phones

Less than a week after the iPhone was released, a group of dedicated individuals announced in a wiki this morning they have successfully unlocked the phone, potentially allowing the use of carriers other than AT&T.

The site and its various mirrors also plan to issue an Internet tool to "expand the functionality" of the device, perhaps later today. The site, which describes itself as "a place for people who want to make iPhone even more awesome than it is already out of the box," reminds those who want to try any these tasks that … Read more

Inexplicably, three of my friends and I ended up at the Fisherman's Wharf Hooters in San Francisco last week after we got our iPhones.

We actually went there for the food--no, really. We wanted buffalo wings, and where else to go but Hooters? Anyway, the usual siren-like charm of the waitresses went unnoticed by us. From my understanding of how it works at Hooters, usually the customers fawn over the waitresses, who are the objects of desire. Well, this day it was the complete opposite, since the ogled became the oglers as soon as we whipped out our objects … Read more

Wow! I come back home after attending some 4th of July parties in Chapel Hill, and I find there are more flames on my recent blog posting than in any fireworks show I've seen. How did this happen? And what does it mean? And what am I going to do about it?

The answer is pretty simple. I wrote a long and convoluted blog posting about identity theft, its epidemic proportions, and the challenges of raising children in such a hostile environment. I then explained how the unthinking act of supplying one's Social Security number (SSN) to any agency not directly connected with Social Security is a violation of the original design of the SSN, a violation of instructions printed on the card (until 1972), a violation of consumer protection and privacy laws passed as recently as 1974, a violation of expert testimony presented to Congress in 1992, 2000, and as recently as last month. Based on these facts, I argued that the reason identity theft is epidemic in this country is precisely because people have either ignored these facts or have been simply unaware of them. I then finished with a twist, noting that the iPhone activation procedure asks customers to do precisely what the security experts agree you should never do, which is to supply a Social Security number as personal identification information. And if you have been following the blog, you know that my wife Amy is going to be getting an iPhone, so I was using the blog to share with her (and all the other parents reading along) some friendly family advice informed from my 20+ years as a computer scientist.

Well, when she picked her jaw back up, she said "You buried the lead!" I turned my article upside down, putting the most important stuff up front; CNET then (re)published the blog in their big news section, and the fireworks began!

That is how it happened.… Read more

Who's responsible for the No. 1 ringtone in the land this week? We don't know. Billboard.com doesn't know, and they create the ringtone chart. Are you responsible? Please own up.

"NYSE Bell" by Unknown is the most-downloaded ringtone in America. We're assuming it's the sound of the New York Stock Exchange bell ringing, but there's really no way of knowing.

Locked in at No. 2 is a tune everybody knows: the "Super Mario Brothers Theme" by Koji Kondo.

And what else could follow a ringtone written by a Japanese … Read more

Due to the iPhone's lack of MMS support, you can't send pictures from your iPhone directly to Flickr. Even if you tried to e-mail your iPhone pics, they'd be stuck at the 640x480 resolution. Oh well. At least with the iPhlickr app, you can browse through your Flickr account easily. Similar to Flickr's own mobile portal, you can view your own photos and your contacts' photos, plus search for more within a very nice and simple user interface.

iPhone link: http://www.chandlerkent.com/iphlickr/

Apple forums are buzzing with reports from several iPhone users that their shiny new gadgets are suffering from poor call volume and dismal battery life. Indeed, CNET's own photo production manager said his iPhone, which he purchased last Friday, was plagued with such issues. Though we felt the call volume on our review iPhone was somewhat low, we haven't experienced any battery issues. In fact, we've experienced impressive battery life times in our CNET Labs tests.

So we want to know, is this happening to you? Are you experiencing dismal battery life and unacceptable call volume? We'… Read more

Zoho, a collection of Web-based office tools, has recently rolled out an iPhone-friendly suite of applications. Called iZoho, it provides access to Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, and Zoho Show. The iPhone also supports Word docs and Excel spreadsheets, but the iZoho application lets you edit certain documents like the Zoho Notebook.

iPhone link: http://mini.zoho.com/

Web site link: http://www.zoho.com

We know it's coming to the UK, and we know what it does, but we still don't know which UK network will have the enormous honor of hosting the iPhone. Of course, that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning out stories, but what's the likelihood of any of these rumors being true?

Rumor 1: O2 According to the BBC, O2 has 'reportedly' won the deal to sell the iPhone in the UK. It's not unlikely that O2, which is owned by Spanish giant Telefonica, put in a good bid, but questions remain as to … Read more

What's this? A non-iPhone news item? Yes, believe it. And if the rumors are true, then we've got some really craveworthy gadgets here. First up is the HTC Omni (rendering pictured right). The supposed upgrade to the HTC Universal (which sadly never landed here in the States) and related to the HTC Advantage, the Omni is said to have a 4-inch, 800x480-pixel WVGA display and VGA and TV outputs. In addition, the Windows Mobile 6 device is equipped with GPS, UMTS/HSDPA, Bluetooth, a 400MHz Samsung SC244X processor, 128MB of RAM, and a full QWERTY keyboard. Again, … Read more