Handheld Now » Breaking News

Sprint Hero Sense 2.1 Update Coming Early May

Kyle — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:00:03 +0000

Sprint has been toying with its customers for months now. They promised a 2.1 update for the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero in “early Q2.”

Android update! Upgrades to 2.1 for Hero/Moment now expected early 2Q10. Currently working through options for upgrades w/ HTC and Samsung.
-10:42 AM Feb 16th via CoTweet

Now Q2 is April, May, and June, so logically early implies April. Waiting an extra month is torture for some Android users watching other phones like the Motorola Droid and Nexus One touting their brand new 2.1 Operating Systems.

So when will the wait finally be over? Mobile Crunch published a post about a week ago citing a Sprint memo. The visible part of the memo states, “Android 2.1 software update is coming early May!” There is not any mention of either the Hero or the Moment, but MC only writes about the Hero receiving the over the air update.

Samsung’s device has a (pretty much) stock version of Android 1.5, so I cannot understand why it has taken this long to upgrade, since the first 2.0 device (Motorola Droid) launched November 6, 2009.

I can wrap my head around the delay of the HTC Hero though. First, the Hero runs SenseUI, which is a very customized version of Android which naturally would take some time to implement the new version of Android. I am positive that it took them no time at all to do this though. The real reason that the update has not arrived is that the first US SenseUI 2.1 phone is launching April 29th on Verizon. HTC would not like their older models to upgrade right before the next great smartphone launches.

Several video walkthroughs have emerged on the internet of SenseUI 2.1, and it comes with a few notable upgrades:

Live Wallpapers (Android 2.1)
Friend Stream – A widget aggregating your social network feeds (SenseUI 2.1)
Leap – A quick way to navigate through the seven homescreens (SenseUI 2.1)

Those are the only notable upgrades. It may not seem like much, but the minor tweaks like an improved Android Market (With Screenshots!). Many applications require 2.0+ and Hero users will now be able to download these apps.

Will the long wait have been worth it? That has yet to be seen, but what do you think?

Bank Run Is The Most Fun You Can Have On Your iPhone

Kyle — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:18:43 +0000

This iPhone app is a game, but the game sucks. It is just a side-scrolling, 2d, action game, and is currently available for free in the App Store.

What makes this game unique is the videos that create an interactive movie experience. If this were a movie released in theaters, then critics would complain about the sub-par acting and poor writing, but an exciting film for action junkies.

The better half of the game is actually online. It is like a choose your own adventure like movie. I say like because the plot is extremely linear and you can die if you choose incorrectly.

The game froze quickly on my iPhone 3G, so I would not recommend it to anybody who owns a 2G or 3G. Play it online though, it does not disappoint.

Apple App Store Reviews

Great video and sound! Lots of Fun

by DigitallyBranded
I’m amazed at the production value given this app’s selling price. The video is so vibrant and beautiful. It really pops on the iPhone’s screen. And the music/sound is great! Good to see it didn’t go overlooked. I suggest wearing headphones for the best experience. The game portion of the app is a lot of fun. The elevator scene is nice and challenging. I urge everyone to give this experience a try. It could be the first in a new genre. I can’t wait for their next release!!!

Great fun! Cool concept!

by SammySRF4
I’ve never seen a game like this before. Looks really cool and has a fun elevator mode that gets pretty tough.

In a league of its own…

by finger.jockey
This game is truly in a league of its own. Graphics, fun, innovation and most of all price!!! When the big boys out there want to charge you 5 bucks for friggin scrabble, I have no idea how this was developed and sells for less than half the price!!! Unbelievable fun! You wont be let down…

Nexus One AT&T Review

Jordan — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:40:38 +0000

I just recently acquired the new Nexus One with the AT&T frequency bands! So far I love it. The only complaints that I have about it reside with the capacitive touch buttons. They can be difficult sometimes, and almost useless when lying flat on a table. Video review after the break.

HTC Sense 2.1 Rolling Out Some New Features

Kyle — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:31:07 +0000

Today HTC announced a few new phones. Some of which have Android 2.1 with Sense UI. So far there is not much news on the new additions. What we do know is that there is a new widget called Friend Stream. It aggregrates all of your social networks live on your homescreen.

Speaking of homescreens, you can now pinch on the homescreen to see all of your homescreens at once. This is a much faster what to switch between screens than scrolling past them all.

The Sprint Hero should be expecting this update over the air soon. Sprint just tweeted that it will be updated in early Q2.

Source

What is all this Buzz about Google’s new social networking service?

Kyle — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:32:22 +0000

A few days ago the internet superpower, Google, announced Buzz. This is at least their third attempt at a social networking platform. There was Orkurt, which only seemed to take off in South America and at least one other attempt to gain market share in the social networking arena. For all intensive purposes we will just say third time is the charm.

To explain Google Buzz in a few words, I would say it is Twitter meets Google Latitude. The majority of the innovations comes in the mobile version. Android users can post Buzzes natively on Google Maps and Google Search widget, and other users can access the mobile site. You can upload pictures and have messages Geo-tagged to your exact location. Not only does it give an address, but it can also give the name of the store, mall, school, or other place that you are currently in.

Feature	Android 2.0+	BlackBerry	iPhone	Nokia S60	Windows Mobile
buzz.google.com		Coming soon		Coming soon	Coming soon
Buzz Layer on Google Maps for mobile		Coming soon
Buzz on a Place Page
Voice shortcuts
Buzz icon shortcuts

Buzz is very infantile currently and it will take at least a month to see if it will be a success. So far there have been millions and millions of Buzzes sent from mobile phones and the integrated Gmail application. This was Google’s plan to get Buzz out there by using the millions of Gmail users that they already have to get it started.

You can integrate all of your other social networking sites, personal RSS feeds, and many other services. Sign up for your Google Account now if you haven’t already and see where Google goes with this.

You can follow me on Buzz by clicking Follow Kyle Dornblaser.

Windows Phone 7 Series Announced at Mobile World Congress Today

Kyle — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:48:12 +0000

Earlier today Microsoft unveiled its latest creation, Windows Phone 7 Series. It is just a newer version of Windows Mobile that has been built from scratch. This was smart on Microsoft’s part because the only way they could ever catch up would be to forget backwards compatibility and just move forward. This could very well be what they have done since there is no word on whether or not any current programs will be compatible with 7 Series.

Microsoft also realized that resistive technology is a way of the past, and not only made it capacitive touch capable, but all devices are required to have capacitive touch support. There are also some more unreleased minimum specs that are required for all phone manufacturers that wish to have this OS on their smartphones. They also noted that physical keyboards are also permitted to use with the software.

The User Interface is largely inspired by Zune HD with large fonts and simple but stunning buttons. Unlike most touchscreen phones these days, the homescreen isn’t just a grid of tiny app icons, but it has a two column tile system. The tiles are very large to make it easier to tap. These tiles are also animated with live information from the cloud, as well as other notifications.

On that note, Microsoft is bragging about being extremely connected with social networks. They only seem to support Facebook and Windows Live natively though. Apparently other social networks like Twitter and Flickr are available through Windows Live, but I am not too sure how well that will work out.

For years there have been rumors about Xbox Live integration with Windows Mobile. Today that is finally confirmed! Unfortunately there is no working example of it. Joe Belfiore explains the future features though, “I want to show you how this looks and works on a real phone. So you’ve got your avatar here, spotlight updates, and recent achievements. There are requests — you can see someone is nudging Anna to come and game with them.” On top of that some games will be able to earn you Achievement Points.

Xbox integration was not the only other Microsoft product added to the operating system. Zune, Microsoft’s semi-successful portable media player, is available in all of its glory. This full featured media player is simple and sexy. The operating system will also be compatible with the Zune Pass, which is the envy of iPod owners. For $15 a month users can listen to and download unlimited songs from the Zune Marketplace. This gives owners millions of songs available on their phone via the built in marketplace.

Of course there are tons and tons more features to this operating system including Microsoft Office, third party apps, and GPS. The OS won’t launch until this holiday season though. Windows Phone 7 Series will likely become obsolete by then considering all the new highly anticipated and rumored phones like the iPhone 4G. As a Microsoft fanboy, I can not wait to try out this on the latest hardware later this year.

Source

Swype – The Next Evolution of Handheld Text Input

Kyle — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:36:04 +0000

Cell phones and other handheld devices have progressed thus far to a less powerful PC keyboard. Swype promises to drastically improve the way we input text on the go. Now I have not used a device with it, but from what I have seen it is powerful to say the least. Swype is the Lamborghini of handheld input methods.

Their official benchmarks put its capabilities at 45 words per minute. They claim that PC keyboards get less than 60, so this almost puts it up to par with them. And mind you, the Swype method is one handed! I bet you are wondering how it works, well I will tell you after the break.

Instead of tapping each character on the keyboard, your finger never leaves the screen. You just guide your fingertip from the first letter straight to the next letter and then to the next as quickly as you’d like. There are a couple of other moves for doing the same letter twice and inserting symbols, but I am sure that they will be second nature in no time.

Currently the only phone that supports Swype is the Verizon Omnia II. Certainly in the coming months and years developers will switch to this system or one similar to it, since it is so clearly superior.

Here is a video of Swype vs iPhone’s Keyboard:

Also a beta version of Swype on Verizon’s Droid Eris:

Source

Apple’s App Store Hits 100,000 Apps and Two Billion Downloads

Kyle — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:02:45 +0000

There was never any doubt that the iPhone had a huge App Store, but 100,000 is a heck of a lot. Also it seems like just last week that the one billionth app was download, and now it’s over two billion! These humongous numbers are a contributing force in the millions of people that flock to the iPhone. But do 100,000 apps mean anything?

Well over half of the top downloaded apps are games, and is it just me or has Facebook been on the Top Free apps section forever? Most people, including me, browse the App Store by checking out the Top 25 apps. The Top Paid section is littered with 99 cent games that are entertaining for a good hour or two, and the Top Free section is lousy with Free or Lite versions of paid apps.

Recently Apple has added a Genius tab to the Featured section of the App Store. When I first saw this I was very optimistic that I could find some applications that I would enjoy that have slipped through the cracks. Here are some of Genius’s recommendations:

ContactsPlus based on BeejiveIM with Push
Hubble based on Dictionary.com
The Chemical Touch: Lite Edition based on Google Mobile App

Not only did these apps have almost no relation to the ones that they are supposed to be based on, but none of them interested me in the slightest. Needless to say I am very disappointed with Genius.

To sum up, Apple may have over 100,000 applications, but I only about sixty on my phone. The App Store is oversaturated with pointless applications that nobody cares for, and the applications hat people wants are blocked by the stores approval process. With all that said, I believe that the iPhone has the best store for applications on any mobile device.

Battle of the Androids

Kyle — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:47:06 +0000

	CLIQ	Galaxy	Tattoo	Hero	Magic / MT3G	Dream / G1
Carrier	T-Mobile	– (GSM / HSDPA)	– (GSM / EDGE)	Sprint	T-Mobile	T-Mobile
Manuf.	Motorola	Samsung	HTC	HTC	HTC	HTC
Price	–	–	–	$179.99	$99.99	$149.99
Released	–	July 2009	–	Oct 11, 2009	Aug 5, 2009	Oct 22, 2008
Keyboard	Slide-out	Virtual	Virtual	Virtual	Virtual	Slide-out
Android	MOTOBLUR	Standard	Sense UI	Sense UI	Standard	Standard
Processor	528MHz MSM7201A	528MHz ARM11	528MHz MSM7225	528MHz MSM7201A	528MHz MSM7201A	528MHz MSM7201A
Screen	3.1-inch (est.), 320 x 480	3.2-inch, 320 x 480	2.8-inch, 240 x 320	3.2-inch, 320 x 480	3.2-inch, 320 x 480	3.2-inch, 480 x 320
Headphone	3.5mm	3.5mm	3.5mm	3.5mm	ExtUSB	ExtUSB
Touchscreen	Capacitive	Capacitive	Resistive	Capacitive	Capacitive	Capacitive
Still Camera	5MP with AF	5MP with Flash	3.2MP	5MP with AF	3.2MP with AF	3.2MP with AF
Bluetooth	2.0	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Exchange	ActiveSync	ActiveSync	–	ActiveSync	Depends on version	Depends on version
Storage	256MB, microSD	8GB, microSD	512MB, microSD	512MB, microSD	512MB, microSD	256MB, microSD
Battery	1400mAh	1500mAh	1100mAh	1500 mAh	1340 mAh	1150 mAh
Weight	163g	114g	113g	135g	116g	158g

Source

HTC Leo – The First Capacitive Windows Mobile Device?

Piezo Technology Making The New Blackberry Storm 2′s Touchscreen Enjoyable

Kyle — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:30:19 +0000

With the new Piezo Technology used in the Blackberry Storm 2 (9550), it can provide multi-touch! Continue for the video explaining how it all works as well as some other hardware improvements.

When there is no electricity, like when the phone is off, the screen will be very hard and rigid. Once electricity is added however, the phone’s screen can be clicked in as needed. You can learn more about Piezo on Wikipedia.

Source