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iPhone OS 4.0 to arrive 1/27 with new interface, multitasking?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,

iPhone OS 4.0

Our pals over at Boy Genius Report are saying they’ve received some inside information about the iPhone OS 4.0, which is heavily rumored to debut, and possibly even be released, at the Apple event on January 27th. Here’s what they are saying about iPhone OS 4.0:

  • There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
  • “A few new ways” to run applications in the background—multitasking.
  • Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
  • The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
  • The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

As far as we’re concerned, we think that a graphical and UI interface refresh is definitely needed for the iPhone, which hasn’t really seen any major interface changes since it launched. Of course, we will be bringing you all the new on January 27th as it happens.


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Bleeding Edge TV 329: BlackBerry Presenter Demo

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Cell Phones, CES, CES 2010, Features, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi,

The device allows you to control a PowerPoint presentation wirelessly using just your BlackBerry phone. At we were able to hang with Ryan Biden, RIM Product Manager for the BlackBerry Presenter device, as he gave us a test drive. Aside from simply wirelessly displaying and controlling a PowerPoint presentation from your BlackBerry, you can also set a presentation to loop on its own once the Presenter has it cached, and walk away. We give you a full demo of the BlackBerry Presenter in this episode.

A big thank you to Bing for sponsoring Gear Live’s CES 2010 coverage.


Unboxing Live 054: BlackBerry Presenter

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Features, Videocasts,

During , we were able to catch up with Ryan Biden of , and he was able to give us a live unboxing of the new BlackBerry Presenter device. For those unfamiliar, the BlackBerry Presenter hooks up to a monitor, projector, or display, and allows you to wirelessly give a PowerPoint presentation using a file stored directly on your BlackBerry, with no need for a PC. It’s a great idea, and you can check out the device in this episode. We will also have a demo of the device in our next episode of Bleeding Edge TV.


Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Aliph Jawbone Prime

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Techies, Under $100,

Jawbone Prime

If you have someone if your life that is constantly on their mobile phone, chances are they’d highly benefit from a Bluetooth headset, and the Aliph Prime is the best for the job. You get best-in-class call quality and a cool design (rare for Bluetooth headsets.) Just like previous Jawbones, it’s constructed of medical-grade plastic and has no visible buttons. The Jawbone Prime also brings it when it comes to noise cancellation, including wind noise reduction. Finally, it supports multipoint technology, which means this bad boy can be paired to several devices at one time, which is super convenient. The Jawbone Prime sells for $129, but Amazon has them for $92.74.

Read More | Jawbone Prime

How to fix the Motorola DROID MMS bug

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

Motorola DroidWe recently reported an issue regarding the Motorola DROID and it’s MMS problem, and it looks like we’ve tracked down the issue.

After some hefty research (read: lots of Googling and failed MMS messages,) we finally stumbled upon a post over on Howard Forums from a user who seemed to identify this issue.  We have tested it successfully, both purposefully breaking and then fixing our ability to send MMS.

The culprit: parentheses around your contact’s area code.  If your contacts have parentheses around them when they are synced to the phone, the Droid faithfully preserves that.  However, when the address is used for an MMS transmission (and ONLY MMS, for some reason), it glitches out and fails. [Ed. note: What an absolutely ridiculous bug!]

Here’s how to fix the DROID MMS issue, if you are experiencing it:

  1. Delete any open threads containing the user you want to MMS, including any text message threads.  Otherwise, it will pull the address form the thread instead of using the new one.
  2. Edit the contact, removing the phone number and retyping it in.  Notice the Droid will type the hyphens in itself, but will not place parentheses.  Make sure to do this on EACH form of data this may synchronize from (e.g. Corporate AND Google contacts, if this person is in both.  Haven’t figured out if parentheses coming from Facebook can cause a problem.)
  3. Soft reset the phone.
  4. Attempt the MMS.

This worked for us.  Drop us a comment and let us know if it worked for you.  There have been some reports of the problems reoccurring, and so we’d like to know your circumstances.

Personal note: Make sure you edit the information that syncs to your phone so it has no parentheses.  I know I exported my contacts from Outlook, and imported them into Google, and Outlook puts parentheses by default, so that is why none of my contacts worked in the first place, but we COULD send to the guy at Verizon Wireless (because we typed in his number directly.)  I’m wondering if somehow the parentheses data is somehow being synced back to the phone.

We’ve reported the situation to Verizon’s Wireless Data Technical Support team, who thanked us for the information. (Direct quote: “Awesome.”)


Reports of Motorola Droids Not Sending MMS

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

Motorola DROID MMSUpdate: It looks like we’ve found the culprit - How to fix the Motorola DROID MMS bug.

It seems to be few and far between at this point, but stemming from an unfortunate first-hand series of events, we’ve investigated and found a few unhappy Verizon Wireless customers out there who are experiencing an annoying problem:  MMS’ are being sent and being rejected with the error message: “You have entered an invalid address.”

The problem seems to be intermittent and with no discernable pattern.  Reports show customers who are inflicted with the problem are unable to send to certain numbers but are able to send to others.  Our first-hand experience involved attempting to send pictures to a quarter of the address book before giving up and calling tech support.  Oddly enough, the first successful picture message sent on this particular Droid went to the guy from Verizon’s Wireless Data Technical Support team who was helping us to fix the problem.  We were able to receive MMS from the numbers we tried, but failed receiving from another of Verizon’s Customer Support reps.

Posts on Android’s and Motorola’s support forums found that there was no workaround yet, but some of those who swapped out for a new Droid had no problems with the new phone.

Is anyone else having this problem?  Verizon, Motorola, and Google definitely have not spoken up yet, so we don’t know how many people are calling about the problem, but there are a few out there.  For all we know, it could be a small glitch.  Drop a comment and let us know.


Bleeding Edge TV 322: Motorola DROID Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cell Phones, Features, GPS, Handhelds, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Software, Videocasts, Videos,

Yes, we definitely hit you with our full Motorola DROID review, but many wanted to see a bit more video of the device. That being the case, we recorded this episode of Bleeding Edge TV to show off the different features of the Motorola DROID smartphone. We give you a look at the hardware, some of the Android 2.0 features, Google Maps Navigation, and more. All in all, it’s a twelve-minute walkthrough of the DROID, the smartphone that has grabbed the attention of the industry, giving Google, Motorola, and Verizon Wireless a lot of attention.

If you are at all curious, be sure to hit the video above.


Motorola DROID review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos,

Motorola DROID review

The is a symbol of change, for a bunch of different reasons. The fact is, the DROID is a Motorola phone, exclusive to Wireless, and runs . There is major significance for each of those three bullet points, and that’s not even getting into the actual device. In many ways, the DROID is something new for all three companies involved, which is likely why the three worked to closely together on getting the device just right. So the question is, did they succeed? We’ve had the device for about a week now, and we’ve been playing with it non-stop for the most part. We know what you’re probably wondering—how does the DROID stand up to the iPhone? Is Android 2.0 actually better than what we’ve seen from the platform on other devices? Does the Verizon network really make a difference?

We’ve got all the answers for you in our Motorola DROID review, so sit back, and read on for our take.

Click to continue reading Motorola DROID review


We open up Verizon’s Motorola DROID

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,

Motorola DROID

We were able to get our hands on the a few days early, and we’ve got to say, this thing is a beauty. is responsive and crisp, especially on the fantastic DROID display. We are going to be diving into the DROID a bit more in-depth in our full review, and we’ll have a few videos up as well, but in the meantime, please enjoy our Motorola DROID unboxing gallery. We’ve got a bunch of pictures up that’ll give you a nice look at the device.

Read More | Motorola DROID unboxing

Gallery:


Video: A look at Android 2.0

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Software, Videos,

Google has released a video that shows off all the new features. Of course, Android 2.0 is what powers the Motorola Droid. A few of the highlights:

  • Android 2.0 can pull in contacts from multiple sources, and supports two-way syncing. There is a new feature called Quick Contact, that shows you just about every way you can possibly contact someone when you tap their user icon.
  • Apps will now be able to turn on Bluetooth to set up connections with other devices
  • Android 2.0 supports multiple screen resolutions. In the video, we see an application running at 800x480 and 854x480, as an example

Definitely some good stuff here. Color us excited.


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