Phones

iPhone Fast & Furious app features Blu-ray integration

If you own an iPhone/iP od Touch and love the Fast & Furious movie, Universal is giving you a whole new reason to look forward to the upcoming Blu-ray special edition of their movie. Their planning to come out with a Fast & Furious app that will let viewers control 360-degree models of cars in a Virtual Car Garage using their iPhone, but that’s not the end of it. They’ve also got movie control, ancillary video content download, and even playback of annotations on your iPhone lined up for later release to complement new Blu-ray releases to provide a truly drool-worthy digital movie experience. We’re not sure though when they plan to roll these apps out, but it’s nice to know that they’ve included some of the more successful technological wonders of today such as the iPhonein their plans. Will Palm Pre and Android users also get the same treats down the road? One can only hope.

[appleinsider via pmptoday]

Magic in Motion

HTC puts a little effort into making an advert for it’s HTC Magic, remember that one? In comparison to most of the other adverts knocking about for the Pre, iPhone or Windows Mobiles, this one is right on the money. Fast movie, modern and it, wait for it, actually shows the phone in action. Check it out after the break.

Videos of the HTC Hero

The guys over at Phonedog have got hold of a HTC Hero and have posted a couple of videos of the initial switch on and setup followed by a demo of the mail, messaging and Twitter applications. The original launch date has slipped from this month to early August so if you are patiently waiting to get your hands on one take a look at these great quality videos after the break.

Symbian 2 in the works

Symbian has been working away quietly on creating an open source platform to rival Android and prevent the Google upstart stealing all its dominant share of the smartphone OS market. It is almost ready to unleash its offerings on the world, hoping to divert some of the limelight from Android, with the beta release of the first open source iteration, Symbian ^2, due within weeks. And it has put flesh behind its previous, vague, hints of entering the content distribution and app store fields, with an initiative called Horizon.

The current version of Symbian OS has 49.3% share of the smartphone market, according to Gartner, and features on 70 handsets in 26 countries, with Europe its heartland. Predictably, Symbian’s first customer for store-related services was Nokia with Ovi Store, and it is also working with Samsung on Application Store and – significantly, given AT&T’s recent shifts towards wide scale Symbian adoption – that operator’s Media Mall.

For the full story head over to Rethink Wireless

Vodafone UK first to offer Samsung NC10 netbook with built-in mobile broadband

Vodafone UK is the first UK network operator to offer the Samsung NC10 ultra-mobile netbook with built-in mobile broadband connectivity.

Free on both a 24 month contract for £25 a month with 1GB of data and a 24 month contract for £30 a month with 3GB of data, the Samsung NC 10 netbook has a Vodafone SIM and mobile broadband software pre-installed meaning customers won’t need to use a USB modem to connect to the web. Commuters, bloggers and those that rule their life from their handbag, briefcase or laptop bag will be able to connect to Vodafone’s fast and reliable mobile broadband network, whether on the road, or on-the-go, while surfing the Web, chatting with friends, or enjoying their favourite online videos and music.

Weighing in at only 1.33kg, the netbook comes in black and includes a built-in webcam, a bright 10.2-inch glossy LED display and a normal-size, PC-style keyboard. It also boasts a 3 in 1 memory card reader for simple file sharing, 1GB memory and Microsoft Windows XP. Users will also appreciate the increased battery life and network reception that integrated mobile broadband offers when compared to using a separate USB modem with a notebook or laptop.

The Samsung NC10 netbook is available at http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband-devices/samsung-netbook and by calling Vodafone telesales on 08080 408 408.

Also available is this season’s statement accessory, the PPQ for Vodafone Netbook Bag. Sleek, stylish and designed exclusively for Vodafone, the bag is the ultimate fashion item for style conscious urbanites and tech-savvy fashionistas on the go. Inspired by PPQ’s signature Gabriel bag and in deep red croc-print, it’s lightweight and on trend for summer 2009. The ultra-slim case is sized for a netbook and features a padded interior for protection and a pocket for daily essentials. Staying connected on the move has never been so chic.

Customers can purchase The PPQ for Vodafone Netbook Bag for just £40 at vodafone.co.uk/ppq whilst stocks last.

via Press Release

Navigon for iPhone – review

Let’s face it: many users in EU don’t give a monkey about turn-by-turn navigation apps other than TomTom. It looks like everybody in EU is waiting for TomTom to be released to app store at last! However if you can’t wait for TomTom (Made in Netherlands) then you can get Navigon (Made in Germany). And now there is even Navigon Lite that is free and you can try a little bit out before buying…

To calculate route you need to enter your destination, starting with country:

HTC Touch Pro2 now with 3.5mm headset jack

The guys over at Mobilesyrup have a Telus branded version of the HTC Touch Pro2 and what do we see that is different, yes a 3.5mm Headset Jack.

So it looks like HTC are starting to see the light and bring the 3.5mm standard jack connector to their devices, not sure if this will be updated around all the HTC Touch Pro2 incarnations or if it is just a special for Telus but at least it’s a step in the right direction and also puts firmly to bed the argument of space in the device as a reason for it’s continued omission.

Mojo SDK for Palm WebOS now available to all

After a successful early access program, Palm’s Mojo Software Development Kit is available to all interested app developers. The SDK can be downloaded from a new developer portal — Palm webOSdev — at developer.palm.com. Any interested developer with a valid email address can access the SDK, its associated documentation, and new Mojo developer forums.

The initial response to Palm webOS apps — from both developers and customers — has been enthusiastic. Even in its initial beta stage, over 1.8 million apps have been downloaded from the beta App Catalog since Palm Pre was released less than six weeks ago. Thousands of developers have participated in the Mojo SDK early access program since it began in early April. New applications are in the pipeline for the Palm App Catalog, and the App Catalog submission process will be opened to all developers beginning this fall. 

Developers interested in exploring Palm webOS and the Mojo SDK further may be interested in these upcoming events:

Where is TomTom for iPhone?

What is going on? Dutch company TomTom offers navigation software that belongs to the most popular in the world and certainly most popular in Europe. They make not only software for smartphones but also plenty of navigation devices too and also plenty of accessories (like the holder for iPhone pictured above).

However until now, still TomTom for iPhone has not been released, despite the fact that it has been officially announced! Why?

Toshiba TG01 spreading viruses

O2 customers in Germany have been somewhat unlucky with the purchase of their Toshiba TG01 units.

The unit which took months to actually begin shipping has actually shipped with a virus installed.  Whilst the number of devices affected to date is very few, customers in Germany have been urged to contact customer services and all other shipments have been halted.

No news if this is affecting UK units, however it is not a great start for Toshiba.

via Clove Blog