Fun Facts about New Nokia’s

Any Motorola DROID owners out there still feeling a bit slighted from Google enabling multitouch for the HTC Nexus One? Well, cheer up. Today, Google released an update to its Maps application — version 3.4.0 — and it brings multitouch pinchy, zoomy functionality to your DROID. Other changes to the new build include:

• Starred items from google.com now sync with maps
• Search suggestions from maps include maps.google.com search history
• Night mode navigation

You can head over to the Android Market to get the latest bits and try out multitouch, and the other goodies, for yourself.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Ten months after we broke the news on the WiFi-only SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone, it looks like AT&T and Sling have finally come to terms on a 3G version of the video streaming product. During these intervening months, SlingMedia has developed a 3G optimized version (read: it won’t kill AT&T’s network) of SlingPlayer Mobile that AT&T has been testing since mid-December. Sling’s well-written code coupled with AT&T loosening grip on the application requirements for its 3G network has lead to success as AT&T announced today that it has given the rubber stamp of approval to Sling’s 3G mobile app. No word on when this 3G version will hit the App store but we are reaching out to Sling to see if we can get a ballpark date. We’ve been using a 3G-enabled SlingPlayer iPhone application for a while, and we’re not sure how we’d live without it, so this is really, really, exciting. Hit the jump for the full press release.

AT&T and Sling Media Collaborate on SlingPlayer Mobile app for 3G Mobile Broadband Network

SlingPlayer Mobile app optimized to conserve wireless spectrum

DALLAS, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — AT&T* today announced that its 3G mobile broadband network will support Sling Media, Inc.’s SlingPlayer Mobile™ app.

Sling Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS), originally developed its wireless app to make efficient use of 3G network bandwidth – and to conserve the finite wireless spectrum available to the wireless industry. Since mid December 2009, AT&T has been testing the app and has recently notified Sling Media — as well as Apple – that the optimized app can run on its 3G network.  The SlingPlayer Mobile app already is available for use today on AT&T’s Wi-Fi network, the nation’s largest with more than 20,000 hotspots.

“Just as we’ve worked with Sling Media in this instance, we look forward to collaborating with other developers so that mobile customers can access a wider, more bandwidth-sensitive, and powerful range of applications in the future,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Collaboration with developers like Sling Media ensures that all apps are optimized for our 3G network to conserve wireless spectrum and reduce the risk that an app will cause such extreme levels of congestion that they disrupt the experience of other wireless customers. Our focus continues to be on delivering the nation’s most advanced mobile broadband experience and giving our customers the widest possible array of mobile applications.”

“We’re delighted with AT&T’s decision to approve the SlingPlayer Mobile app on their 3G network,” said John Gilmore, senior vice president and general manager at Sling Media.  “SlingPlayer Mobile on AT&T’s 3G network gives customers the best experience possible for watching their home TV while on the go.”

AT&T will provide developers with wireless network optimization requirements for video and other applications by the end of the first quarter via its AT&T Developers Program website (http://developer.att.com).

AT&T’s announcement today further demonstrates its commitment to fostering the development of a wide range of mobile applications for smartphones, quick-messaging devices and other mobile devices.  In January, AT&T hosted its fourth annual Developers Summit, where it announced a range of initiatives to support app development.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Android’s devised one of the slickest, most widely-deployed systems for delivering over-the-air operating system updates to smartphones, but there’s a problem: you’ve got to wait until your carrier (or manufacturer) blesses you with them. They’re typically deployed in rolling batches so that it’s easier for the company to do one final test of the code’s veracity and limit potential damage before sending it to a wider audience — but where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? As is often the case with these things, some folks have found a way to get the Nexus One’s glorious new multitouch code on the phone before Google’s willing to give it to you, and for anyone who’s done this before, it’s a fairly standard-issue procedure: copy the update to the root of your microSD card, reboot into recovery mode, and apply the binary. We’ve tested the procedure and it works like a champ, so if you’re feeling impatient, go ahead and pull the trigger — we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that the risk of bricking is pretty low.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

More Zune Phone rumors are again hitting the scene, this time the rumor of the day is originating from the Spanish blog muycomputer. They claim that Microsoft will be unveiling the long-rumored Zune Phone at Mobile World Congress 2010. According to their inside source, the Zune Phone will be introduced by Microsoft with NVIDIA by its side and will even feature an NVIDIA Tegra processor, leading muycomputer to surmise that the handset will indeed be a Zune HD with phone and PDA functionality probably provided  courtesy of Windows Mobile 7. The discovery of phone references within the Zune’s inf file is certainly suggestive of the existence of such a Zune Phone but we will have to wait a few more weeks to find out if this rumor is worth its salt.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Well, it’s quite a ways off the November 2009 launch date the company initially promised, but Dual Electronics is now saying that its XGPS300 navigation cradle for the iPod touch will really, honestly be available sometime in “late February.” The price presumably remains at the same $179.99 as before, which also includes a bundled NavAtlas navigation app and, of course, an adjustable windshield mount. Not exactly the easiest sell, to be sure, especially considering how much the GPS market has changed in just those few short months.

Apple.

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

Hot on the heels of the release of Truphone’s VoIP enabled Truphone for Android application earlier this month, Truphone announces that its VoIP software for Android is compatible with the Nexus One. In addition to compatibility with the Nexus One, the update (version 3.0.2), ensures compatibility with the T-Mobile Pulse, meaning that Truphone is now Wi-Fi compatible with a total of five Android devices.

Karl Good, Director of Applications for Truphone said: “Google has been very helpful in working with the Truphone team to allow us to provide our awardwinning
solution to the growing number of Nexus One owners. Once again it is a testament to Truphone that we are the first to be able to offer this technology to consumers.”

Truphone for Android (version 3.0.2), is available now as a free download in the Android Market.

All credits and information was found on slashphone.com

This generation of Android phones is faster, more powerful and generally awesome-er than anything before. But for whatever reason, they don’t have one thing other smartphones take for granted: multitouch. Here’s how to fix that, and so much more.

Google’s Nexus one and Verizon’s Motorola Droid are, in a sense, miles ahead their competitors in terms of hardware specs, but moreso because they’ve got much newer versions of Android’s software, with 2.1 and 2.0, respectively. In the midst of a slew of new software features and despite base-level hardware and software support, Google, who has always been cagey about the multitouch issue, continues to leave it out of their core apps.

This is especially weird in the cases of the Droid and Nexus One, which don’t just support multitouch on a hardware level, but fully support it on an OS level, too. It’s really just the apps, like the browser, the photo gallery and the maps app, which exclude support for multitouch gestures such as pinch-zooming. Why can’t all Android users have use the same gestures that iPhone, Pre and HTC Hero owners can, if their phones can already accept multi-finger input? Only Google knows. But there’s something you can do about it. Actually, there are two things:

Rooting

Rooting is most intensive method, and can actually do a lot more than add multitouch to your phone. What this does, basically, is give you deep, system-level access to all your phone’s software and parameters, which lets you run unsanctioned tethering apps to writing apps to your SD card (by default, Android phones restrict you to the device’s limited, onboard memory), modify the device’s stock apps, and most importantly, swap your phone’s software out completely, with what’s called a new ROM. To get native multitouch apps on your phone, you can opt for an entire flash ROM, or just a more narrow set of hacks. But you will need to root your device.

So here’s how to get multitouch on your new Android phone, natively:

• Google Nexus One

• Verizon Motorola Droid

Now, if the above instructions seem like overkill for a relatively minor feature, don’t have any need for the other goodies that rooting promises, or aren’t satisfied with the current state of Nexus One and Droid homebrew, you have another, easier option:

Downloadable Apps

As I mentioned before, the Droid and Nexus One’s shared dirty secret is that they support multitouch out of the box, but don’t support include the gestures necessary to get any use out of it. This means that unless you’re willing to hack your phones, as seen above, you’re not going to be able to get multitouch in your native browser, or for that matter any of your native apps. The easy solution? Download Dolphin, a browser that include multitouch gestures (and a lot more cool stuff, like swipe gestures, RSS feed subscriptions and a built-in Twitter client.

For photos, try Multi-Touch for Gallery, which is a full photo gallery replacement, or PicSay, which is a combination gallery/photo editor. All you’ve got to do is search for these apps in the Android Market, install them, and designate them as your default web and photo browsers.

There are other mulitouch apps in the App Market, from games to utilities to simple tech demos. Drop your favorites in the comments, and I’ll add them to the post.

That’s pretty much it! If you have any tips to tricks for getting the most out your phone’s hardware, please drop some links in the comments-your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides. And if you have any topics you’d like to see covered here, please let me know. Happy pinch-zooming, folks!

All credits and information was found on gizmodo.com

Verizon Wireless made official the leaked prices on the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus that emerged this weekend. Big Red is going to match Sprint dollar for dollar on the price of  each webOS handset with the Pre Plus coming in at a cool $149.99 and the Palm Pixi Plus at a mere $99.99. Both quoted prices are after a $100 mail-in rebate and require a new two-year customer agreement. The Pre Plus also includes the new Wi-Fi hotspot software that is exclusive to Verizon Wireless. Usage of the Pre Plus as a 5-device Wi-Fi hotspot will come with a high price tag, though, as Verizon is going to tack an additional $40 charge for 5GB of data with this 3G-based Wi-Fi connectivity. The $40 charge is levied on top of your calling and data plan so a Wi-Fi mobile hotspot-activated Pre Plus on a 450 minutes Talk and Text plan would cost you a whopping $129.99 per month ($59.99 for calling plan, $29.99 for Email and Web data plan and $40 for the Wi-Fi feature). Those that are ready to jump on the webOS bandwagon Verizon style can score a Pre Plus or Pixi Plus starting January 25th.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com

Some interesting tidbits came out of Motorola’s DEXT launch in Singapore today — CNET Asia had a chance to sit down with Moto’s Asia Pacific VP Spiro Nikolakopoulos, who said that the company would launch between 20 to 30 Android phones globally in 2010. Spiro also said that not every phone would make it to every market, so we’re guessing the true number will be more like 10 if you count regional variants like the Motorola CLIQ and the DEXT as one model. Just by our count, Moto’s already pretty close: off the tops of our heads we’ve heard of the Shadow, the Devour, the Backflip, the Ruth, and several others destined for China — rather impressive for a company that was on the brink of collapse just a short while ago. No wonder it’s reconsidering that spinoff, eh?

All credits and information was found on engadget.com

With little over a week before launch, the pricing for the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus has apparently been leaked. According to an anonymous tipster, Verizon Wireless will be matching the prices of the Sprint Palm Pre and Pixi by offering the improved Palm Pre Plus for $149 after a $100 mail in rebate and two year service agreement with the Pixi Plus coming in at a mere $99 after an undisclosed rebate amount and a two year agreement. Making the deal even sweeter, the tipster claims that the Pixi may launch as part of Verizon Wireless’ popular BOGO promotions. Not bad, Palm. Not bad.

All credits and information was found on boygeniusreport.com