Google have updated their Google Sync for BlackBerry product to now include two way Contact Sync. To get the new version, simply head to m.google.com/sync from your BlackBerry. More information is here, although we recommend you read the comments there; it appears there are a few bugs for some people, and even some recent BlackBerry devices that are yet to be supported.
In the last couple of weeks, there have been a number of Wi-Fi location based positioning systems released / renewed or made available in a new form…
Firstly, Google (who have stated one of their goals is to continue to “shrink” the size of the Google Map’s Blue Circle ) is now using Wi-Fi access point information within the “My Location” feature. With the range of most Wi-Fi access points being much smaller than a single mobile cell, using this information will help pinpoint the location of the user more precisely. Initially it is limited to major cities around the world, and initially only the newest version of Google Maps for BlackBerry supports the function (an interesting choice given most BlackBerry devices don’t have both GPS and Wi-Fi…)
Providing a Symbian alternative, Skyhook Wireless, have demonstrated their Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) on Symbian v9.5. Now, v9.5 is brand new, and is likely to not feature on any new phones until at least mid-2009 at the earliest (although the odd phone may be announced before then), but it’s nice to see this capability coming to Symbian, if only to keep up with Apple here.
Finally, Brightkite, which is a geo-location based social networking site, have added support for Loki into the main website to allow Wi-Fi based positioning to save the user being forced to search and manually enter their location. Although this does not yet help mobile devices, Loki have an SDK for Maemo (used by the Nokia Internet Tablets) so one would hope a version should be available for that OS soon.
Why all this emphasis on Wi-Fi based positioning when most of the devices under discussion already feature GPS or network coverage? Two reasons; firstly, however hard they try, location detection within buildings is more difficult and slow, whether that’s GPS or cell ID based, and secondly, as already mentioned, that lower range of an individual Wi-Fi access point allows much closer positioning. To show the power of what might be available one day, Nokia Research is working on in-building positioning (using Wi-Fi triangulation) to allow the mobile phone user the ability to locate rooms, printers, restaurants etc. within large building campuses.
Although it would seem at first glance we are risking having multiple Wi-Fi positioning systems, all of which will need to survey or be provided accurate information before being useful, we should point out that Loki uses Skyhook behind the scenes.
Google have updated their Google Mail for Mobile product to v2.0 (for J2ME and BlackBerry phones). This new version adds support for multiple accounts, and the following other features:
One can only assume that all these features will also appear in the T-Mobile G1…
Head off to GMail from your phone and download the latest version.
Whilst the BlackBerry Storm (above) is only just starting to ship to the UK, there are already rumours of another touchscreen based BlackBerry due next year. This is, apparently, going to add a QWERTY keyboard (the traditional feature of RIM’s devices) alongside the touchscreen, allowing the user the best choice of both worlds.
Whether these rumours are true, it’s certainly likely that such a device will exist from RIM at some point, and there are similar rumours flying around about a touchscreen/QWERTY device from Nokia (the picture above is of a concept touchscreen phone from Nokia). UK Gadgeteer suspects both manufacturers will continue to innovate and release a number of new products next year, and devices like these are likely to feature in their profiles by the end of the year.
Although the Nokia picture comes from a Nokia webcast, the exact image is courtesy of the Nokia Phone Blog.
Here at UK Gadgeteer, we are big fans of SpinVox, it’s a very useful voicemail to SMS / email service, and it’s coped with all sorts of bad quality lines, people calling from mobiles walking down windy streets, and even regional dialects. So, here’s an offer we wanted to tell you about..
There are two important reasons we want to promote this particular SpinVox trial. Firstly, instead of the usual 1 week trial, this allows you to have access to the SpinVox system for 2 months, which is a nice long time to realise the true benefit of it. Secondly, at the end of the trial, instead of being charged £5 per month for the first 40 voicemail conversions, it’s actually £5 per calendar month for unlimited conversions (and unlike many network operators, SpinVox mean unlimited). As part of the trial, SpinVox will also provide you with a BlackBerry application that helps make SpinVox work better on these devices.
Head over to SpinVox BlackBerry trial to sign up, although word on the street is that apart from access to the BlackBerry application, this gives access to the “normal” service, and might work for anyone…
Nokia have announced that their Mail for Exchange application will now be available for an additional 43 phones, mostly NSeries S60 devices (it’s basically now supported on all Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices). Traditionally, the Mail for Exchange application was only available on the ESeries of devices, but now it’s much more available. At a time when Nokia have recently announced they are dropping support for the BlackBerry client on Nokia phones, this is an interesting solution.
The only difference is that on an ESeries device, there is a summary of the Mail for Exchange client on the Active Standby screen, and this function is not available on the other devices, but in all other respects, it’s the same solution.
Here’s the new RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, their first flip phone. In keeping with other recent BlackBerry products, it features Wi-Fi, although not a GPS. The inner screen is a standard 240 x 320 display, whilst the outer screen can preview incoming calls, texts and emails.
After the previous news about the BlackBerry Bold, it looks like Orange have started selling the BlackBerry Bold already, as it went on sale today. We wonder if they pulled forward their release date in response to T-Mobile’s heavy promotion of their September release date.
In other news, the device above is the BlackBerry Javelin, which should go on sale next year. As well as the QWERTY keyboard, the feature spec seems to include a 3.2 megapixel camera, 256MB of memory, 512MHz processor, Wi-Fi, and GPS, but may not be a 3G device (which is not always a big issue for BlackBerry devices). The key feature of this device though is the hi-res 460 x 360 HVGA+ display, which looks fantastic and will make this device very popular.
Javelin news courtesy of Tech Digest.
It looks like the new Blackberry Bold will appear as a T-Mobile Business phone. It should be available from T-Mobile from September to Business Plan-1 customers. However, it should also be available on Vodafone and 3 as well. With GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, and 1GB of memory, this is likely to be a very successful BlackBerry over the next few months.
Story courtesy of SMS Text News.
Here’s a picture of the latest BlackBerry, just announced by RIM. The specs are:
An interesting new device from RIM, although it will appeal to BlackBerry fans, it’s still not got the specs of the high end smartphones, such as the N95 8Gb, although it’s getting close.
In other news, RIM has announced a deal with Microsoft to bring Windows Live Messenger to the BlackBerry platform, which finally provides an instant messaging solution that spreads wider than just the BlackBerry community. What’s not clear is whether this will work with companies who use the internal Windows Live Messenger service, or whether it’s only linked to the public MSN service.
9000 story and picture courtesy of Berble.com.
If you are looking for a cheap SatNav solution, then Vodafone have announced their own Vodafone SatNav software, which is available for £5 per month. It will be available on their branded Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8Gb, Nokia 6110 Navigator and BlackBerry 8110 Pearl devices. The software will be free for the first month on Nokia, and free for 12 months on the BlackBerry, although data charges will apply to all. This software isn’t as advanced as some others, so although it maybe cheaper, there may be better solutions out there, especially if you consider the full cost of that £5 per month, plus data charges over the (likely) 18 month contract you have the phone.
Although designed for BlackBerry devices, there are rumours (although they are just rumours right now) that this device will work with other devices. This will take the Bluetooth signal from the BlackBerry, and then provides a 3.5mm standard audio connector to play the music through a traditional stereo. This will sell in the US for approximately $80 in the US, although whether that will result in a £40, £50 or £80 price in the UK we don’t currently know.
It’s possible, although not confirmed, that the device will also take the stereo music and play it via Bluetooth Headphones.
[Via Engadget]
RIM are apparently planning some major updates to their BlackBerry OS this year (potentially before June). Mail will see Rich Text Format and HTML support (which will include the ability to read as well as forward emails in the same style they were sent in), mail will also get search functionality, a contact availability feature for meeting requests, and presence features for the IM application (which will now also support emoticons). RIM are also planning on adding Office file editing capabilities via Dataviz’s Documents To Go software.
Story courtesy of Phone Scoop.
Last week Google launched Google Sync for Mobile, an application for keeping your mobile phone in sync with your Google Calendar. This is a BlackBerry only solution at the moment, although there are plenty of alternatives for smartphones, such as GooSync, which will work with any SyncML client. Once downloaded and installed, it automatically keeps your BlackBerry calendar in sync with your Google Calendar.
If you have a BlackBerry, and want to try it out (and have the ability to browse and install new applications), then head to http://m.google.com/sync on your BlackBerry browser.