A survey by Artificial Life of US phone subscribers, reveals that 46% of users are using their device for mobile entertainment purposes. The survey also shows that smartphone users are very interested in mobile entertainment content (87.5% of users) and 56% of people who do not own a smartphone, want one. Good news people! My question is: If you don’t use your phone for mobile entertainment, where have you been? On Mars with your eyes sowed shut and your fingers in your ears? Harsh.
The Large Hadron Collider Rap ringtone has been really popular these days. I found the link for you guys if you’re interested. Click here to download the ringtone. You have to be a member of FunMo.
There are a ton of rumors circulating that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon. The carrier was approached about carrying the device back in 2005 but it clearly didn’t work out. I know a lot of Canadian carriers use CDMA (Bell and Telus) and their customers will be elated with this news. On the other hand, there are plenty of other networks I would be happier to see the iPhone on. With LTE and 4G in the near future, I still have my fingers crossed for the iPhone 4G.
The Meizu M8 should be available this year from Taiwan-based retailer Geek IT Stores. The phone will initially roll out in China, and will soon after be available in India. With recent news of the iPhone launching in India and being absurdly expensive, this should be a more affordable touchscreen iPhone-like device for lower socioeconomic demographic. The phone will retail in India between Rs. 18,000 and Rs. 22,000 (or roughly $384 to $469) for the 8GB model. Too bad they won’t get access the cool apps but the phone will have some decent specs including Windows CE, a 3.2-inch touch display, a three-megapixel camera, FM radio and EDGE.
I’m a huge fan of Japanese concept phones. This latest one from DoCoMo and Fujitsu, features separate screen and keyboard panels that can be split into 2 pieces. Once you’ve split the 2 pieces apart, you can rearrange them as a standard flip-phone, or snapped together to form an X1 or Touch Pro-esque landscape QWERTY variation. The 2 components are linked via Magnets and communicate via Bluetooth. When are these phones coming to North America? Soon I hope. Click through for another demo pic of this amazing phone
Google has filed a really interesting patent that works much like a WiFi signal search platform. The technology, will allow you to broadcast your mobile device’s information to cell towers which will ping you back with a list of prices for using their services. From there, you’ll be able to choose your own carrier based on the lowest price.
This technology fits perfectly into the Google mentality of open software and open mobile technology. Google isn’t sure if this technology will come to fruition because as it said in a press statement “We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t.” Lets hope this particular patent makes its way to the consumer.
Mobile TV on the iPhone is going to be great. I’m really excited about this product because a great screen resolution combined with a simple user interface could make for some great mobile TV. According to i.TV’s product demo video, which can be viewed on their site, they have an awesome line up of shows. We’re not sure when this is going to be released but according to the company’s blog:
The approval process is taking longer than anticipated and it’s not Apple’s fault. A few weeks ago, we noticed something happening in the version we submitted to Apple that ultimately would have had an unwanted effect on our users’ experience. We temporarily pulled it from App Store approval process to fix the problem. It caused a delay but we’re glad we caught it before everyone else did!
Update: Sorry to give you guys the wrong impression, but with the first release of this product you will be able to watch previews and movie trailers but not TV. The company is saying “we don’t know if and when that will be possible.” It still does remain that mobile TV for the iPhone would be great. I really hope this company heads that mission.
Not only does the camera put out a whopping 3264×2448 pixels, but the video is good enough to make an independent film with. At 30 fps, Sony really outdid itself. The GPS capabilities on this phone will also make for great LBS apps. Think about the potential in taking high rez images and video that is completely geotagged and perfect for blogging. Click through for more details and specs on the Sony Ericsson C905
Jason DaPonte, is the Managing Editor for the BBC’s Mobile Platforms. I met him at Mobile Content 2008 in Seoul Korea, and I’ve started paying attention to his blog. He’s got a good post on mobile TV (DMB) in South Korea. Something I’ve also posted about and am really interested in. Continue reading about mobile TV in South Korea
