GadgetRatty: IntoMobile

Popcorn Hour A110 Media Tank!

2008-10-07 20:48:03 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

Possibly the best name ever for some AV kit?

Yes, it would appear as if I am typing random words in a string, but no, it really isn’t the case!

Advanced MP3 Players (AMP3) emailed me to let me know about the “Media Tank”, and this stoked my interest - it looks kinda cool, but what on earth is it?! Well, according to AMP3:

“it’s an all-in-one box that lets you connect to any source of video or audio, inside or through the internet. It’s the first product that combines all of the most exiting delivery technologies (IPTV, Streaming, Torrents, etc) with incredible support for your existing media collection in any file format. It has HD support, huge sound field support - in fact, if you can dream of it, the Media Tank has it.”

I think if you considered it a media hub with heavy-duty networking, connectivity, and HD capabilities, you be about there. Rarely for HD-compatible kit, it’s also at a very keen price - from what I have read on the Web, it could be about £185 when it comes out. Being DLNA certified too, you can get your Mobile device in on the action also!

AMP3 are going to be stocking it in a few weeks, with a hard disk - if you want to know more, click here.

You can also go to the official Popcorn hour site here.

Finally, you can check out CNET for a review of the hardware here.

Me personally, I am going to track one down once I find somewhere to put it, and a spare HDMI connector!!

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UK: Vodafone introduces Chargebox

2008-10-07 20:32:09 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

UK: Vodafone has launched a new battery charger serivce in-store, for customers to recharge their mobiles, and other portable media devices. From October apparently, customers in some stores will be able to hire a “chargebox” (locker) where they can choose from a bunch of connectors from different manufacturers - think there will be a Nokia one in there?!

Prices start at £1 for 30 minutes of charging, and a maximum of £2 for 90 minutes. Customers can pay by inserting the money directly in to the ChargeBox, or pay via text message. Thirty Vodafone stores will provide the ChargeBox including those in Kings Cross St Pancras, Harrods in London, Birmingham Bull Ring, Newcastle’s Douglas Way, Bristol Broadmead and Belfast’s Victoria Square.

Interestingly, people can use the service whether they are a Vodafone customer or not - I would presume the kickback for Vodafone on customers that are not already theirs is that they can try and convince them that Vodafone would be a good Operator to have service with.

[Via: Mobile News]

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LG and Fonestarz do deal to provide content in 22 countries

2008-10-07 20:24:58 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

Here comes the content for LG users...

Mobile content player Fonestarz Media has done a deal with LG Mobile to provide content to users in 22 countries - with a really good selection including UK, China, India, and Australia.

The content will include wallpapers, and animations, and I would presume some other things too - given they aggregate content from more than 130 partners… anyhoo, since LG operates a credits system on their site, users will be able to earn credits that they can exchange for content - to start you content journey, (UK) users can go here.

I checked out their site and they appear to have some decent quality stuff - worth a visit if you are toting an LG device…

[Via: Mobile Marketing Magazine]

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Symbian CEO talks open source

2008-10-07 20:03:31 by Simon Sage in IntoMobile

Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford

Many remain skeptical about Android and are sniffing around it at best, but Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford is all-in for the open source movement, according to a recent interview. Sure, the Symbian Foundation and their talks with Google are a bit of a giveaway, but it’s good to hear it all coming right from the horse’s mouth. Nigel talks a fair bit about the importance of developers, lowering boundaries for entry, and how the market’s changed since they’ve taken the lead (including his reactions to new competitors). While he’s generally thumbs-up for open source, he comes off as unenthused about Linux-based systems.

“In terms of mobile Linux I’d rather be where I am than anywhere near mobile Linux … If you look at the fragmentation, if you look at the amount of time it’s taken anyone to produce anything usable with mobile Linux and the expense that they’ve gone to to do that… “

Whether or not he’s including Android in there is a bit of a mystery. What do you guy think? Will Android fragment in the same way desktop Linux has? Will the Symbian Foundation offer a more palatable development environment?

[via Silicon]

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UK: Sony Ericsson C905 comes with NearMe preloaded

2008-10-07 19:46:49 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

C905: NearMe app inside!

Sony Ericsson has announced that the new C905 handset will come preloaded with an app called ‘NearMe’, by Mobile Commerce. In addition, the app will become available for download on the C702, and W760.

In case you are wondering what NearMe is, it’s a local search service that gives detailed info on all sorts of things like events, amenities, etc - but here’s the kicker - it contextualises it based on the GPS input it gets from the device.

The application, which is provided free to the user by Sony Ericsson, includes UK-wide content such as cinema, club and gig listings; over 11,000 recommended venues for eating and drinking; as well as over 1.9 million business search listings and fully optimised Multimap mapping - all of which is enhanced on an ongoing basis so the information is always up to the minute. Full addresses and phone numbers are included with each recommendation and listing.

Users can select locations from pre-stored favourites or search for any location in the UK. Basic information provided includes, name, address and phone number and, where relevant, more detailed information such as film reviews, costs and show times. Finally, once you know where you want to go, there’s a map to show you where it is.

Sounds pretty nice doesn’t it, and it really just adds to what is already a very impressively-specced handset.

If you want to check out the Sony Ericsson site for the C905, go here.

[Via: Mobile Marketing Magazine]

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UK: Tesco Mobile new SIM-only tariff

2008-10-07 19:37:06 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

Tesco Mobile has joined the SIM-only contract wars (well they are not really wars, but, it could trigger some heavy duty price-cutting) today, and will also introduce a flat rate prepay tariff soon, reports Mobile News.

Tesco contract customers paying £15 a month will receive bonus credit of £45 giving them £60 credit. The £20 tariff gives customers £80 worth of credit.The prepay offer will be available from October 27, giving customers spending £10 a month on credit a further £10 bonus airtime or £30 bonus airtime when topping up £15. Calls to UK mobiles and landlines are charged at 20p per minute and 10p a text.

Apparently it will be easy to move between contract and prepay (always good), and much like would expect from a Supermarket, they should be good value compared with anything else on the market.

I recently moved on to a SIM-only tariff, on the basis that I’ll get my devices as and when I want, not when the network deems appropriate - the tariff is roughly twice as cheap as a “with device” tariff, and there is no lock-in. The question now is: which device to buy next!!!

Check out Tesco Mobile here.

[Via: Mobile News]

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Beats Headphones - look good, sound good, bit dear?

2008-10-07 19:29:05 by Ben Robinson in IntoMobile

They got some serious bass kick!

Apple just emailed me another great message that tells me about the various products they have for the back-to-school period. What I found most interesting were the accessories in the headphones dept - namely some “Beats” headphones, endorsed by none other than Dr Dre!

These things look serious - big cans on your head, for some serious bass kick - the idea being that most headphones are not able to reproduce the kinds of sounds that are programmed in studios these days.

Gotta say, I like them - nice design, I’m sure they sound good (anyone want to send me a pair for testing?!) - the only thing that’s stopping me from getting a pair is the price - £279.95 in the UK. Having said that, good headphones don’t come cheap, so maybe I oughta bite the bullet!

If you want to check great info on the headphones on the Apple UK site, go here.

If you want to check out the Beats headphones website, go here.

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Next-generation LED lightbulbs could replace WiFi - Optical wireless networks on the way

2008-10-07 19:22:56 by Will Park in IntoMobile

Convergence this, convergence that. In the mobile world it’s all about converging multiple devices/features into a single, mobile device. The latest converged technology concept comes to us from Boston University’s College of Engineering. Using a National Science Foundation grant, researchers are looking to converge wireless data communications into a lowly light-bulb. The engineers hope to use low-power LED light-bulbs as an optical wireless network of sorts.

Rather than using RF (radio frequency) wireless technology to create a wireless data network that consumes a good deal of power and is vulnerable to eavesdropping/hacking, the new LED light-bulbs would transmit data with imperceptibly-fast pulses of visible light. Initial bandwidth is expected to range anywhere from 1-10Mbps.

LED smart lighting as optical wireless network

“Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires,” said BU Engineering Professor Thomas Little. “This could be done with an LED-based communications network that also provides light - all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference. Ultimately, the system is expected to be applicable from existing illumination devices, like swapping light bulbs for LEDs.”

Each LED light-bulb would work as a wireless access point, offering greater bandwidth and significantly reduced power consumption. And, because the LED-based optical communications networks uses pulses of visible light, people outside the network’s line-of-sight (through a wall, floor, etc.) are completely cut-off - reducing the possibility of network-leeching and nefarious hacking.

We could one day be connecting to our home or office’s wireless network with a flip of the light-switch. Imagine that.

[Via: CellularNews]

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Nokia E71 shunted from Fido to Rogers

2008-10-07 18:46:10 by Simon Sage in IntoMobile

Nokia E71

Those Canadians who were hoping Fido’s modest lineup might get a little sprucing up with the Nokia E71 may be horribly and irreparably disappointed. Word has it Rogers will be taking the reins of Nokia’s enterprise flagship device, much to the dismay of loyal Fido-users. It makes good business sense for a big name to to grab a hot device from a wholly-owned subsidiary and pass them the low end and slow sellers to push at a discount, but it’s still a little sad to see such an old player in the Canadian wireless game to get screwed over like that. C’mon Rogers - throw Fido a bone.

[via MobileSyrup]

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PwnPlayer - The iPod alternative for jailbroken iPhone

2008-10-07 18:22:54 by Will Park in IntoMobile

If, for whatever reason, your iPhone or iPhone 3G’s iPod music player just isn’t cutting it for you, PwnPlayer could be just the thing to cure your music-blues. The PwnPlayer jailbreak application allows the user to play back music from a directory on the iPhone, search through music libraries, supports Coverflow view, and has screen lock gesture controls. Of course, you’ll need to have a jailbroken iPhone or iPhone 3G in order to use PwnPlayer, so hit up our iPhone jailbreak guide to get that Apple Phone cracked and ready to rock.

PwnPlayer is wrapping up beta testing and should be available for all you iPod music player-hating iPhone users out there. Sit tight!

[Via: ModMyi]

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