phones

After getting the green light from the FCC just a couple of weeks ago, Research in Motion today officially took the wraps off the RIM BlackBerry 8820, the company's first smart phone with integrated Wi-Fi. Available through AT&T Wireless later this summer, the 8820 supports 802.11a/b/g standards and is compliant with Wi-Fi security protocols, including WEP and WPA. In addition, the BlackBerry 8820 is the company's thinnest full QWERTY device to date (beat it, BlackBerry Curve), and has built-in GPS for out-of-the-box support for location-based services such as TeleNav GPS Navigator. Other highlights … Read more

It's not the Windows Mobile 6 software upgrade that some of you may be pining for, but Palm has released updates for the Verizon Wireless Treo 700w and Treo 700wx smart phones. The updater for the 700w brings support for dial-up networking (DUN), the A2DP Bluetooth profile for stereo Bluetooth headsets, Today screen enhancements, new dialing preferences, and additional compatibility with Bluetooth car kits. Sadly, Treo 700wx owners don't get as many perks, but you do get A2DP support, DUN improvements, and more daylight saving time features. Both updates are available now for download from Palm's support Web site.… Read more

I'd like to think of myself as a patient type. The iPhone's numerous crashes, bugs and quirks have been noted here and there. Applehound does a good job of compiling them, some of which I've yet to experience. What I have experienced, though, is an increasing amount of lag and, well, my iPhone is "cracking out" a lot more recently than it did a couple of weeks ago. Performance is down.

This begs the question, is it time to drop the "r-bomb"? That is, to restore or not to restore? My friend Zach … Read more

Intended to be a convenience, the unique dialing feature included in the iPhone version of the Safari browser might soon become a nightmare.

SPI Labs' lead researcher Billy Hoffman says that the feature that is designed to dial any number displayed on a Web page after a user taps it is subject to various attacks, including cross-site scripting and drive-by downloads. This issue was first reported to Apple on July 6, but Hoffman believes the "unique urgency" and its potential to affect a large number of people warranted public disclosure.

Potential uses of this vulnerability cited by Hoffman … Read more

Sprint Nextel said Tuesday it will use Loopt's "friend finding" technology to let subscribers track their friends.

Loopt, which also offers its location-based service on Boost Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint, uses Global Positioning System chips in phones to allow subscribers to see where their friends are located.

To address privacy concerns, Loopt subscribers must give other Loopt users permission to track them. Subscribers also can hide from anyone in their "buddy" list at any time.

Loopt has been available on Boost Mobile since last year. And earlier this year the company said it had … Read more

An attempt to discover bugs on the iPhone found few critical problems that could cause major issues.

There's probably an argument to be made that many of the 68 bugs reported by AppleHound are more like differences of design philosophies rather than actual bugs, but the project did find some situations that could lead to data loss or application crashes. As with any first-generation product, some bugs are to be expected, and software fixes will likely trickle out later this year. Apple has said it plans to deliver regular software updates to the iPhone that could not only fix … Read more

I am not one for cell phone charms, but I also realize it's a way to personalize your handset and make a statement about yourself--whether you're a straight-up baller, fashionista, or boozer. However, a U.K. company called Mathmos has come up with a way for a cell phone dangle to be, err, somewhat cute and useful. The charm--available in lava lamp (blue or red) or light bulb (blue or white) models--detects the radio frequency emissions that come from your phone when you receive a call and will alert you to the incoming call by lighting up. Gimmicky? … Read more

Most iPhone Web apps are standalone applications that live in isolation from all the others. This means that if you use a lot of these applications, you'll either have to bookmark a ton of them, or enter in all those URLs by hand. Leaflets, however, is a site that collects a bunch of small handy Web applications into a single iPhone-friendly portal. The site is very well-designed and feels a lot like an iPhone within an iPhone (even the icons look similar). Not only is there an RSS aggregator, but there's also one-tap access to iPhone-optimized content from … Read more

It breaks my heart to see an iPhone that's missing album cover artwork. There you are with the most beautiful iPod ever created, but your music collection looks like an endless series of generic boxes. Prove yourself worthy of owning such an advanced piece of technology by using my step-by-step guide for adding cover art to your iPhone's music collection. It's the least you can do. Respect your iPhone, people.

You can even use the guide to find out how to replace your album art with custom photos. You haven't truly lived until you've seen … Read more