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The Daily Dog for Thursday, July 02, 2009

LiveDroid is not the first Android live-spin project, but it's the first one I've tried out. You can check out the Japanese project page here, or directly download the iso from this link (a new page or tab will open - just wait and you'll be prompted to save the file).  All you need to do is burn the iso file to a DVD and boot 'er up! Leave a comment with your configuration and results if you want to help the project. I've never heard of a live disc causing damage, but live at your own risk.
Seriously, I thought someone was pulling my leg when I saw this. The most featured new function on the recently released Fotochat iPhone app is something called, “Blow your Love.”

Yikes. Okay, well that got my attention. Here’s the scoop: Turns out the app plugs into the Fotochat dating community, allowing users to blow into the microphone end of their iPhones to find nearby Fotochatters — based on age, city and profile — who also just blew into his or her device. Photos of matches are then displayed, which lets the user literally chat up the newfound connection right on the handset.



This wacky “app du amour” comes from a French-based company called UTEL, who of course also created the Fotochat dating network. It claims that there are already 1.4 million users in the community, though it’s unclear how many of them are in France or here in the States (or whether the stat is even true. I have some doubts).

I don’t know what to make of this. I’m glad to see creative implementations of unique features, but this one’s kind of out there. I went to the site to see if the app or the company was for real, and saw several large company logos — like Virgin, McDonald’s, etc — under the “Partners” section. Looks good, but that doesn’t prove anything, so I looked around and also saw this when I clicked on “Historic”:






Talk about your really, really poor translations. I can’t figure out what it’s trying to say. But wait. It gets even better. The full press release had me in stitches. I’m putting it here for your reading pleasure. (Now, I do not endorse this app, nor have I even tried it. In truth, I’m actually a little afraid of this one. This is here purely for your entertainment.)


BLOW ON YOUR IPHONE AND MEET NEW PEOPLE

Paris, 18 June 2009 /PRNewswire/ — Following the successful release of Fotochat for mobile (with 1.4 million girls and boys already registered), the newest version of Fotochat is now available on iPhone.

It has kept the look & feel and super simple navigation that made this mobile service so successful, while adding a truly fun and romantic functionality which will soon be part of your life!

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/utel/38816/

« Blow your Love » ©
Blow on your iPhone and it will find someone who is ONLINE near you and matches your profile (age, city, preferences)

Your iPhone sends thousands of little hearts to the screen and searches for a person of the same age group and city as you, who also just blew on her iPhone... Her high-definition picture appears on your screen.

You can then begin to send real time messages. It’s magic!

Fotochat is one of the best Casual Dating service. It allows you to meet new people, in a very simple way, wherever you are.
Fotochat equals after work fun, every day at any time, in 2 clicks and one puff of breath. It means lots of love for the entire summer!
Fotochat will be available at AppStore as of June 21, 2009. Registering takes exactly one minute, and the free LITE version will let you discover the service. This service remains free for girls 24/7.

It’s summertime, time to blow!


There are far too many cockamamie apps to try and cover them all, but this one had me laughing from Hello. If you’re tempted to try this out, you’re a braver person than I am. Here’s what you need to know, in a nutshell:

•You have to register to the app work
•There are 3 versions: Fotochat Lite (free to search), Fotochat Silver ($11.99, to send unlimited priority messages to Fotochatters for a month) and Fotochat Gold ($30.99, to send unlimited priority messages to Fotochatters for 3 months)
•Some negative reviews on iTunes accuse this of being a fake service, with bots or paid people chatting with users. Can’t say whether that’s true or not, but proceed at your own caution.







The BlackBerry Tour news continues today, with an interesting reversal of policy on Verizon's part.  Those frustrated by Big Red's decision to allow pre-ordering for new customers only can rest easy (and turn on their computers), as the company officially reversed the policy and is allowing existing subscribers to take advantage of the pre-ordering goodness.  Pricing is set at $199.99 after mail-in rebate, and can be ordered beginning tomorrow.



On the other hand, Sprint (via Twitter again) went the other direction and announced that they will not offer pre-orders for the Tour, opting instead for a first-come, first-served model.  And the countdown to July 12th continues...who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Source: BGR

Speculation regarding which carrier will launch Hero in the US led most of us to the Sprint conclusion. But as Engadget Mobile reports, FCC filings indicate the device utilizes the 1900 and 850MHz bands. These are the frequencies required for an AT&T data plan.

I'm reluctant to say this, but we're probably all thinking it anyway: is Android ready to challenge the iPhone directly? Looking at the devices currently known to run on Google's OS, I'd say Hero is definitely the one for the job. By the way, I concur with Chris Ziegler's sentiments; I need to hold the phone a little more before I can make accurate assessments. I need a Hero.

Hero FCC



It's one thing to inform the public that you've launched your product, but it's another thing when that product actually becomes available to the masses.  Zer01 Mobile, the startup that rocked CTIA 2009 earlier this year, officially "launched" yesterday.  For $79.99, one can get unlimited nationwide calling via VoIP, unlimited messaging, unlimited data, and international calling to 40 countries for an extra $10.  Add on the fact that the deal is sans contract, and it sounds good, right? 

Unfortunately, since the company hasn't announced any distributors as of yet, the product isn't available for purchase.  So for those hoping to pick up a device that literally does it all for under $80 per month, you'll have to hold out a bit longer.

Source: Engadget Mobile


Launching in the US on the Fourth of July, HulloMail will initially be available to Android users only. iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile device support will follow. HulloMail converts your voice mails to an MP3 and sends it as an attachment to your email account, making it compatible with IMAP and keeping you synched up. You won't need to change your number like Google Voice users, and if GV feels like overkill to you, HulloMail might be the right alternative. I'll be checking out the beta over the next few days. 


Maybe I'm the only one (oh wait, no, Congress thinks the same as well), but monthly cell phone bills are still entirely too high, even in 2009.  Thanks to owning a BlackBerry (and the giant "data plan required" caveat that comes with it) I regularly pay upwards of $120 per month.  Bitter?  Me?  Nah.

Well, maybe I am a bit bitter, particularly when I look at T-Mobile's summer promotional plan, returning yet again this year.  For $39.99, the subscriber gets 1,000 anytime minutes, nights and weekends, and nationwide calling with no roaming or long distance.  Granted, T-Mobile's network may not be as built out as its competitors, 3G may not be fully deployed yet, and additional services aren't included, but $40 is a steal for 1,000 minutes.

Anyone going to jump on this?  Stellar deal, considering $74.99 prior to taxes and fees would get you 1,000 minutes, unlimited data, and unlimited messaging!

Source: TmoNews

Gizmodo got an exclusive with Bill Nye the Science Guy, and I’m totally jealous. The celebrity science nerd penned a “Giz Explains” column about the science of "oleophobia" and how it relates to the new iPhone’s screen.

“The new 3GS iPhone has a coating that helps you leave no, well hardly any, prints–-fingerprints. The glass screen is coated with a polymer, a plastic that human skin oil doesn't adhere to very well. People in the chemical bonding business like to call the finished surface ‘oleophobic.’”

He goes to explain that, etymologically, the word comes from the Greek root meaning “afraid of oil.“ So having an oleophobic screen means it has an aversion to the grease from your fingers or cheeks, which basically clings together instead of smearing on or sticking to the display. To make that work, Apple bonded an organic, oleophobic polymer to the glass so we can all enjoy pristine, fingerprint-free displays.

If you’re a chemistry geek interested in the nitty gritty of how all that works, go ahead and indulge you inner scientist by clicking here.







[via Gizmodo]

Discussions

pgohlke

New samsung phone for att!

By pgohlke - Jul 2 11:22 PM

I was searching through samsungs contact page and i went to go look for help with the impression. I wanted to email them about something so i hit the att link and a form came up. The form said pick your device so i looked for the impression, but underneath it was another phone, a phone called the a887 (solstice). Never seen this before and google didnt have any answers. Hopefully an upgrade to the impression with better features and touchwiz 2.0!

bronxbebe4488

Re: myTouch 3G HELP!

By bronxbebe4488 - Jul 2 8:34 PM

Unless the system runs into a glitch like the sidekick did you'll be able to order more than one..Yet I don't know why would they stop you ordering more than one. Call TMO and ask them can't hurt you know?

swithun

Re: Verizon Becoming Mac Friendly?

By swithun - Jul 2 8:08 PM

well i dont know if you never heard of this or though tod this solution but dismisssed it but ATT has the iphone 3g (and refurbs) and the iphone 3g S. MAC and the iphones are both made by apple, so if you swith to ATT to get the iphone 3G(new)  for only  99 bucks and 8GB of storage. or you can get a rerfurb of the 3G 16GB for 129 bucks. even more though, the iphone 3G 8GB is 79 bucks on refurb condition. but if you waznt better, get the iphone 3G 16GB or shockingly 32GB for 199 and 299 dolors .

swithun

Re: Nokia N79

By swithun - Jul 2 8:03 PM

HELLO, look on the video page on phonedog, the N97 review is there duh!

swithun

Re: myTouch 3G HELP!

By swithun - Jul 2 8:02 PM

well i dont know this for sure, you sholuld get the my touch 3g for all people on the [lan but you just need to pay for the 2year contract for the phone.

xenon101

Re: VZW enV2 vs. enV3

By xenon101 - Jul 2 7:23 PM

i think even though the env3 is exspensive it is soooooo worth the money  cause the env2 is cool but the small screen on the front can get annoying and the screen on the inside is a little bit smaller than the one on the env3 !!!!and the env3 has a full D-pad on the front and the env2 does NOT!!!!! i say go with the env3 its prob the best choice if you're looking for a qwerty device its prob what u would want!!!!! and works VERY well!!!!

rpraderio

VZW enV2 vs. enV3

By rpraderio - Jul 2 6:17 PM

I'm currently in the middle of a 2 year VZW plan, and i own the LG Dare, which frankly, i cannot stand. I really want a QWERTY device like my old original enV, and i plan to buy one on ebay and activate it on my account, but I can't decide if it's worth it to pay 300+ dollars for an enV3 when i could get an enV2 for less than $200. What should i do?

dustinearley

Re: iphone 3g with T-mobile sidekick plan can it work??

By dustinearley - Jul 2 5:32 PM

you just use your sk sim card, and yeah you do have to unlock and jb which is really easy too. there are tutorials everywhere online. you can also use free apps and customize it hardcore once you jailbreak. a lot of people who are actually on contract with att still jailbreak. just remember. you CAN NOT use the 3g aspect on tmobile. it will only be edge. for most people its fast enough. shouldnt really be a problem. you can also use the app store and itunes just like an att customer. honestly, even though you dont get the 3g i would rather run an iphone on tmob than att.

yo-yo_tuk90

Re: iphone 3g with T-mobile sidekick plan can it work??

By yo-yo_tuk90 - Jul 2 5:08 PM

Thats it ?! when i get my iphone 3g i just put my old sidekick SIM card in the iphone turn it on and enter the codes and go???

wow i thought i would be going through hell and high water to get it to work!!

but i do i have to unlock and jailbreak it??

thekhanhster

myTouch 3G HELP!

By thekhanhster - Jul 2 2:27 PM

Ok, so I have a family plan with t-mobile and I plan on getting to the myTouch. My dad says you can only get 1 myTouch. Because there are 4 lines on my family plan. My uncle, dad, mom and I are on that family plan. My dad, uncle and I all want the myTouch but my dad said that u can only get 1 myTouch. Just some extra information the 2 yr contract we had with t-mobile ENDED 1 month ago. So basically my question is can we upgrade 3 out of the 4 lines to the myTouch 3G? Or can we pre-order it on a new contract on July 8 because we're a t-mobile customer? 

aliscorp

Nokia N79

By aliscorp - Jul 2 1:49 PM

Why you guys have not done review on Nokia N97

Jonessoda87

need new phone Iphone 3GS or TP2 or My Touch

By Jonessoda87 - Jul 2 12:42 PM

I have my sidekick lx 2008 but im tired of it and im not getting the full advantage of the data plan I have, any suggestions?

zkyevolved

Palm Pre or Nokia N97

By zkyevolved - Jul 2 11:59 AM

Hey everyone! I am thinking about replacing my blackberry bold for something touchy and slidey! I am tired of the old blackberry os, I've been a hardcore user for 3 years, and have had every blackberry. I need something different. I am thinking about getting either the Palm Pre or the Nokia N97.

 

I hear the N97 has a better body build, and the pre a better OS. The N97 with a 5mpx and the Pre with 3 non autofocus (how????)... The N97 has an older OS, and the Pre a newer one. Pre has idle imap for GMAIL and I believe the Nokia N97 does, as well. So... I'm not sure.... Which one should I get!?

 

I don't know which one to get. I imagine they'd both the the same price as they're going to be both unlocked GSM phones (now coming to Europe). So could anyone give me any recommendations? I need a phone that will last me a while, that has good specs and whose hindges won't fly off in a matter of weeks from all the sliding. I'm a hardcore user. :)

cjd4654

Blackberry 8900 or HTC Touch Pro 2

By cjd4654 - Jul 2 10:22 AM

I am really stuck between the 2 BB 8900 & TP2. I really love the UI with the touch screen on the TP2 and design of the overall phone. The TP2 has been getting good reviews as well. Now the BB 8900 is also a nice looking phone & looks to be a very dependable & also has gotten good reviews....So please help ????? Also does the TP2 have WiFi calling, I know it has WiFi but I haven't seen anyone mention using Skype or Truphone, which I will really need for when I travel over seas.

bronxbebe4488

Re: iphone 3g with T-mobile sidekick plan can it work??

By bronxbebe4488 - Jul 2 4:57 AM
[quote user="dustinearley"]

just chnge the apn settings 

go to...

Settings > General > network >Cellular Data Network

enter: 
APN= hiptop.t-mobile.com
user= guest
password= guest

[/quote]

Ahh..lol TMO told me it wouldn't be a problem if I did the same because I'll still be using everything the same..but that I didn't know thanks for the tippy tip =)

misgreen

HTC Magic Review - The HTC Google G2 Phone is Just Magic

By misgreen - Jul 2 4:12 AM

 

The HTC Google G2 Phone is the latest entrant into the android touch screen smart phone line up of HTC. As it is a “special” one: this phone has not yet been released in the United States, and has only a very limited release internationally, I have great interest of full disclosure to let you know this mobile phone. The HTC Google G2 Phone is known internationally as the HTC Magic, and it is a pretty snazzy phone.
[img]http://newmobilephones.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/magic-large.jpg[/img]
Hardware
The HTC Magic smart phone Google G2 is enclosed in a cool white plastic case. It has a slightly protruding bottom that does not hinder the sleekness of its design in any way. A wide 3.2-inch touch screen sprawls on the face of the phone. The LCD TFT screen is vibrant and colorful with its high HVGA 320X480 pixel resolution. The screen attracts fingerprints but this is a commonly found blip in most touch screen phones in the market today. There is also a trackball for navigation. The absence of a physical QWERTY keyboard on this wholly touch screen operated phone has helped the phone knock off some of its weight and appear slimmer.
Software
The alluring wrapping of the HTC Magic is augmented by the android software platform that it uses as its brain. This software ensures fast and high performance of applications of the phone. The superior quality android operating system also allows you to add new applications and games to your HTC Magic smart phone through the android market by exploring options like ‘shopping’, ‘arcade’, ‘social’ and ‘travel’.
Android software in the mobile phone also implies more customization- users can tailor the handset to meet their specific needs by swapping the home screen, applications or even the dialer style. The Android software also lets you access third party applications and not just the core applications and data on the phone. This makes the HTC Magic more open.
The phone has integrations with Google applications. Google Talk, G mail, Google search, Google calendar are some of the applications accessible via the HTC Magic. Google Street view has been integrated with the phone’s mapping applications making it possible to view streets virtually to find out the way. The phone’s GPS facility supports efficacious working of maps.
Multimedia
The HTC Magic has a 3.2 Mega pixel auto focus enabled camera for the masterpiece photograph.. Its powerful video recording capabilities allows you to post videos directly on You Tube or share videos with friends via e-mail or MMS. It is capable of playing media files including videos and audio files. The video looks perfect with the 480x320 pixels screen and the music sounds beautiful. It supports only video formats like MP4 and 3GP which is slightly less when compared to the current standards of android mobiles. That’s doesn’t matter, third party software like [url=http://www.nidesoft.com/dvd-to-mobile-converter.html]Nidesoft DVD to Mobile Converter[/url] can convert DVD videos to HTC Magic video and [url=http://www.nidesoft.com/video-converter.html]Nidesoft Video Converter[/url] can convert all other formats video to HTC Magic video. It also supports rang of audio files including MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV and OGG, and the third party software can also be used for audio files.
[img]http://nidesoft.com/forum/htc/htc-magic-g2-video.jpg[/img]
Other interesting features:
The phone has high performance Internet mettle due to the presence of HSDPA with a speed of 7.2 Mbps and Wi Fi support. Fast downloads make your mobile Internet experience on the HTC Magic a joy. Stereo Blue tooth connectivity is also present in the phone.
The battery life of HTC G2 is much longer than HTC G1. The stand by time is 660 hours for WCDMA and 420 hours for GSM. The talk time is 400 minutes for WCDMA and 450 minutes for GSM. The 1340 mAh Lithium-ion battery is rechargeable.
Conclusion
Based on what I’ve seen, the HTC Magic seems like a really solid device. We like the Magic, maybe even love it a little bit. But it is a little disappointed at its price of about 6oo dollars, much higher than the new iPhone 3G S and the new Palm Pre.

 

sp0tlite

help with y0ur site..

By sp0tlite - Jul 2 4:09 AM

i d0nt kn0w if im c0mputer-illiterate..which is highly d0ubtful..but f0r s0me reas0n i cann0t p0st a c0mment 0n y0ur site.
help ?

p.s will the transf0rmers editi0n 0f the VERSA be available in a veriz0n st0re ?
0r b0ught elsewhere ? [m0re expensive]

dustinearley

Re: iphone 3g with T-mobile sidekick plan can it work??

By dustinearley - Jul 2 3:11 AM

just chnge the apn settings 

go to...

Settings > General > network >Cellular Data Network

enter: 
APN= hiptop.t-mobile.com
user= guest
password= guest

Kennedy513

Re: EnV Touch (Tips)

By Kennedy513 - Jul 2 1:04 AM

for  the business card reader if you are having trouble identifying important contact info, highlighting sometimes helps or zooming in on the important area. Just a helpful tip for those who use the business card reader alot.

-tom

bronxbebe4488

Re: iphone 3g with T-mobile sidekick plan can it work??

By bronxbebe4488 - Jul 2 12:01 AM

You don't have to change anything with T-Mobile,they're already are on 3g but depends in the area you live in because the 3g is coming out to states or within your area.You get to keep everything you don't even have to tell them you got one,only problem is it won't be covered under warranty or their insurance,

Trick ATT to giving you the unlock code,this is why the Senate is looking into breaking the carriers "you can only use through us rule",since the iPhone is popular.

Now the app and Itunes I don't know anything about that plus T-Mobile Europe has the iPhone,so hopefully you'll get your anwser from somewhere.

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