T-Mobile Announces Upcoming Availability of Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR
September 30, 2009
CLIQ Registration Begins Today; Customer Pre-Sale Begins Oct. 19
Cincinnati Bell Selects Motorola’s FTTH and Video Delivery Solutions to Provide Advanced Television and Broadband Experiences to Consumers
September 30, 2009
Motorola’s field-proven GPON and RF video solutions to provide highest quality video and broadband services to Cincinnati Bell subscribers
Motorola WiMAX yat?r?mlar?na devam ediyor
September 30, 2009
Motorola WiMAX teknolojisine yapt??? yat?r?mlar?n? sürdürüyor. Son olarak WiMAX Cihazlar? Ortakl?k Program?’n? ba?latarak operatörlere komple bir ekosistem sunan Motorola bir milyonuncu WiMAX cihaz?n?n teslimat?n? gerçekle?tirmenin de gururunu ya??yor.
Dropbox for the iPhone: 1,000 documents in your pocket
September 30, 2009
Dropbox's iPhone app lets you access your documents on the go.
(Credit: Screenshot by Harrison Hoffman/CNET)
Dropbox was one of the companies that I was shocked to see didn’t have an iPhone app when the App Store launched last summer. The service seems like it would mesh perfectly with the iPhone. After all, one of Dropbox’s competitors, Soonr, launched its iPhone sync app in January. Unfortunately, Dropbox was MIA from our favorite mobile device for a long time. However, on Tuesday Dropbox released version 1.0 of its iPhone app. So, how does it stack up? Is it worth the wait?
This iPhone app is a great addition to Dropbox’s offering. If you already use Dropbox and have an iPhone, then this free app is a no-brainer. If you don’t use Dropbox, this app could be the thing that pushes you over the edge. It works beautifully, giving you instant access (with a network connection) to any of the files in your Dropbox. It also includes a “Favorites” feature in which you can designate a particular file to be automatically downloaded to your phone for offline viewing.
The app can view images (jpg, tiff, gif), music, movies (mov, mp4, m4v), Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Pages, and Numbers docs, PDFs, Keynote presentations, HTML pages, txt files and vcards. If you need to access a document in your Dropbox, this app will most likely allow you to view it. One of the cooler features is the music and movie streaming. If you have music or movie files stored in your Dropbox, they can be played back easily.
Finally, Dropbox lets you upload photos from your iPhone’s photo library or take a new one to upload. While this functionality has already been implemented by many other apps (Flickr, Facebook, various Twitter apps), it still rounds out the offering nicely.
It’s unfortunate that we had to wait so long for this app, but Apple’s approval process, which often takes longer than five weeks, is partially to blame. As I said above, this app is a no-brainer if you already use Dropbox and it certainly acts as an incentive to new users.
You can download the Dropbox iPhone app here.
Originally posted at The Web Services Report
iTunes 9 update fixes podcast syncing, app sorting, and more
September 30, 2009
(Credit: Apple Inc.)Last week, Apple released iTunes 9.0.1, which addresses a number of iPhone syncing issues as well as making some performance and stability improvements.
During our first hands-on look of iTunes 9, we noted two problems with podcast episodes being listed in random order and being unable to arrange certain apps based on their being checkmarked and therefore set to sync to the iPhone or iPod Touch in question.
Later, we discovered more problems with syncing in general, including wrong episodes being synced to playlists containing podcasts, podcasts failing to sync, etc. Smart Playlists, according to users, were generally messed up and did not behave as expected.
iTunes 9.0.1 has addressed all of these issues with the exception of the Smart Playlist problem. Podcasts are now properly synced, podcast episodes display in the correct order, and you can arrange apps regardless of their sync status.
The temporary workaround for new or existing Smart Playlists that no longer work as they used to is to uncheck “Live updating” in the settings.
Uncheck Live updating for a Smart Playlist workaround.
(Credit: David Martin)
iTunes 9.0.1 also addresses other issues, including performance issues that can lead to iTunes freezing or unexpectedly quitting, problems browsing the iTunes Store, and improved app syncing for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The update is available from Software Update or via direct download from Apple’s downloads page for both Mac or PC.
Share and discover iPhone apps with Yappler
September 30, 2009
At one time or another, most of us have recommended an iPhone/iPod Touch app to friends or family members–usually by tweeting, e-mailing, or Facebooking about it.
Yappler Sync takes that concept to the next level, allowing you to build a custom list of the apps you like and then share that list via the social solution of your choice.
At the same time, Yappler Sync helps you discover more cool apps by perusing the lists built by others.
All you do is install the eponymous utility, which is available for Windows and Mac, then build your list and decide how to share it.
Unfortunately, I discovered a few irksome aspects of the service, starting with this: Yappler builds your list based on every app in your iTunes library, not just those currently in residence on your iPhone. Thus I ended up with some 270 apps to cull–and they weren’t even listed alphabetically.
Meanwhile, it’s not immediately clear how you’re supposed to “discover” other users’ lists (unless they’re shared with you directly). The Yappler site catalogs all the apps in the App Store (84,000 and counting, in case you’re wondering), with a handy advanced-search option that lets you specify criteria like price and rating.
But the only way to find other users and their lists is by perusing the reviews for any given app, then looking for clickable usernames. And once you do find another user’s list, all you really get is a batch of icons. So JoeAppUser has Buzzingo on his iPhone–how does that really enlighten me?
Of course, Yappler Sync is more about the social aspect of app-sharing, hence the ties to Facebook, Twitter, and the like. And it’s nice how it can automatically update your list when you install new apps. Plus, it’s free, so I can complain only so much.
On the other hand, this isn’t much different from posting, say, a list of books you’ve read. Without knowing more about each book and, more importantly, why you liked it, where’s the value?
Motorola and Swisscom Introduce Next-Generation Voice-enabled VDSL2 Gateways
September 29, 2009
Motorola’s 7300 Series VDSL2 voice gateways accelerate the delivery of personal media experiences to Swisscom customers
iPhone MMS send failure fix
September 27, 2009
I woke up last Friday morning, just like everyone else, looking forward to finally getting MMS on my iPhone 3GS. However, some of us had our excitement turned into dismay when we ended up complaining about the MMS update not working.
Users were discussing the issue under the topic MMS message send failure on Apple support forums. I was experiencing the problem and initially I could not fix it — even after spending over two hours on the phone yesterday with Apple and AT&T. However, this morning I decided to take a new approach and I found an ironically simple fix for this problem that we had all missed on Friday.
In this example you can see that MMS would fail to send an image of my new puppy and a picture of a Hibiscus in my garden. Even subsequent attempts to resend by pressing the explanation point in the red circle failed to work.
Send fails twice then works after the fix
(Credit: David Martin)
However, after discovering the following simple fix for my problem the next Hibiscus picture was actually sent to the recipient. Consequently I tried sending more images, resending images that had failed to send previously, and even a video with sound — all of those worked without a hitch and I was able to receive the same type of content from others.
Warning notes:
- All your preferences and settings are reset. Information, such as your contacts and calendars, and media, such as your songs and videos, aren’t deleted.
- You will have to reenter your Passcode, Wi-Fi passwords, and your apps will all be rearranged alphabetically. Note: the latter issue is actually a neat find - now I know how to alphabetize my apps when I want them sorted that way. Drastic yet effective.
- Additionally other settings like VPN, remembered Wi-Fi networks, etc. maybe lost.
Fixing the MMS send failure error message
- Connect your iPhone 3G or 3GS to your computer.
- Launch iTunes and go to the Summary tab for your iPhone.
- Click the Restore button to restore your iPhone and allow it to use your most recent backup when prompted. iTunes should do this automatically. This process will take a while so it is recommended that you try it only when it is convenient and you are not in a hurry. Once it is completed your iPhone will reboot.
- Launch Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to General > Reset All Settings > enter your pin if prompted
- Try sending and receiving an MMS now.
Hopefully this fix will resolve your MMS send failure woes and if it does then welcome to 2003!
Tell us about your iPhone MMS experience in the comments.
Updated on 9/26/2009 at 11:56 AM PDT: Regarding JOBIROAL’s comment about trying Reset Network Settings — both Apple and AT&T recommended this, but it did not resolve the problem for me. However, it is worth try before attempting my fix.
Trapster app steers you clear of speed traps
September 26, 2009
Trapster alerts you to nearby speed cameras and "Smokey takin' pictures."
It’s been nearly a year since the debut of Trapster, a controversial but popular app that alerts you of nearby speed traps, cameras, and the like.
Version 3.5 just hit the App Store, bringing with it some impressive–and, for many users, long-awaited–new features. Here’s the rundown:
- Improved interface Five features (some of them new) are now accessible by tapping blue icons that span the right side of the screen.
- Bluetooth audio If your car supports Bluetooth, you can pair Trapster to your stereo to get audio alerts over your speakers. Even better, if your car supports A2DP (i.e. stereo Bluetooth), you can take advantage of:
- Built-in iPod controls Tap the little musical-note icon to slide open Trapster’s iPod audio controls. Obviously, you don’t need stereo Bluetooth to use them, but it sure is a nice combo.
- Rotating maps Trapster tacks your position in real-time on a moving map. Now, that map can rotate depending on your direction of travel rather than staying in “always-North” mode. The top blue icon toggles this feature on and off.
- Real-time traffic The bottom blue icon slides out a Google Traffic map, which shows you trouble spots in your area. Handy, but it’s too bad the developers couldn’t integrate this with the main map instead of requiring you to view a second one.
As before, Trapster lets you report your own speed traps, cameras, and checkpoints with just a few taps, but in version 3.5 these “trap” buttons are larger and easier to read–while driving.
And that brings us to Trapster’s controversial nature. It’s not only dangerous to fiddle with an app like this while driving, but it effectively encourages drivers to break speed-limit laws–thereby endangering others.
It’s just my two cents, but those laws are there for a reason, and if you get caught breaking them, you should take your medicine. (Before you shout me down in the comments, remember: This is a blog post, not a news story. I’m allowed to express an opinion. 
Of course, one could argue that knowledge of speed-trap locations might actually lead to slower, safer driving. Hmmm.
As a fellow resident of the road, all I ask is that you drive sensibly and wait till you hit a red light before interacting with the app. I’ll return the favor.
OK, end of sermon. Trapster is a well-designed app with an impressive range of features, including some nifty trip-planning stuff and optional push notifications of new traps. Most amazing of all, it’s still free.
iPhone MMS now live
September 26, 2009
As promised, the Apple iPhone finally has the capability to send multimedia messages to another phone number. Whatever AT&T had to do to gets its act together, the carrier did it.
The update went live just a moment ago, and I’ve successfully sent my first MMS on CNET’s iPhone 3G. I was able to exchange photos both with another iPhone and a Samsung SPH-M330 on Sprint.
You’ll need to connect to iTunes to receive the update, which should download in seconds. We were able to send an update immediately, but you may have to restart your iPhone first.
To confirm that your device is ready, go to Settings > General > About. Your carrier version should be “AT&T 5.5,” and you’ll need the latest iPhone 3.1 software update. Also, remember that owners of the original iPhone will miss out on the fun.
For more information, check out Apple’s links for updating and enabling carrier settings. And if you’re having problems, see Apple’s troubleshooting tips.
We’ll follow up today with video. Welcome, iPhone, to 2003. Now we just need that tethering.