Tasty bits - CTIA and beyond

Wait! Did two months of tasty bits just go by, CTIA and all? Hmmm yes…

HP 2133 (Mini-Note):
- HP 2133 Mini-Note UMPC Reviewed (Verdict: Rich Man's Eee PC)
- Lightning Review: HP 2133 Mini-Note
- HP Mini-Note 2133 officially official, reviewed
- HP Mini-Note gets unboxed, causes extreme jealousy
- jkOnTheRun review- hands on with the HP Mini-Note UMPC

Asus 701/900 (Eee):
- Video Hands on With the 8.9-inch Asus Eee PC 900
- Asus Eee PC 900 Hits U.S. May 12 for $549
- 1.2 GHz Pentium M in your Eee PC? No problem
- Hands-on with the 9-inch Eee PC
- ASUS' 9-inch Eee PC, now with living pixels!
- Eee PC 900 gets dissected, looks about the same as the Eee PC 700

Nokia N810:
- Android on the N810: Working on it!
- Nokia Internet Tablets to get Ubuntu and Qt ports
- Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition gets official

Nokia N95:
- 8 GB North American Model N95 available: $779 online
- North American Nokia N95 8GB (Nokia N95-4) Unboxing

Nokia N82:
- All About Symbian Review: Long term battle: Nokia N95, N95 8GB and N82
- Nokia N82 gets blacked out for retail

Other Nokia:
- Eight useful codes for S60 devices
- 10 Awesome Applications for Symbian Phones
- Your S60 smartphone as a drum machine!
- WalkingHotSpot trial available for download
- Nokia E71 Pops up Down Under
- FCC Gives Nokia 6220 Classic the Nod
- T-Mobile’s new mystery 3G Nokia handset outted
- Nokia secretly shows E71 at Mobile Wor… er, in Sydney
- Google gets even chummier with S60, releases search app
- S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 gets broken down to the nitty gritty
- Nokia N96 gets in-depth review months ahead of release
- Things may be looking brighter for Nokia N96, Xenon flash in the works?
- Nokia readies iPhone-ish "Tube," disses Apple's sales
- Nokia E71 sneaks into the wild once again
- Exclusive: latest update on the hotly anticipated Nokia Tube
- The Nokia Guide: Getting the most out of your Nseries’ camera

Apple iPhone:
- iPhone Pwnage Tool Getting Public Release Tomorrow; Unsigned Firmware Support For All
- iPhone to Support GPS, Stereo Bluetooth, Nike+, Battle Hackers
- iPhone firmware 2.0? You’re damn right we got it!
- Nike+ going WiFi and 3G, headed to iPhone
- The second-gen iPhone: 3G, GPS, only slightly thicker - Engadget
- Touchpad turns your iPhone into a remote trackpad
- Palm emulated on the iPhone: finally we can leave that IIIc at home
- Easy 1.1.4 jailbreaking with iNdependence, Ziphone, and… iTunes?
- iPhone PwnageTool released!
- 3G iPhone rumors building up steam
- iPhone gets VoIP and chat options thanks to Fring
- iPhone firmware hints strengthen case for GPS support
- iPhone feature rumor round-up: Jabber and iTunes control
- Flickr Find: Lilliputian iPhone unboxing
- Twinkle: location-aware Twittter client for iPhone
- iPhone video recorder with audio support debuts

Sony Ericsson:
- Sony Ericsson's X1 reviewed
- XPERIA X1 white paper reveals yet more details
- Is this Sony Ericsson's P5 or "Paris"?
- Specs revealed of the real (or fake) Sony Ericsson "Paris"
- Another shot of Sony Ericsson's Paris?
- Yet another convincing Sony Ericsson Paris pic — open, this time

LG:
- LG KG750 Is Sleek of Line, High (Five) of Megapixels, Shoots DivX, Called Secret
- Live Pics: MediaFLO for AT&T on the LG Vu and Samsung Access
- LG Vu further slides into view
- Hands-on with the LG Vu
- Thin is in: LG shares a glimpse of its 5 megapixel hottie phone

Samsung:
- Samsung-built, Google-branded Android phones due later this year?
- Rumored Prada II specs surface in purported leaked press release

Motorola:
- T-Mobile considering Motorola Z10 for 3G launch?
- Motorola’s 2008 Roadmap Revealed
- Spy shots of the Motorola ZN5
- Motorola's ZN5 gets clearer, Kodak co-branding and all

Android:
- Android gets handled, now with Street View
- T-Mobile confirms it'll have an Android device sometime this year

Other:
- Meizu M8, Something You Burn in a Paper Bag on Someone's Porch
- T-Mobile's 3G Network Rolling Out May in NYC, Coincides With 3G HTC Touch Dual?
- Sharp-Willcom D4 UMPC With Intel Atom Centrino, Vista Hits the States on June 20th
- Crowded Ultraportable Party Gets Dissected
- Meizu prototype caught in the flesh at CeBIT, we handle it
- Meizu M8 interface gets tweaked once again. A few pixels to the left, please?
- Meizu's M8 gets more UI tweaks for its music player
- More MID videos: IdeaPad U8 and Aigo
- Mozilla Mobile shows 5.9x performance increase on ARM device
- Opera Mini 4.1 beta released- good gets better
- Sharp Willcom D4: Vista in your hand for $1,526
- Life with the MacBook Air

Tasty bits - 33 34 (Thanksgiving edition)

Here’s a “special” Thankgiving double edition of tasty bits for this past month…

1) Let’s start with mod-friendly Asus 701 (Eee) coverage:
- Ars Technica review with some hacking tips
- Notebook Review tweak guide
- Forbes background story
- Uneasy Silence article on running OS X

I tried following this article and running OS X on my Eee but the installation keeps hanging along the way - to be further investigated.

2) The Nokia N82 was announced and released (!) recently (instead of announcing now and releasing 6 months later, for a change):
- Additional info
- Unboxing video
- Multi-part review

The N82 appears similar in features to the N95 albeit in a candybar form factor with a smaller (2.4″) screen and a better (Xenon) flash. Sadly, there’s no HSDPA support for North America.

3) The Nokia N95 is still getting plenty of attention:
- US version review
- Screen auto-rotation application
- Original vs. 8 GB pros and cons
- 8GB vs. Apple iPhone comparison

4) Apple released an iPhone update (1.1.2) and the community soon responded with another jailbreak. Here’s more iPhone coverage:
- Send files directly from iPhone to another (1.1.1)
- Instant Jailbreak for iPhone and iPod touch (1.1.1)
- Stream Music from your iPhone to iTunes with Firefly (1.1.1)
- AFP for iPhone and iPod touch
- iRadio Brings Streaming Radio to iPhone
- iTunes 7.5 and iPhone 1.1.2 return custom ringtones
- T-Mobile to offer Germans unlocked iPhones

5) Finally, here’s more interesting assorted info:
- LG’s KU990 “Viewty” now available in Europe
- Neonode N2 makes its FCC debut
- Samsung F700 comes knockin’?
- Meizu’s M8 MiniOne gets touched
- All the Android coverage you want is at Engadget right now
- OQO product announcement Dec. 3rd in London
- Apple Tablet “confirmed” by Asus?
- New 13-inch MacBook rumored to be announced at MacWorld
- Nokia shows off Haptikos tactile touch screen technology
- Evolving S60: Touch UI, Sensor Framework and Accelerator Toolkit
- From S60 to iPhone

Tasty bits - 30 31 32 (yummy chunks)

Another month, another triple edition of tasty bits… I just can’t keep up!

A device I just acquired, the Sony Ericsson K850i:
- Sony Ericsson K850i Unboxing!

A device I recently reviewed, the BlackBerry 8320 (Curve):
- T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi BlackBerry Curve Is Fo’ Real and Quite Tasty
- UMA: T-Mobile’s secret weapon. Truphone: everyone else’s?
- T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8320 Unboxing Part 2 / Giveaway
- T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8320 Unboxing!
- BlackBerry 8320 Wi-Fi vs. BlackBerry 8300 EDGE speed test
- T-Mobile announces BlackBerry Curve with WiFi, we check it out
- Another look at the BlackBerry 8320 for T-Mobile

Nokia N95 (I expect to get my hands on the US version soon):
- A Brief Look at the Nokia N95 US 3G, PT. 1
- A Brief Look at the Nokia N95 US 3G, PT. 2- Battery Life Comparison
- A Brief Look at the Nokia N95 US 3G, PT. 3 - Build Quality
- BL-6F Into Nokia N95 - Yes It Can Be Done, But…
- Nokia N95 or Apple iPhone? - The Question Has Been Answered
- Sling Player Now Available on Nokia N95
- US 3G Costs Nokia N95 a Mere Hour of Battery Life
- US 3G Nokia N95 Runs For Over 9 Hours On EDGE
- US Nokia N95 Reviewed: Better Than the Euro Version
- New Nokia N95-3: it’s what the original should have been
- Unboxing the Nokia N95 8GB
- All About Symbian Review: Nokia N95 8GB
- Nokia N95-3 hands-on!
- Nokia N95-3 with North American 3G now available
- Hands-on (again) with the North American N95!
- Wiimote used to control Nokia N95
- Google Maps gets cozy with N95’s internal GPS

Nokia N810 (a device I’m very excited about, since I’m coming from the Nokia 770):
- Nokia N810 Hands-On Gallery and Video
- Nokia N810 Internet Tablet with QWERTY is peeped!
- Third generation tablet on TabletBlog
- N810 on TabletBlog
- Nokia’s N810 Internet Tablet, MOSH to debut soon?
- Nokia N810 gets official
- Nokia N810 hands-on

More Nokia news:
- S60 Touch Interface Launched
- Nokia E90 review: Heavyweight champion

iPhone info (centered around the 1.1.1 update and Apple finally announcing an SDK):
- iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video)
- iPhone Installer App Updated to 3.0beta3 With Many Improvements
- New anySim Gets Bugs Ironed Out, Now Integrated with Installer.app
- 250,000 Unlocked iPhones Have Been Sold
- iPhone Dashboard Widgets Imminent?
- iPhone Re-Reviewed (Verdict: Don’t Buy)
- Apollo IM for iPhone hits 1.0
- A note to both Apple and iPhone customers on the v1.1.1 update
- Truphone demos VoIP for iPhone
- iPhone update: facts and fiction
- iPhone v1.1.1 baseband downgrade released
- Orange to sell unlocked iPhones in France
- iPhone / iPod touch v1.1.1 jailbreak code posted
- MEX - the strategy forum for mobile user experience - Award surprises, Apple interface guidelines & our challenge for operators
- Apple: “iPhone SIM unlockers will end up with iBricks”
- How to relock your iPhone before the firmware update
- “iPhone Dev Team” issues statement
- Moment of Truth: iPhone Software 1.1.1 is out
- iPhone: 90 Days Later
- DIY iFlash for the iPhone
- iPhone/iPod touch Remote Control
- BusinessWeek: Why I Won’t Buy an iPhone
- iPhone Dev Team announces public iPhone 1.1.1 Jailbreak
- iPhone SIM Free announces 1.1.1 SIM Unlock, iPhone Unbricking
- iToner working with iPhone Firmware 1.1.1
- iPhone jailbreak interface INdependence updated to 1.2.2
- iPhone Dev Team announces free unlock
- Apple: “we plan to have an iPhone SDK in developers’ hands in February”
- iToner 1.0.3 works with iPhone 1.1.1
- iPhone programming 101: full header documentation released
- Stacks on the iPhone

Walt Mossberg echoes (in part) my own rant about the iPhone:
- Mossberg howls: “Free my Phone”

More Apple news:
- Apple Macbook Touch Concept and Thoughts on the Newton 2 Rumors
- We need a real handheld computer, who will build one? Apple of course
- More “New Newton” rumors

Samsung P520 (Armani), G800 and more:
- Samsung Armani Phone Hands On Video
- Java Phone: Sun Microsystems and Samsung May Be Developing Cheaper iPhone Alternative
- Specs Drop for Samsung’s Touchscreen, WiMax UMPC SPH-9200
- Samsung i550, GPS Phone, officially announced
- Samsung’s Armani phone has a surprise: a haptic feedback UI
- Samsung’s 5 megapixel G800 gets launched, available next month

LG VX10000 (Voyager) and CU920 (Vu2):
- Verizon’s Voyager- going after the iPhone crowd
- LG Shine, Prada coming to AT&T as Vu, Vu2?

Google phone:
- What’s the Google phone going to be? Hardware or software?
- The Google Phone: It’s the OS dummy

Linux/DIY:
- Compulab’s EM-X270 brings DIY to smartphones
- Wired’s Open Phone Round-Up Tells the Bleak Truth

Other:
- Motorola’s big ‘08 splash
- Meizu’s MiniOne M8 GUI showcased further, still devoid of originality

Tasty bits - 27 28 29 (yummy chunks)

It’s been a month since my last tasty bits and a lot has been happening in the world of mobile technology!

But a lot has also been happening with me, like starting my new job, going to Burning Man, seeing my loved one through surgery, and moving to Seattle…

As a result, I’m a little behind and this is a triple edition. Below are the links I’ve gathered over the past month, organized by topic, thanks to some clever grep-ing of my Firefox bookmarks file :)

iPhone general:
- iPhone GPS Hack Works!
- iPhone Adding IM and Picture Messaging?
- Want push email on your iPhone? No problem
- Apple cuts 8GB iPhone price to $399
- Steve Jobs gives all iPhone owners $100 back
- The definitive iPhone native application list
- Apple iPhone hits the one million mark
- iPhone’s $100 Apple Store Credit program goes live
- Apple iPhone hits O2 in the UK on November 9th
- IPhone confirmed for T-Mobile Germany
- Orange nonchalantly confirms iPhone deal in France
- iPhone double header: First native IM client AND first native IRC released
- Install applications on your iPhone without hacking
- iPhone Coding: URL Launcher
- Playing with the iPhone’s accelerometer
- iFuntastic goes v3, adds PPC support
- Dock gets a spiffy new update
- Hackapalooza: making the iPhone main screen scroll!
- Beta Beat: MobileChat iPhone AIM Client debuts
- iPhone Coding: Using the Slider
- Push-to-Talk developer pack
- Installer.app locks out PXL package
- Colloquy for iPhone Debuts
- iPhone Coding: Using the Accelerometer
- Installing the iPhone Developer Toolchain: A simple How-To
- Run Widgets (kinda) on your iPhone
- iPhone: How many Hackers?
- Apple looks out for my best interests
- Shipley confronts Apple on “contain and engage”

iPhone unlocking:
- iPhone freedom
- How To: Activate the Voicemail Button in Non-AT&T Unlocked iPhones
- iUnlock Reloaded: free iPhone unlocking for dummies now available
- iPhone Dev Team announces free GUI iPhone Unlock Tool

iPhone ringtones:
- Daring Fireball: The Ringtones Racket
- iToner makes adding iPhone ringtones ridiculously easy
- Song Sender sends iPhone tunes to email and ringtones
- Apple intros ringtones for iPhones
- iPhone Ringtones On The Cheap
- Cleverboy discovers ultimate ringtone hack
- Ringtonator, a GUI for the ringtone hack
- MakeiPhoneRingtone hits 1.1, further obsoletes the ringtones racket
- iToner 1.0.2 is available
- Ringtonator Studio makes ringtones from any QT format

Nokia N95:
- Nokia N95 - One Name, 3 Devices?
- AAS Feature: The Black Beauties Christmas Showdown - Nokia N95 8GB versus the Apple iPhone
- Hands-on with the US Nokia N95
- Nokia N95 for North America: get it September for $699
- Hands On the Nokia N95i (The Black One) and the N95 US-Band Cellphone

OQO Model 02:
- OQO Model 02 lowers price, bumps specs, adds SSD and new CEO
- OQO brings the OQO Model e2 to Europe

Google phone:
- HTC insider confirms Google Phone?
- Google’s mobile OS well on its way to production
- New Google Phone rumors get real specific
- DigiTimes: Google will definitely launch its own branded handset

Motorola’s secret device:
- One of Motorola’s most secret projects…
- Motorola secrets? ELBA, E8, E7? That’s why we are here!
- Is this the Motorola MOTOROKR E7?

Samsung F700 (Croix):
- Samsung Ultra F700 Smartphone Rechristened “Croix”
- Samsung’s F700 Ready for Business in November with Vodafone
- Samsung’s Croix: yet another ‘iPhone rival’
- Samsung F700, others to sport “Croix” interface concept

Samsung G800 (5 megapixel camera phone with 3x optical zoom and xenon flash):
- Stolen Snaps of Samsung G800 Reveal 5 Megapixel camera with 3x Zoom
- Samsung G800 gets previewed

Samsung P520 (Armani):
- Armani and Samsung Team Up to Create a New Touchscreen Fashion Phone

LG KU990 (Viewty):
- Hands-on with the LG KU990 Smart Phone (Verdict: Definitely Not an iPhone Killer)
- Up Close and Personal Video of LG KU990 “Viewty”
- Hands-on with the LG KU990
- LG’s KU990 “Viewty” reviewed, loved

Meizu M8 (miniOne):
- Meizu’s M8 MiniOne shipping January 17th?
- Meizu’s MiniOne M8 GUI exposed: shame on you J. Wong

Other:
- i450, i550 and i570 - rumoured Samsung S60 devices
- Coming soon: Samsung i560 - S60 with GPS
- Opera launches second beta for Mini 4
- The Nokia iPhone-like Slip?
- Intel demos iPhone-like MID of the future

Tasty bits - 24

In this video, Steve Litchfield compares Apple’s iPhone with Nokia’s E61i and Sony Ericsson’s W950. His review of the iPhone is quite interesting. Other than the missing 3G support and limited camera hardware, I think the iPhone is only restricted in features by its current software implementation - there’s a lot Apple can (and hopefully will) do to remedy this. I also think that the OS X core of the iPhone is superior to Symbian (and will soon challenge it).

Oh, and Kevin Tofel caved in and picked up an iPhone,and Robert Scoble is dropping the Nokia N95 for the iPhone - hehe :)

Speaking of touch-based devices, Neonode’s sexy N2 got unboxed, and Meizu’s M8 (miniOne) got specified. Is Samsung ’s P520 the answer to LG’s KE850 (Prada) phone?

Sony Ericsson’s flagship P1i is out and about! Here’s an unboxing and a review. Also, here’s a review of Sony Ericsson’s 5 megapixel K850i…

BTW, the iPhone hacking continues:
- Partial unlocking
- “Hello world”
- Custom backgrounds
- SSH access
- WiFi tethering
- Apache, Python, etc…

And finally, here’s a great Nokia E90 blog!

Tasty bits - 23

T-Mobile recently launched HotSpot@Home, a UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) service with seamless hand-off between GSM and WiFi - unfortunately it requires special phones and routers…

Nokia released new firmware for the N95 which includes support for AGPS (to enhance the existing integrated GPS). Also, here’s an aftermarket high-capacity battery (and cover) for the N95!

Here’s a couple of new 5 megapixel camera phones: the Samsung G600 and the LG KU990, a touch-based device with a 3″ screen and HSDPA.

The Neonode N2 is almost ready for release, albeit without EDGE… The Meizu M8 (miniOne) is supposed to be launching in 2008 - $989 for the 16 GB version!

And now for the obligatory iPhone coverage:
- Another Apple iPhone vs. LG KE850 (Prada) comparison…
- Enter field test mode
- Setup custom ring tones
- Looking for music to stream? Here you go! (and BTW, this is not supported on the N95)

And finally, if you don’t think the iPhone changes everything, think again:

They are bringing millions of newbies, and not kicking and screaming, into the smartphone age.

Yes, James Kendrick gets it.

Tasty bits - 22

The iPhone launch (now with YouTube support) is one week away. Are you ready for total chaos? I have a plan :)

In the meantime, here’s a nice article comparing the iPhone with other devices, including two from my current stable (the Nokia N95 and the Sony Ericsson M600i).

Speaking of my favorite phone, the Nokia N95 just got better! And if you’re still not convinced, here’s yet another review. Alternatively, the Nokia E90 is also a good choice…

I’m also pretty excited about Nokia’s Mobile Web Server - it’s a very interesting idea. BTW, here’s a look into the Nokia Media Transfer application I mentioned last week.

The Sony Ericsson K850i is official, complete with a 5 megapixel camera (with auto-focus, macro, xenon flash, and powered lens cover), and supposedly tri-band HSDPA (as well as quad-band EDGE). Yummy :)

Opera announced a flash replacement for phones, and released a beta version of Opera Mini 4. After playing with it, I have to admit that it’s a pretty good web browser, especially for a Java application - in fact, it’s quite similar to Nokia’s very nice web browser.

The Meizu M8 (miniOne) is still evolving and is supposed to be available in late 2007.

Finally, here’s another installment in the multi-part review of the OQO Model 02.

Tasty bits - 20

Apple iPhone news:
- Check out Steve Litchfield’s “iPhone rant” starting at 5:13 in this video. It’s spot on :)
- The iPhone, now FCC approved!
- The iPhone + prepaid users = love? I hope so.
- Google is supposedly working on additional iPhone applications…

Nokia E90 news:
- Here are an unboxing and a “hands on”
- The E90 multi-part review continues, followed by a one-day review

Nokia N75 news:
- Here are a practical review and a (slightly more) formal review

Nokia N95 news:
- A camera bug? Nah :)

OQO Model 02 news:
- Don’t miss this great video review…

LG KE850 (Prada) news:
- Here are a review and an article about the differences between the KE850 and the iPhone

Sony Ericsson P1i news:
- Enjoy this preview and this video overview!

In other news:
- The mobile Google Maps client now supports GPS
- The Meizu M8 (miniOne) features some cool specs
- How about an interesting comparison between several 3+ megapixel camera phones? Unfortunately, the impressive i-mobile 902 is not included.
- Microsoft is betting on Shift for future touch-based devices

Tasty bits - 18

That’s it, I give up! There’s no way I can ever match the level of detail of this Nokia N95 über-review :) Not to mention this multi-article review…

On the topic of Symbian devices, the announced-forever-ago Nokia N75 is available is not available from Cingular AT&T - maybe the sexy Nokia N76 is a better choice at this point?

Also, Nokia just released a widget platform for S60, Sony Ericsson is supposedly working on yet another Walkman phone (possibly Symbian-based), and I’ll be attending the UIQ Fast Track here in San Francisco!

Not content with making me drool, Apple is now teasing me with pictures taken with the iPhone [just beware of the many stupid comments to that article]… With the iPhone release fast approaching, Meizu decided to update its design of the M8/miniOne.

The Google phone is confirmed yet again, complete with a concept rendering.

Apparently, there’s some confusion about whether the OQO Model 02 is actually shipping or is further delayed - perhaps my pristine Model 02 was just a figment of my imagination :)

Tasty bits - 14

The Google phone is is not is perhaps coming, and the Meizu M8/miniOne is is not is perhaps an iPhone clone…

Here are some pictures of the Samsung F700, which is really tasty!

And as if this was not enough goodness, here are more pictures and another video of the LG KE850 (Prada), which is already being replaced?

The Digital Cube i-Station G43 is an interesting handtop-sized UMPC - like a Nokia N800 on steroids :)

Speaking of handtops, how about more OQO Model 02 and Vulcan FlipStart (aka. the ugly duckling) coverage?

And finally, the Nokia N80 is now supported natively by iSync, and the N95 is about to be released (complete with commercial).