Most of the cell phone applications we write about are fun, or somewhat useful: not many of them save lives. But AT&T has just launched new technology in partnership with Mednet which monitors heart patients' health and transmits the results to their cardiologists via Bluetooth. There is a monthly fee and it requires a tech-savvy doctor who is already signed up to the scheme but it could save on appointments (and save your co-pay) which is no bad thing.
Via Textually.
Geek.com's Brian Osborne says he wishes he'd thought of the MobileRiser first. You can't beat a simple product that satisfies a need--especially when it costs only $4.95.
Last week, Apple announced the impending arrival of iPhone 3.0 software, an update to the iPhone OS to be released this summer (along with, probably, a third-generation iPhone).
So what's exciting about the 3.0 OS? Believe it or not, one of the most talked-about features added is the ability to cut/copy/paste - functions that were noticeably absent from the iPhone but available on competitor products like the Blackberry.
But beyond cut/copy/paste, OS 3.0 also offers a search function, expanded MMS abilities, peer-to-peer Bluetooth between iPhones and nearby iPod Touches, and what could be really significant for many people: hardware APIs that might let people use an iPhone to check blood glucose or blood pressure levels, for example, and transmit the info to a parent or doctor.
Also, some guy supposedly figured out how to get his iPhone 3.0 to tether to his laptop, providing an Internet connection, but he promptly forgot how. Oops. Stay tuned - I'm sure it won't be long til someone else figures it out.
Parental control has spread its claws e-verywhere and it is no surprise that the iPhone too, hasn’t been spared. An application called the iWonder Surf can now be installed on your iPhone and iPod touch to monitor and control your child’s surfing activities.
This software, based on the Safari web browser, gives you the complete details about your child’s web visits – the date/time, the specific websites that were visited and even what they were looking at on a particular website. Once you track what your child’s surfing, you can decide on how to filter sites, to allow all traffic or to totally block the device from any location – even without having physical access to the device itself. How is that possible? Every installation of the software is assigned a unique email and password combination which can be used to login to the iWonder Surf website to remotely manage all the devices associated with your account. Simple enough. Though parenting to perfection always gets that much more complicated, in my personal opinion.
iWonder Surf is available at $15 from the App Store.
Via Yahoo! Tech.
Look out for your Popgadget Drop email this week - we're giving away a T-Mobile G-1 with Google phone.
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They say that Apple will start selling a no-contract iPhone on Thursday (March 26). Of course there's a tradeoff for that lack of commitment - a pretty big tradeoff. $599 (for 8GB) or $699 (for 16GB).
Sigh. Here's Engadget's take on this event. And here's Geek.com's puzzlement over what AT&T is up to here. The confusion stems from the fact that you must already be an AT&T customer to get this deal.
Valentine's Day is upon us again: so many expectations, so much longing, so much bitter disappointment. But how has technology affected the big day? Here are results from an AT&T study conducted late last month, about the upcoming holiday:
· 36% of texters intend to send a text or picture message in celebration of Valentine’s Day
· 61% plan to send a text message to someone with whom they’re currently in a relationship, while another 35% plan to send a text message to a friend of family member
· 41% of people who plan to send a Valentine’s Day text or picture messages plan to send five or more messages
· 48% of texters felt that receiving a Valentine’s Day text message would have the same or more meaning or impact than a card, and more than two thirds of texters
· 68% felt that way about receiving a picture message
48% think a Valentine's Day text would be as good as a card? Maybe as good as a card, but not as good as flowers or candy, surely. I think perhaps, this isn't the best advice- buy the card, guys, buy the card.
In Popgadget tradition, we don't want to hear about the carriage rides to the heart-shaped table filled with flowers, champagne, and diamond rings. We want to know about the pissed off, the sad, the downtrodden. Did you get an utterly un-romantic text from your significant other? Did you get an email invitation for a romantic night on the town from your love, only it wasn't intended for you? Let us know about your tale of woe! Men, of course, you're not exempt. Did you get the dreaded, "sorry but UR not the father" message on the 14th? Well if you did, we want to know!
What will you get for sharing your humiliation? A brand-new Samsung Propel phone, from AT&T Wireless, in splashy red and white, valued at $249. The Propel features a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, 3G data speed, 1.3 MP camera, music player, and the full host of messaging options (email, text, picture mail, IM, even video sharing).
Just leave a comment with your story and we'll pick a winner next Friday. That means you need to leave your comment by noon, February 20th. Or you can email your entry to me and indicate which part of your story you wouldn't mind us publishing here on the site.
Oh one more thing... perhaps you might want to pass on this "Do's and Don'ts of Texting" video by relationship expert Nicole Beland to your valentine before the big day.
We do wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day. Honestly.
Related:
Last Year's Pink Centro of Misery Giveaway
The Clarifi lens by Griffin (Amazon, $18.35) is a really cool new iPhone case-slash-macro photo lens.
It protects your 3G iPhone (sorry, doesn't work on the "old" ones) while providing a lens for focusing up-close or on tiny objects like small print on business cards or other copy.
The lens is built-in, so you don't have to carry any extra pieces around, and doesn't interfere with normal picture-taking. When you need to take a close-up, just slide the lens over with your thumb and you're good to go.
Griffin claims their Clarifi lens lets iPhone users focus on objects only about 4 inches away, compared to the iPhone's normal 18-inch requirement.
The case itself is a tough polycarbonate with holes in all the usual places to allow accessory attachment and docking.
via ThinkGeek.
For well over a year, the rumors of a Google phone have been running rampant. After the iPhone made its debut a year and a half ago, hopeful Google-lovers have been fantasizing that the Google phone would address all the shortcomings of the beautiful, but in some ways, limited, Apple smartphone.
I've been using the iPhone since it arrived in June 2007. Then I happily upgraded to the 3G model this past July. I love it and couldn't live without it, but I too was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first Google phone. After side by side usage for a while, I've decided that the iPhone and the Google G1 are very different, and made for very different users. The iPhone is beautiful, simple, and a great media player, but the Google phone is a super-fast, highly customizable extra-smart smartphone.
LG has improved upon the first incarnation of its stylish Prada mobile phone. The LG Prada II comes with a slide out keyboard, improved touch screen, multi-media capabilities (including video calling) and a Bluetooth watch. The sleek accessory allows you to check text messages and silence ringing calls with a touch to your wrist while your phone remains in your purse, out of sight. The 5 megapixel camera justifies leaving your compact camera at home. Skip the data roaming charges with the built in Wi-Fi, too: perfect for responding to e-mails when you're sipping your espresso at a cafe in Rome.
Reviews and sneak peeks at the phone started popping up on the Internet before its European launch. Widespread availability in the U.S. is pending though you can get one now here for a mere $700.
Via T3.
Last week, Apple was forced to pull a UK ad for the iPhone 3G after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints by viewers who felt that the ad exaggerated the speed at which users can access applications, both visually (skipping several steps) and in the language used ("really fast!").
The company defended its claims, saying they were "relative rather than absolute in nature" and that the 3G iPhone was "really fast"... in comparison with the 2G version. It didn't fly and Apple has now released a modified version of the ad which makes clear that the speed and performance of the smartphone will vary from how it appears onscreen.
Among the most abused gadgets in my home, the remote control takes first place - closely followed by its distant cousin, the (my) cell phone. In addition to the brutal bangs on the floor administered frequently by its butter-fingered owner, my cell phone has recently become the sole "toy" that my toddler son is really interested in. Now imagine how many more accidents the poor cell phone now has to look forward to.
But protecting it against accidents of the first kind seems possible with Mobigrip. This handy little accessory sticks to the back of your cell phone and throws out a "micro bungee" that you loop across your finger to avoid dropping the phone. The usage of this unique accessory isn't limited to cell phones either - you can use Mobigrip for most of your small household devices such as PDAs, MP3 players, iPods, voice recorders, some digital cameras, glucose meters, tv remotes, navigators, etc.
Securing small gadgets against accidental falls couldn't get any simpler. Or perhaps cheaper. Mobigrip is available in various colors for $9.95. Also available at Amazon.
Proving once again that smartphones aren't only the provinces of Windows Mobile, RIM (Blackberry) or Apple (ooh, what's it called again...?), Nokia this week unveiled the new N97 in Barcelona. For those of you who love to text or email on the move, this device has a QWERTY keyboard as well as a 3.5-inch touchscreen. Plus there's a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and video and a huge 32GB of memory (expandable to 48GB with a MicroSD card).
It's on the chunky side, but there's not much it can't do. Plus, it's pretty.
We should see it shipping early in 2009 (and will no doubt find out price and contract details nearer the time, too).
Otterbox, which makes the pretty-much indestructible Defender series of cases for iPhones and iPods now has a new line, dubbed the Impact Series which offers protection without the bulk.
Available in black or white, the Impact Series features durability, impact absorbing features and style in a single, slim-fit Silicone layer. All buttons, ports and functions are accessible right through the case, of course. The ergonomic design also has a function - the inner corners have been engineered to dissipate impact AWAY from your device in case of an accidental fall.
This ZTE C79 headset has one big thing going for it -- the price. At $159, it will appeal to a buyer intested in a basic phone, but who still wants a few cool features. Here's what we thought after taking it for a test run: there are no tricky settings or menus, everything from the contacts to the call log were easy to find and understand; the SMS was very standard and had all of the usual formats (abc, ABC, T9 or Word, etc); the camera was decent, and had some nice features like zoom, brightness, and color themes (black & white and sepia). It packs some pretty good speakers and comes with a GPS feature where in case of an emergency, your phone can be located (unfortunately you can't use it for directions). It also comes with a speaker phone and is stereo bluetooth capable.
By far the best feature turns out to the music management system which is as easy to use as the rest of the phone. Just drag and drop from your PC, and the external music keys make it a cinch. If you need more memory, there's an expansion slot on the side.
What we didn't like: the screen size and resolution was a little small and weak. Funny to scrimp here when they've built a solid phone with some surprisingly good features.
It's only available on the carrier MetroPCS network so check to see the national coverage page first to see if they're in your area.
The ultra-stylish Samsung Cleo, launched in the Canadian market, is unlike any other flip phone in its shape - it is a solid square with a lovely floral pattern inscribed on the outside, and as Samsung describes it, is quite like powder compact (of the make-up kind). When flipped open, it measures a total length of just 5.5 inches in spite of containing a full-blown QWERTY keypad and a spacious color LCD screen that can display your SMS messages as threads of text conversation. Plus Samsung throws in a 1.3MP camera, an MP3 player with up to 8GB expandable memory, and Bluetooth (stereo). It will be available exclusively in partnership with Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile in three delicious options - pink, champagne and a special "Kisses from Cleo" edition - a "shimmering pink phone with a Cake Beauty mulberry sorbet lip butter."
The handset is apparently priced at $300 and currently available only with Solo Mobile starting at $100 for a 3-year contract. Cool(eo) Canada.
Like to catch big air? Then you'll like the new HangTimer app for iPhone, which measures your, um, hang time. As the site says:
HangTimer uses the iPhone's accelerometer and some hairy math to determine the split second you become airborne. The HangTimer works on kickers drops even rollercoaster’s!
As an extra bonus for iPhone 3G users, Hangtimer uses the phone's built in GPS to find your exact position for every jump and plots it using Google Maps. The GPS also enables the HangTimer application to display the user's speed as he or she cruises along and how fast they are going when they take flight. All this information is saved for display on a "sweet graph" that allows them to later check out their entire run and see where they caught the biggest air and fastest speed. In other words, earn bragging rights.
Created for both versions of the iPhone and iPod touch, it also keeps a record of the user's 10 best jumps. Through partnership with Snowcountry (the largest ski resort database in the world),it can also automatically locate your ski resort and download trail maps, lift status and snow reports – all through one application.
I find more germy reasons to get panicky about my keyboard rather than my husband’s iPod Touch, but any product that can ensure spotlessness for our gizmos will, to his irritation, always find an eager listener in me.
These innovative Wireless Wipes have done exactly that – for they are the first-of-their-kind sanitized wipes designed for cleaning up daily-use gizmos like the iPhone, laptops, or any cellphone in general. The wipes have been designed based on a research that discovered that personal mobile devices are breeding ground to bacteria that can cause serious illness – pneumonia and meningitis, to name a couple.
No, that isn’t an exaggeration – your cellphone is probably filthier than the bottom of your shoe. Which is why these quick-drying, non-streaking and non-corrosive wipes seem like a great option – at $2 for a pack of 10.
It's a wired world, but not always as wired as we'd like it to be. There are lots of potential arid zones - the subway, deep in a building, or out there in the wireless countryside. That can be a problem for iPhone users. And it's even more of a problem for fans of the iPod Touch. Without a wireless connection, Touch users are literally out of Touch.
Unless, that is, you partake of a growing number of iPhone and Touch apps that can be used offline. Sarah Perez at ReadWriteWeb has a useful list of seven apps that are the Apples of her i, including Evernote, the Stanza e-book reader, even RSS readers. And the Comments list several more.
Why didn't I think of dressing up as my iPhone 3G for Halloween? (Maybe because a witches hat is as creative as I ever get.)
This clever apps guy went all out. It only looks like your iPhone at first glance. Check out this closer pic to see some of the more, uh, unusual apps not available at the Apple store.
