Microsoft Corp. plans to take aim at Apple’s iPhone with its own version of touch-screen handset that could launch on Verizon’s network sometime early in 2010, according to a report published just minutes ago by the Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the financial publication said the two companies are currently discussing possible terms of the deal. It adds that Microsoft has been working on its own touch-screen smartphone hardware under the code-name “Pink.”

The project would reportedly leverage and then extend upon Microsoft’s existing Windows Mobile operating system, adding new capabilities that would undoubtedly mirror many of Apple’s advances in the mobile space, including the Windows Marketplace for Mobile — a clone of Apple’s App Store.

“While Microsoft is involved in the design of the phone’s software and hardware, a third-party is expected to make the device, just as Google Inc. has worked closely with partners to make handsets based on its Android operating system,” the report says. No further details were reported.

(via AppleInsider.com)

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, Featured, Rumors, iPhone apple, at&t, cdma, gsm, iPhone, Microsoft, Phone, rival, verizon wireless

For those that want the new look iPod, Phone, SMS (to be named Messages) & Stock icons of the soon to be released iPhone 3.0 OS, I’ve made a theme doing just that. Additional details are here.

iPhone OS 3.0 theme. Includes the 3.0 redone versions of the Phone, Text (to be called Messages), Stocks & iPod icons. For use with WinterBoard.

(Still allows custom backgrounds by the way)

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, Featured, Jailbreak/Activate, iPhone 2.2.1, 3.0, iPhone, ipod, messages, OS, Phone, SMS, stocks, theme

A new feature in the iPhone 3.0 firmware appears to let users remotely pinpoint a lost or stolen phone by securely requesting the device’s location via Apple’s MobileMe service.

The setting appears under the MobileMe settings page, where push updates for mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks are configured. Below these settings is a simple control to activate “Find My iPhone.”

When activated, the phone opens an alert that says, “this enables the “Find my iPhone” service on your MobileMe account at me.com.” It would appear that the service obtains the iPhone’s location and makes it available to the MobileMe user on request if the unit is lost or stolen.

The rationale for linking the feature into MobileMe is evidently the same as that behind Apple’s Back to My Mac feature: security. By only allowing the linked MobileMe account to obtain a location remotely, using GPS or WiFi/cell tower triangulation, users don’t have to worry about an outside party being able to track their location.

MobileMe supports setting up secure IPSec tunnels between remote clients over the Internet, acting as a catalyst by tracking the locations of MobileMe-registered systems and securely publishing their location to other MobileMe-registered devices using Wide Area Bonjour.

In this case, the iPhone would simply give its registered MobileMe user the option of remotely requesting its location. The settings to support the new feature are not yet visible on the MobileMe website, as the iPhone 3.0 firmware is currently still in developer release and won’t ship until this summer.

(via AppleInsider.com)

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, Apple News, Featured, What's New, iPhone 3.0, apple, find, iPhone, lost, mobileme, my, Phone, stolen

Rock Your Phone, an alternative app store for Cydia Store or Apple’s AppStore, is now open for business! First, Cydia Store opened and is now challenging Apple’s AppStore and now, Rock Your Phone has joined Cydia Store and is challenging Apple.

At the moment, Rock Your Phone only has 5 applications for sale, one being free (for limited time). Rock Your Phone does offer a 10 day trial unlike Cydia or Apple which is awesome! I can’t tell you how many applications I’ve boughten from the AppStore and to find out they are horribly unstable and sometimes they aren’t even what I expected. So, Rock your iPhone having a 10 day trial is a huge plus for me.

Head over to RockYourPhone.com to get a RockID and download their desktop client (Windows and Intel Mac OSX - no PowerPC) and install it and install Rock Your Phone on your iPhone and start downloading some applications!

- source: rockyourphone.com

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, Featured, What's New, iPhone, iPod Touch News alternative, app, apple, cydia, desktop, mac, OS X, Phone, rock, store, vista xp, Windows, your

Truphone today debuted the ability to make and receive Skype calls and instant messaging (IM) to the entire Skype user base from its iPhone and iPod touch applications. The service is scheduled to be available to all customers during the week of Jan. 12.

This represents one more step toward making Truphone the open “all-in-one conversations hub” for iPhone and iPod touch users. Truphone customers on both Apple devices can now reach their Skype friends via their Skype IDs. This further expands the universe of people with whom Truphone customers can stay in touch.

Truphone-to-Skype communications are free over the Internet, and iPhone users can also place and receive Skype calls and messages when not in a Wi-Fi-accessible location for the cost of a local call, using the Truphone Anywhere feature. Read more…

 Retweet This Post

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

What's New, iPhone Apps/Games, iPod Touch News GoogleTalk, ipod touch, MSN, MSN Messenger, Phone, Skype, Truphone, twitter, Yahoo, Yahoo Messenger

It’s believed that Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, may surprise attendees at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month with the announcement of a Zune-style media-device in his keynote address.

This new media device will feature combined design elements from the T-Mobile Sidekick, a physical keyboard with a larger screen, and probably multi-touch capabilities, as well.

While Microsoft has been quite adamant in the past about being uninterested in building a phone, it cannot deny Apple’s enormous $4.6-billion in iPhone revenue.
Perhaps this supposed Zune Phone really isn’t a phone, since Microsoft is pretty insistent on denying it. Maybe it’s a portable Xbox Zune?

(via G4TV’s TheFeed)

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, Apple News, Featured, Rumors, What's New, iPhone apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Phone, Zune

Both released tonight via the MMi Cydia repo LockDockBar and QuickUnlock provide some extra features and functionality to your iPhone’s lockscreen.

LockDockBar

This utility puts your Phone, Mail, SMS, and Calendar apps on your lock screen above slide to unlock for quick and easy access. Just a quick install from Cydia and you can access all four of the applications mentioned above with a quick finger tap from the lockscreen. No slide to unlocked needed.

QuickUnlock

QuickUnlock provides more options for locking/unlocking your iPhone. If your phone is locked simply hit the home button three times to unlock temporarily. After you hit the home button three times you’ll be able to browse around your home screen for 10 seconds. If you do not choose an app or hit the home button again during those ten seconds your phone will re-lock automatically.

(via ModMyi.com)

 Retweet This Post

3G iPhone, iPhone, iPhone Apps/Games cydia, iPhone, iphone 3g, LockDockBar, LockScreen, mail, ModMyi, Phone, QuickUnlock, SMS