You are holding your iPhone 4 the wrong way!

Yesterday's iPhone 4 launch was full of surprises - dead on arrival, yellow spots or white dots on the screen, lost reception signal and a bunch of happy users. It seems the yellow spots will disappear in a few days, what about the spotty reception?

There are numerous iPhone 4 users reports of the phone losing signal when you hold it covering the bottom left corner where the GSM and Wi-Fi antennas meet.

Apple states they know of the issue and their official statement is amazingly instructional:

"Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases."

Reportedly, Steve Jobs was even kind enough to reply to some user emails - briefly, but straight to the point:

"Just avoid holding it that way."

Ok, we understand how clever it was of Apple to design the iPhone antennas in that way and we can accept new technology comes with its own quirks. But stating a right and wrong way of holding your phone with the latter able to leave you totally signal-less - well that's plain wrong. Not to mention even THEY hold it the wrong way on their ads.

In this particular case what we don't like is Apple's attitude. Pretending such thing is not a big issue, saying it's a normal thing for a cellphone to lose signal, and not admitting a design flaw - that's arrogant. Fans will probably be willing to avoid holding the iPhone 4 that way. Being polite and confessing a wrong goes a long way. So does giving a bonus Bumper case to all affected. Just sayin'.

Flash 10.1 final available for smartphones with Android 2.2

Adobe today announced the release of Flash Player 10.1 to mobile platforms. Already available on the Android Market, Flash Player 10.1 will be available in its final production release for all Android smartphones running ver. 2.2 "Froyo."

Some of the devices that Adobe lists as bound to get Froyo include Dell Streak, Google Nexus One, HTC Evo, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, Motorola DROID and Motorola Milestone, and Samsung Galaxy S.

Too bad there's not even one device to feature Android 2.2 officially yet (except perhaps developers' Nexus One's).

Besides up on the Android Market, Flash Player 10.1 is also released to Adobe's partners for them to incorporate and preinstall in their products - BlackBerry, Palm's webOS, future versions of Windows Phone, LiMo, MeeGo and Symbian OS are all expected to start chewing Flash content online like only desktop machines could before.

Flash Player makes use of virtually every mobile CPU currently available on the market so it will be compatible with many smartphones. Additional features would allow it to integrate even better offering a seamless experience.

- For instance, support for on-board accelerometers will allws automation switching between portrait and landscape screen orientation.

- Flash Player will also pause automatically upon incoming calls or when switching from the browser to another application. Once users switch back to the browser, Flash Player will resumes where it paused.

- The Smart Zooming feature will allow Flash content to run fullscreen on any of the supported devices.

- The Smart Rendering feature makes sure Flash content embedded on webpages runs only when it's visible on screen reducing CPU toll and extra battery consumption.

- With the available Sleep Mode, the Flash Player will automatically throttle down when the device enters screen saver mode.

Dual-SIM touch Samsung B7722 officially announced

The touch-based B7722 is the newest Samsung's dual-SIM phone. It has 3G with HSDPA support, working on one of the SIMs and packs Wi-Fi connectivity.

The previously leaked Samsung B7722 was officially announced today in Sweden. It packs 3.2-inch WQVGA touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio and microSD card slot.

B7722 most important feature is the dual-SIM capability. Both SIM beds support quad-band GSM, but only one of them is capable of 3G connectivity (single band - 2100MHz).

Samsung B7722 will run on TouchWiz UI, but its screen type and internal memory are still unknown.

The phone will launch this month with a hefty price of 420 euro price giving a new meaning to "overpriced". For that kind of cash, you can easily get two phones of this caliber.

Three UK gets the iPhone 4 too, O2 offers early upgrades

Three is the latest major UK carrier to announce that it will get the iPhone 4 at launch. Launching its pre-order campaign on 15 June and starting actual sales on 24 June, Three becomes the fifth UK operator to offer Apple's latest mobile phone.

Meanwhile O2 announced that it will offer its subscribes an early upgrade if they go for the iPhone 4. You will be able to pay off the reminder of your contract and get an iPhone 4 on a new 18 or 24-month one (AT&T style).



O2 will charge you with 20 pounds for each of the remaining months of your contract, no matter how much you are really paying. That's about 30% off the cheapest iPhone tariff. This way it will still be cheaper to pay off your contract and get a new one, instead of buying a SIM-free iPhone.

There is a catch of course - you will lose the change-of-mind period option. So once you've decided to go the iPhone 4 way, there is no turning back.

With five carriers throwing tempting iPhone 4 offers your way it has to feel good to be British these days.

Google Maps Navigation is now available in 11 more countries

Going on a trip around Europe? Don't forget to update your Google Maps Navigation and Google Mobile App, which now offer Navigation in 11 more European countries and voice search in four new languages.

Google Maps Navigation 4.2 for Android has been expanded and now does voice-guided navigation on the roads of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. It already works in the UK (and the US of course).

IPhone 4 makes a stormy appearance at WWDC 2010

At the WWDC 2010 Apple CEO just announced Apple's next-gen iPhone. Uninspiringly called iPhone 4, the new device comes with a bunch of new features along with the new design.

Design-wise the iPhone 4G packs a thin 9.3mm body with a metallic frame encircling the body. That metallic frame also serves as an antenna. Quite interestingly, the iPhone 4 back is also covered by glass much like the display upfront. Apple are reportedly using some new hardened glass that's supposedly way better than plastic. They are calling it engineered glass and we guess it's something along the lines of Gorilla glass.

The iPhone 4 uses a microSIM port (sigh!) much like the iPad Wi-Fi+3G and is powered by the same 1GHz Apple A4 platform ensuring extra speedy performance. Available storage capacities for the iPhone 4 are 16GB and 32GB. A secondary microphone caters for active background noise suppression.

The Apple iPhone 4 features a newly developed extra high-resolutions screen called Retina display. It delivers 640 x 960 pixels resolution, which amounts to a staggering pixel density of 326 pixels per inch.


The resolution is four times higher than the three iPhones so far, which means application upsamling should be quite easier for software developers. The 800:1 contrast ratio of the new display (a IPS panel) is also four times the previous ones.

The iPhone 4 makes use of 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. The sensor of the camera is backside-illuminated, which should probably deliver better highISO performance.

iPhone 4 records 720p HD video at impressive 30 fps. You can edit your movies straight on the iPhone thanks the built-in editor (plus you can use the new iMovie app from the AppStore) and the LED flash doubles as a video light quite expectedly. The video recording also makes use of tap-to-focus.

Sadly, the secondary microphone is not used during video recording so stereo videos are a no-go.

Next Apple are renaming the iPhone OS 4 for iOS 4 so they can put the iPhone and the iPad under the same umbrella.

Of course, with the new iOS we also expect to see the new iAds system for incorporating ads into mobile applications. The system will be pioneered on all iOS 4 devices come 1 July.

Whoa, did we mention the iPhone 4 also has videocall camera. They call it FaceTime. Man, that's so 2008! And they are still not fully ready with it - in 2010 it will only work over Wi-Fi. Seriously, how hard can it be? And it only works iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. Ha!

In the US the iPhone 4 16GB will be priced at 199 US dollars while the 32GB will go for 299 US dollars. A new version of iPhone 3GS with 8GB storage will be sold for 99 US dollars.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 4 start in eight days on 15 June and shipments to US, France, Germany, UK and Japan will begin on 24 June.

18 other countries will get the iPhone 4 in July. In September a total of 88 countries will enjoy the iPhone 4.

In the meantime, the iOS 4 will be available as an upgrade to iPhone 3G and 3GS users starting on 21 June. iPod Touch users will also get it - this time for free much like the iPhones. We guess the schedule for the iPad remains September.

iPhone 2G users are not getting the update to iOS 4. At least not officially.

Apple are also developing a new line of accessories including a new dock and a new colorful case called Bumpers.

Google's Android operating system and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 are the two main challengers to Apple's iPhone platform. These rivals offer two different approaches as they attempt to copy Apple's success in the fast-growing mobile device marketplace.

Visual tour: Windows Phone 7

Google's interest in mobility is driven by its conviction that mobile devices will become the most common and most frequently used means of accessing the Web, the home of Google's powerful search engine and the source of the company's profitability.

The Google-led Open Handset Alliance – now comprising around 70 software, silicon and handset vendors and some carriers –released the open source Android smartphone software platform in November 2007. The first Android smartphones arrived a year later.

The gamble that handset makers and carriers would embrace a free, open source mobile OS and aggressively innovate with it has paid off. Less than three years after Android's advent, smartphones running the new OS outsold iPhones in the United States during the first quarter of 2010, according to data from NPD Group. Globally, Android's market share soared from 1.6% in the first quarter of 2009 to 9.6% in the first quarter of 2010, according to analyst firm Gartner.

Motorola, for example, was on the verge of selling off its failing mobile phone division. Now that group is re-inventing itself, based on Android. Motorola crafted its own user interface over the Android OS, and the company is considering using Android in new classes of mobile devices, such as tablets. The well-received Motorola Droid smartphone, unveiled in October 2009, was popular and well-reviewed, winning favorable comparison to the iPhone.

For Microsoft, the stakes are equally high. Its dated Windows Mobile UI, built on top of the Windows CE kernel, was losing marketshare and its latest iteration, Windows Mobile 6.5, underwhelmed the industry in 2009. By then, CEO Steve Ballmer had reorganized the mobile effort, with new leadership in engineering and marketing. The re-engineered user interface, now dubbed Windows Phone, was unveiled in February 2010. In May 2010, another Ballmer shakeup separated the Xbox gaming and Windows Phone units, with both division chiefs now reporting directly to Ballmer, rather than through Robbie Bach.

The look and feel of the new UI is radically different, not only from Microsoft's previous efforts but from rival platforms. Microsoft hired talented outsiders, paired them with Redmond veterans, and gave them a blank sheet and nearly a blank check. One measure of Microsoft's seriousness is that Windows Phone scraps its long-standing principal of backward compatibility: applications written for the older Windows Mobile OS have to be rewritten for Windows Phone.

In general, Microsoft application developers have been favorably impressed with the new UI, and they've praised the quality of the early code and of the early versions of the developer tools. Windows Phone 7 has been favorably compared with the iPhone OS.

Microsoft plans to continue its business model of platform licensing, but it's forged closer ties with handset vendors and chipmakers, creating a joint specification to ensure a high-quality mobile experience for end users. Two challenges for Microsoft remain: to create a viable online software marketplace and to demonstrate that Windows Phones can tie in seamlessly with PC- and cloud-based data and applications.

In mid-2010, Android clearly has momentum. By the fall of 2010, Microsoft will have to show a pack of exciting handsets to reclaim the hearts and minds of consumer and business users alike.

TESCO GETS NOKIA N900

Device available for £30 a month on Vodafone Your Plan 300

Tesco will stock Nokia’s N900 in its Phone Shops from this weekend.

The device will be available for £30 a month on Vodafone Your Plan 300, with 300 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited internet.

Features of the Maemo-powered device include a 5.0 megapixel camera, 3.4-inch high-resolution touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard packaged within a black case.

A Tesco Telecoms spokesperson said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the N900 into our current portfolio of mobile phones as one of the most advanced mobile computers we now offer. The N900 marks a further step forward to providing our customers with a greater variety of choice at highly competitive pricepoints.’

Mark Loughran, managing director, Nokia UK, adds: ‘This is further proof of the wide appeal of this much-praised device and this deal will bring this great computing experience into the hands of many more people.

IPHONE 4G: WILL STEVE JOBS SMASH PREDICTIONS AT WWDC 2010?

It is fair to say that this year’s WWDC event in particular is one of the most eagerly anticipated events ever. It will interesting to see the audience reaction when Apple finally unveil the iPhone 4G device – unless Steve Jobs has a surprise for us.

This event is also quite unique, as it is the first time that an iphone 4G has been leaked in this way – thanks to the whole saga surrounding the lost/stolen prototype device which Apple has now admitted is the real thing.

However, we still don’t know if this prototype device is the final design which will be used for retail release. For all we know, Steve Jobs may have used that prototype device as consumer feedback and he may be planning to introduce a completely new design at WWDC 2010.

It seems unlikely that this will happen, given all the recent leaks on the device – but you never know whats in store with Apple. Will WWDC 2010 reveal that we have all been misled by the recent iPhone 4G leaks, or do you think the event will go as expected?

APPLE BOSS DEFENDS CONDITIONS AT IPHONE FACTORY

Apple boss Steve Jobs has defended conditions at a Taiwanese electronics firm that produces the firm's popular iPhone, following a spate of suicides.

"Foxconn is not a sweatshop," he told a conference in the US.

Mr Jobs said that Apple representatives were working with Foxconn to find out why 10 workers had killed themselves at a factory in Shenzhen, China.

An eleventh worker recently died at another factory in northern China.

In total, there have been 13 suicides and suicide attempts at Foxconn factories this year.

"We're all over this," said Mr Jobs at the All Things Digital conference in California.

Foxconn has said that it will give its assembly line workers a 30% pay rise.

The firm had previously said that it would offer a 20% pay increase to its Chinese workers, who earn 900 yuan (£90) per month at entry-level.

"We hope the hike in wages will help improve the living standards of the workers and allow them to have more leisure time, which is good for their health," an official of Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai precision told AFP.

Hon Hai Precision is the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, and employs 800,000 workers worldwide, mostly in China.

Foxconn makes a range of products for manufacturers including Apple, Dell and Nokia.

The deaths have shone a spotlight on working conditions at the factory, where workers - often from rural China - work up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.

But Mr Jobs defended the conditions.

"You go in this place and it's a factory but, my gosh, they've got restaurants and movie theatres and hospitals and swimming pools. For a factory, it's pretty nice," he said.
Surreal moment

Mr Jobs addressed a number of other issues at the All Things Digital conference.

Last week, Apple overtook Microsoft to become the world's largest technology company by market value.

"For those of us that have been in the industry a long time, it's surreal. But it doesn't matter very much, it's not what's important," Mr Jobs said.

"It's not what makes you come to work every morning."

He also claimed that Apple's controversial move to block Adobe Flash animation and video technology from its popular iPhones and iPads was "a technical decision".

"We didn't start off to have a war with Flash or anything else," he said.

The comments are the latest step in a long-running dispute between Apple and Adobe over the Flash platform.

HTC Hero 3.31.751.1 update is out, users finally get the Android v2.1

Hold your horses, it's only Asia that gets the goodies for now, but Europe should be close behind in getting some of those Eclairs. Unfortunately, Android 2.1 is as good as it gets for the now aging Hero but it's nonetheless a top-notch upgrade for owners that have been stuck at Android 1.5 for what now seems as ages.

The first signs of an Eclair update coming to the Hero appeared a few months back but as it turns out it's only now that HTC are finally ready to release the Android v2.1 update for the device.




According to company's support page you can download the update Over-the-Air (preferably on Wi-Fi). HTC didn't mention any other improvements to come along with the new firmware other than the new features inherent to the fresher Android version.

Currently, Android v2.1 update for HTC Hero is only available for the users across Taiwan but it should spread around the globe soon.