09/01, 8:15am
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin on Tuesday brought the price of its cycling GPS downwards through the Edge 500. The blue-and-white unit is pitched as the best of both worlds and tracks all the core features, including actual positional and speed data as well as the estimated calories burned and amount of climb or descent. It can similarly pair with wireless sensors either specific to Garmin or which support the ANT+ format, such as cadence or heart rate monitors, and will use that information to improve the calorie rate and other data already being tracked.
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08/27, 10:40am
More iPhone antenna tests
Further testing of the antenna in the iPhone 3G appears to back up claims of its quality, writes the Gothenburg Post. In the wake of earlier comparative testing which found the iPhone within normal values, the newspaper says it received complaints, on the basis that the test unit may not have been representative of people having problems. The Post thus got in touch with two people reporting poor 3G connections, and had their phones brought to Bluetest's evaluation facility.
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08/14, 9:45am
Fix for iPhone 3G drops
Unusual reception problems with the iPhone 3G are indeed attributable to Infineon's 3G chip, say two anonymous sources. Described as "well-placed," the individuals claim that approximately 2 to 3 percent of iPhone traffic is suffering from connection troubles, which may also include continual shifting between 3G and 2.5G networks. By comparison, the normal rate of dropped calls for AT&T is about 1 percent.
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06/06, 5:05pm
Aki Mahjong for iPhone
Ambrosia is currently adapting its first iPhone game, Aki Mobile Mahjong, and is running a closed beta test as it works to release the game. Little is revealed on Ambrosia's development page, but it has already said that it is making use of Core Animation to select between levels, as well as EDGE and WiFi to download new levels. Aki Mobile Mahjong will also allow players to pause the game to take a call, and when the game is relaunched, they will be right where they left off.
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04/08, 3:15pm
Mossberg 3G iPhone
Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg is claiming that his previous comments indicating that a 3G iPhone would debut in the "next 60 days" were based on the same, widely reported speculation to which other pundits have access, and that he has "no idea" when Apple will release the new device. Silicon Alley Insider reports that Mossberg said "If I knew when this date was, why would I announce it in the middle of a sentence at the Finnish embassy, rather than report it in the Wall Street Journal?" The veteran writer made the comment while discussing the limits of cellular broadband in the US, noting that third-generation access in the country is still slow compared to other areas of the world.
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03/28, 10:30am
iPhone in New Zealand?
An expansion to New Zealand's cellular networks may open the way for the iPhone, a research firm observes. TeleGeography says it has learned from Telecom New Zealand's director of mobile operations, Martin Butler, that it is a "good inference" that the company will bring over the iPhone. It is in the middle of building a new, $300 million NZD ($241.2 million US) GSM/EDGE network, which should support the 850MHz frequency of the iPhone. Commercial rollout of the network is expected sometime in November, and should reach 97 percent of New Zealand's population.
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03/27, 10:05am
Nokia Siemens EDGE Evo
In an unusual break from its emphasis on 3G and 4G cellular data, Nokia Siemens Networks today said it had developed a method to improve the speed of 2G networks. Called EGPRS 2, the subset of the future EDGE Evolution format adds a second carrier to the data path and promises to dramatically improve the practical speed of the connection in both directions. Downloads can run as quickly as 1.2Mbps downstream while historically slow uploads jump to 473Kbps, according to estimates.
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03/03, 11:20am
Wozniak criticizes iPhone
The iPhone is still a flawed device in spite of achievements, according to Steve Wozniak. The Apple co-founder made his comments at the Broadband and Beyond conference in Sydney, Australia, where he specifically took his former company to task for not incorporating 3G broadband into the iPhone at launch. The device instead uses EDGE technology, often described as "2.5G" or "2.75G," and even by Apple CEO Steve Jobs as too slow.
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02/28, 4:05pm
ITC hands victory to Nokia
One final victory has been granted before the temporary ceasefire begins between Nokia and Qualcomm. The US International Trade Commission has affirmed a ruling it issued in December, which said that Nokia had not violated three patents relating to GSM, GPRS and EDGE technology. The case in fact backfired for Qualcomm, as the ITC determined that one of the patents was invalid.
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02/28, 11:45am
3G iPhone in mid-year?
The 3G iPhone is coming in the middle of 2008 with technology supplied by Infineon, says an analyst with the investment bank UBS. Nicolas Gaudois claims his statement is based on various checks, and particularly an HSDPA design win by Infineon set to ramp up during the second quarter of the year. This might not be of concern except that Infineon is said to also be ramping down EDGE chip production for the current 2.5G iPhone, with the intention of clearing out inventory.
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02/21, 2:05pm
EDGE outage, iPhone GO
An EDGE network outage that seems to be based around pre-paid AT&T iPhone GO clients is on its fifth day today, leaving many without mobile internet access. According to Scott Kleinberg of iPhone, Therefore I Blog, users have been experiencing intermittent success surrounded by failure to access the EDGE network. Several have reported switching to the billed service and are back on the network. AT&T has not officially commented on the matter, other than to say they are working on a solution to the problem.
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02/04, 5:40pm
Launch2net for 3G networks
Nova Media today unveiled Launch2net, an application designed to provide wireless data settings for over 400 networks in 157 countries. The software can use many Bluetooth, USB, PCMCIA, or ExpressCard connection methods to give mobile users internet access wherever they travel. Nova Media highlights the application for use with the MacBook Air, saying that it compliments the mobility of the device and the user's lifestyle. Launch2Net requires Mac OS X 10.4.3 Tiger or higher, while Leopard users are required to update to 10.5.1. The software is available for 75 euros, with an applicable VAT charge of approximately $110 US.
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01/31, 4:15pm
Italian iPhone, US EDGE
Telecom Italia Mobile is the leading candidate for the Italian iPhone carrier, according to extrapolations based on evidence in the iPhone software package, while a vast EDGE network outage is affecting a significant portion of iPhone users in the US. Italian news site Macity has pointed out that the TIM_Italy.bundle introduced in the v1.1.2 iPhone updater is still there in the current v1.1.3. In firmware v1.1.1, Apple had introduced Italian as an operable language.
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01/09, 5:50pm
Nova GlobeSurfer Icon2
Nova Media today unveiled a new USB modem for use on EDGE, GPRS, HSUPA and 3G UMTS compatible networks, allowing for up to 7.2Mbit per second. The GlobeSurfer ICON HSUPA functions on 850/1900/2100MHz HSUPA and UMTS networks, with 850/900/1800/1900Mhz functionality for EDGE and GPRS. Over 300 preset connections are included with Nova’s Launch2net software, and features instant connectivity on a Mac. Nova Media’s GlobeSurfer Icon HSUPA is currently shipping, and is available from the company’s website for approximately $450.
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