Omio

Android 1.0 Loses Bluetooth and IM APIs

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

Google has dropped Bluetooth and the GTalkService instant messaging APIs from Android 1.0, according to the Android Developers Blog. Handsets using the Android OS will still work with other Bluetooth devices, such as headsets and handsfree stuff. Like the iPhone, the OS won’t offer a Bluetooth API to allow other people to write apps.

The company decided to drop the Bluetooth API because they “plain ran out of timeâ€. Google has promised that a Bluetooth API will be released in the future but can’t say when that will be. As the old adage goes, better late than broken. The IM API was dropped because of security flaws. The service could have revealed sensitive information, including a person’s real name and email address.

Source: The Industry Standard

The iPhone Gets Nostalgic and Mysty-Eyed

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

Great news for Myst fans- your favourite frustrating, time-wasting game is coming to the iPhone! Cyan has announced that iMyst, a port of the original Myst, is in development. Don’t forget to take your filing cabinet full of notes you’ve made while playing it around with you.

Source: Kotaku

Tom Waits iPhone is Big in Japan

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

The iPhone has been surprisingly popular in Japan despite the fact that many other mobile phones have all the features the iPhone lacks, and then some. Japan is ridiculously far ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to mobile technology. They were using 3G networks when most of us were still trying to figure out predictive text. Their phones can scan barcodes, pay for things in shops and at vending machines and use the mind-screwingly complex system of “emoji†for messaging.

One reason why the iPhone has succeeded is that Japanese phones are built around the i-mode system, which is a stripped down version of the “real†Internet we all know and love. The good thing about the i-mode system is that it’s speedy and easily transmitted over mobile networks. The bad thing is that isn’t the “real” Internet we all know and love. The iPhone isn’t tied to any carrier’s specifications (Apple definitely wears the trousers in its relationships with third parties) so Apple was free to develop an innovative interface. Tsuyoshi Natsuno, former head of the i-mode division at DoCoMo, said that he, “Believe[s] the iPhone is closer to the mobile phone of the future, compared with the latest Japanese mobile phones.â€

Will the iPhone will encourage Japanese handset manufacturers to up their game? Will Apple respond to Japanese consumers’ clamour for more iPhone features? Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Rhetorical Questions From Space.

Source: Arstechnica

HSBC Swears Allegiance to BlackBerry

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

RIM can breathe a sigh of relief; reports that HSBC will be ditching BlackBerry handsets in favour of the iPhone have proved erroneous. Judy Mottl from InternetNews (who resembles Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances) apparently called HSBC, where an anonymous source told her that “there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell†that HSBC will make the switch. It seems that BlackBerry is still the handset of choice for the discerning multinational company.

Source: InternetNews

“But I Have Full Bars!†- Dispelling the Signal Myth

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

Huddler’s Mobile Community has provided the answer that has plagued philosophers since civilisation began: “Why is my signal strength so crappy when my phone is displaying full bars?â€

The short answer is that the battery meter is controlled by software, software is created by humans and humans are renowned for their error. Here comes the science. The signal “bars†on your phone when it’s on standby are a combination of two factors: the raw signal strength received from the mobile phone tower and the signal to noise ration (SNR). The SNR describes how well the tower can hear your phone based on the other data it has to contend with. Is everyone in a ten-mile radius trying to make a call or send a text at exactly the same time as you? If so, your SNR will suck.

The problem is that the SNR varies a lot. This means that the signal-reading software tucked away on your phone places a lot more emphasis on the first factor: the raw signal strength from the tower. If you see full bars on the phone, the mobile phone tower can read the local signal. It doesn’t mean that the tower can hear your phone in particular. When you’re on a call, the meter reads more accurately but unless you’re an avid user of Bluetooth headsets you’ll never notice this.

In conclusion, the bars only tell part of the signal story. Trust their presence at your peril.

Will the US get Google’s Android Phone in September?

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

TMONews is reporting that T-Mobile USA could put the new HTC Android phone on sale for select customers as early as the 17th of September. Apparently they’ve heard this from a very reliable source, but the news contradicts other rumours that Android phones could be delayed into 2009. In this crazy world of unconfirmed internet rumours, who can we trust?

The phone will cost $399 at full retail price or around $150 for a subsidised phone on a two-year contract. Only existing T-Mobile customers will be able to buy the handset during the presale timescale. Other customers will have to wait a few weeks until the start of October to get their hands on one.

The best part of the source article is CNET’s claim that Sprint Nextel have lost 901,000 subscribers but still managed to retain 51.9 subscribers. I think they might be rounding up.

Source: CNET News

You can see the latest video of the HTC Android phone here

McDonalds Japan Develops Phone-Based Loyalty Scheme

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

McDonalds Japan have developed the innovative Kazua Coupon (Contactless Coupon) loyalty and payment programme. Using Felica RFID technology, which is installed in most Japanese phones, the programme allows customers to choose their meals, redeem coupons and pay for purchases, all with their mobile phones.

To make use of the technology, customers must download an application to their phones and register via mobile web. They can then choose their coupons and redeem them by placing the phone near an RFID reader at the counter. This adds the item to the order. Payment can be done using NTT Docomo’s ID mobile wallet.

Why should we have to explain our order to an acne-ridden ignoramus when we can just press a few buttons on a mobile phone? I know that when I want my supersize double cheeseburger meal, I don’t want any kind of human error to potentially thwart my gorge-fest. Snark aside, it’s a genius marketing scheme. If it develops into a full-blown loyalty programme, it could catch on in other areas of the retail industry.

Source: Kilian Nakamura

Dell CEO Fuels Dell Smartphone Rumour… Again

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

Dell has been slow off the mark to launch a smartphone. The company chose to focus on PDAs, but few people cared when the Axim series was released. It’s not that they were bad - on the contrary the people who took the time to get to know them loved them. The problem was, only about four* people bothered.

The Axim X51 was Dell’s last PDA, launched in 2005 and dumped by Dell two years later. Dell had finally realised that PDAs were old news; savvy users wanted smartphones. Rumour had it that Dell had contracted Quanta Computer to build them a smartphone for launch by Q4 2007. Clearly that didn’t happen, but Dell hasn’t given up on the smartphone idea.

Dell CEO, Michael Dell, hinted at his company’s smartphone plans in an interview with Om Malik. When Alik asked Mr. Dell about plans for mobile phones or smartphones, the latter replied, “We are certainly looking at the whole smartphone category, but I wouldn’t expect anything anytime soon.†He also added that he wasn’t prepared to talk about any potential partnerships, for example with Android or Symbian because they are “kind of working on thatâ€.

So it looks like we can expect a Dell smartphone, but when is anyone’s guess.

* This is a lie

Protect your Mobile from Showers with Golden Shellback

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

If you’re one of those poor unfortunates who has ever dropped a phone in a puddle, pint or toilet, this could well be the thing for you. Golden Shellback is a near-invisible coating and application process designed to protect your phone (or other vulnerable gadget) from drowning. Here’s what they say:

“Golden Shellback coating has an excellent ability to repel oils, synthetic fluids, hazardous materials, dust, dirt and water based solutions. Low surface tension values, such as water and oils will bead and drain freely from coated surfaces. The process produces a uniform, continuous, near hermetic coating that resists rain and humidity. Electronics casually exposed to water continue to work even after exposure. The coating is readily applied and not generally considered to be removable. Repairs are made using abrasive methods.â€

You can see a video of their coating in action on their website. Be warned BlackBerry fans: it shows one of your favourite phones immersed in a tank of water. Spoiler: it survives.

Virgin Mobile Puts Its Clothes Back On

By Kate CrowleycloseAuthor: Kate Crowley Name: Kate Crowley
Email: talk@omio.com
Site: http://www.omio.com
About: Kate's interest in mobile phones began when she realised she was supernaturally adept at Snake 2. She was less good at Battleships and, frankly, we shouldn't even mention Pipes.See Authors Posts (206)

Virgin Mobile USA is an old hand at risqué ads. Back in 2004 they had to pull this ad because it was deemed too offensive:

The company has had to backtrack again over its latest marketing campaign, although this one is more charitable in nature.

Read the rest of this entry »