales following that little meltdown you may have heard about. Oh, and there’s a bonus, too: they’re a little cheaper this time around. The Sidekick 2008 has dropped to $49.99 on contract while the top-of-the-line LX 2009 has shed $25 down to $149.99 on contract, so if you were looking for an excuse to live dangerously with your precious address book, this might be as good of a reason as any. Then again, what are the odds of lightning striking twice?

Read – Sidekick 2008
Read – Sidekick LX 2009

T-Mobile cautiously resumes Sidekick sales at lower prices originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Ziegler

Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video) – 2723th Edition

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:21:00 +0000

Filed under: Apple, iPhone OS

Hey there sailor, we imagine you’ve been doing your fair share of button mashing what with a certain new bit of software out and about, but how would you like a whole new control paradigm? Taking up Steve Jobs’ war on buttons, a group of grad students at Japan’s Keio University have put together a comprehensive robot control interface that relies solely on finger swipes, taps, and presses. By employing the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer and multitouch screen, the robot can replicate a humanistic walking motion, perform sidesteps and, when called upon, kick a football with gusto and presumed passion. Your destination is just past the break, where the video demo awaits.

[Via HDBlog.it]

Continue reading Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video)

Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Vladislav Savov

Simple Mobile springs to life with $40 unlimited voice plan? – 2722th Edition

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:19:10 +0000

Filed under: MVNOs

The once-burgeoning MVNO industry may be down, but it’s not out — apparently — on news today that newcomer Simple Mobile is planning to offer GSM-based contract-free plans ranging from $40 for unlimited voice to $50 for unlimited voice and text plus a meager 20MB of data per month (you can upgrade to 40MB for another $5 a month). In theory, it sounds brilliant — all-you-can-eat minutes, no contracts, bring your own phone (if you don’t want one of the six snoozers they offer directly) — but we can’t find a way to sign up for the service, so this might devolve into another Zer01-esque debacle unless we actually hear of people using and enjoying it. It’s clearly not for data-heavy folks, but if this pans out, we can see it stealing some business from the regional value leaders like Cricket at the very least.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Simple Mobile springs to life with $40 unlimited voice plan? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Ziegler