In a move which is set to further shake up the UK data market, T-Mobile has launched free access to it's network of WiFi hotspots for new users signing up to it's web'n'walk plus or pro plans. What with almost unlimited 3G data and WiFi, this move sets T-Mobile yet another step ahead of the competition in the rush to offer for "free" data access. The full press release follows.
Following on from yesterday's question of "is Jaiku dead?" Jyri Engestrom replied both on the Jaiku Blog , but also to some questions over on my blog . The short answer is the integration with Google has been a massive headache, but things are going to start picking up in the near future.
UK readers looking for the latest smart phone deals will be interested in the price comparison facilities over at newly launched Phones Limited (via SMSTextNews ). And yes, it's probably a good idea to use this alongside Steve's infamous grid of current smart phone features.
One area which is often overlooked but in which Nokia has been steadily improving our smartphone lives is the 'Switch' application (a.k.a. Data Transfer), ostensibly letting us transfer all our 'stuff' from one S60 phone to another. Vaibhav has been documenting Switch's use in keeping two smartphones in sync and has been relishing all the options and control. Worth reading if you're about to switch or if you have two devices (husband and wife?)
The next time you think Symbian Signed is a major problem on your otherwise wide-open smartphone, consider the world of Apple's iPhone. This scare story tells how even one unauthorised ringtone was enough for Apple to refuse honouring the device's warranty. Gulp. Hey, Apple, remember that famous Big Brother video you wanted to smash up? Careful you don't turn into the same character...
Ever since Jaiku was bought up by Google, questions have been gathering about the mobile presence-based network. Now Ewan's spotted a pertinent post by Ryan Paul and has written up his own thoughts on the saga . Is Jaiku long for this world?
Wired are carry a rather US-centric report on the history of the iPhone. Dramatically titled "How the iPhone Blew Up The Wireless Industry", it's still a good read, and for those of us outside the US, an interesting look at the US carrier structure that every handset manufacturer has to deal with.
Carlo Longino has been covering the CES Show for MocoNews, and he's posted a summary of the impact on the announcements and products from the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Centre; Mobile Internet Devices, Mobile TV, better Bluetooth and pico projectors were on display, but Longino wonders if CES is falling behind 3GSM (Feb 11-14 this year) in the product release schedule?
These accelerometer applications are getting more and more fun - PyPiwo runs on the N95 et al and provides free water or beer, you will have fun with this down the pub, I absolutely guarantee. And it's written in my current favourite development system, Python, showing what can be done with this RAD (Rapid Application Development) language.
There's a fabulously interesting article over at Unwired View, where the author's got hold of the probable tech details of Nokia's multi-touch system, to be seen this year. Even more interestingly, the article goes on to describe a Nokia patent for a touch-less, ultrasonics-based 3D control system. 2008's shaping up to be quite a year!
The Juniper Research paper on mobile music has been getting a lot of comment today (see SMSTextNews and MocoNews) and it's easy to see why. Reporting that the market in 4 years time for subscription music service will reach $3.5 billion for subscription services, and $2.8 billion for downloaded original content is sure to generate headlines. The honest truth is nobody knows what is going to happen with music. What we see today is not the market in six months time, let alone four years. Look at the game-changing Comes With Music program from Nokia. Whoever can guess the right landscape may make money, but for now, Research Firms doing big extrapolations are clearly delivering a profit.
Yup, it's out. A whole new version of the free Yahoo! Go! on-device portal. Version 2 was actually pretty handy, including mapping and routing and support for built-in GPS. Version 3.0 claims better email handling, more news, satellite maps, live traffic. Sounds a bit like Google's portfolio, except that here it's all in the one Java application. Worth a try? Type get.go.yahoo.com into your smartphone's browser.
Twelfth Night has come and gone so Xmas is well and truly over, but you can still get Snowed In 6: Deep Freeze for free if you hurry. Simply download the game from this page (click on the relevant "try" button), install it on your Symbian device, and then head on over to the unlock code page to get your free key. SI6 is available for all Symbian platforms, and the offer ends on the 15th of January.
