AT&T Brings U-verse TV Scheduling to Mobiles

AT&T has today announced a new value-added option for subscribers of its U-verse TV service, now allowing customers to schedule and manage their TV recordings through their U-verse DVR with a compatible mobile phone.
Currently, only subscribers of both U-verse TV and internet can use the service, and the system is only accessible through an AT&T handset, though the company plans to open it to other mobile networks soon. Users can schedule recordings, manage and delete stored DVR content, and search through U-verse TV listings from their handsets with the new system.
"Any television viewer can relate to the frustration of forgetting to program his or her DVR. Now, whether they're at the airport or stuck in traffic, AT&T U-verse customers can rest assured they won't miss their favorite shows," said Rick Welday, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
Remote scheduling of TV recordings was previously available for customers through the AT&T Yahoo! broadband portal with a PC.

Helio to Shut Down Hybrid

Helio will shut down its Hybrid EV-DO / Wi-Fi service starting May 8th. Users of the service will still be able to access the Boingo Hotspots and 3G data service through May 7th, but afterwards, the cards will no longer work. Hybrid blended Wi-Fi and EV-DO radio technologies and used software to control which radio was connected to the Internet, automatically switching to the cheapest connection. Helio put a notice on its site saying that users are welcome to keep their cards, and that all accounts will be billed a prorated amount up until May 7th. If accounts were already charged for service past May 7th, a refund will be issued.

Nintendo considering Wii Keyboard

Further shortening the list of possible Wii peripherals, Game Informer is now saying that Nintendo is considering a keyboard for the console, supposedly to make online surfing a bit easier. Unfortunately, they don't have much more info than that tantalizing tidbit to provide, with the entirety of the report encapsulated in the shot above courtesy of our pals at Wii Fanboy. Given Microsoft's recent move on the QWERTY front, however, it certainly doesn't seem to be too outlandish a rumor. Let's just hope Nintendo doesn't decide to extend the Wiimote's motion sensing capabilities to it -- there's no telling what sort of damage a flying keyboard could wreak.

Xbox 360 laptop: best mod ever?

Every so often a mod comes along that's so intricate, so amazing, so over the top, that words simply don't do it justice (but we'll try anyway). Ben Heckendorn's Xbox 360 laptop is one such mod. Having garnered no small amount of fame from previous portable projects like the nPod, PPS2, and N64p, Ben was commissioned by a generous benefactor to somehow make a 360 "good to go" a la the Crunchwrap Supreme -- and since this is the great Mr. Heckendorn we're talking about, slapping a hinged LCD onto an out-of-the-box console simply wouldn't do. Instead, Ben spent three months designing and building the so-called Xbox 360p, machining a custom aluminum laptop enclosure by hand into which he stuffed a keyboard, 1,280 x 720 Westinghouse LCD, and get this -- even a custom-built water cooling system to replace the 360's stock, bulky heat sinks. The end result is a polished, professional looking (albeit heavy -- this machine weighs in at about 14 pounds) laptop complete with WiFi, USB ports, obligatory glowing green ring, and converged power supply so that the monitor and gaming system only require a single cable snaking out the back. Well done, Ben, well done; but as you yourself note, there's no such thing as resting on one's laurels, so we can't wait to see what you have in store for the PS3 and, most especially, the swing-your-arms-like-a-maniac Nintendo Wii. Hit the jump to check out the 360p's guts, and then head over the Ben's site for a ton of photos and one of the more thorough build walkthroughs that we've come across...

Verizon Unveils Unlimited Messaging Plan

Today Verizon Wireless announced a new calling plan that includes unlimited text, picture, video and instant messaging. The plan, called America's Choice Select, starts at $59.95 with 450 daytime minutes. This represents a $20 premium over Verizon's basic calling plans. Users who select the new plan will be able to send unlimited messages to any network in the U.S. Verizon Wireless subscribers who do not select a messaging plan will continue to pay 15 cents for text messages and 25 cents for video and picture messages. The trend of introducing unlimited messaging plans shows that messaging is becoming commoditized in the U.S. market.

Pantech's SKY IM-R200 slider sports LCD keypad

You can always count on Korea's Pantech & Curitel to deliver some innovative features in its lineup of SKY handsets, and the new IM-R200 is no different, sporting a unique LCD keypad that must serve other functions as well to make up for its lack of tactility. Besides the fancy second screen, this single-slider (not dual, like the similarly-named R100) also features a two megapixel camera, QVGA display, 116MB of memory supplemented by microSD, and of course all the usual multimedia playback bonanza. We'd break you off a price and release date too, but we don't know them, and unless you're in South Korea, you don't really need to know 'em either.

New Nokia Smartphone Has Dual Band HSDPA

Nokia announced another slim S60 phone to add to its lineup. The 6120 is a 15mm thick candybar-style smartphone running S60 version 3 feature pack 1, the same version as the N95. It features a QVGA screen, Bluetooth, microSD slot, a 2 megapixel camera, and a second VGA camera for video calling. The 6120 has quad-band GSM/EDGE and is Nokia's first phone to have dual-band HSDPA - 2100 MHz for use elsewhere, and 850 MHz for use while roaming in the US. Although this handset will work on parts of Cingular's 3G network, it is not slated for sale in the US.

Google Phone launching ending of 2007

The on-again, off-again Google Phone rumors just got a healthy stir by Digitimes. The Taiwanese tech rag says that HTC is building the phone with initial shipments set to hit by the "end of 2007" -- globally in 2008. They cite "handset component makers" as their source. The phones will feature Texas Instruments' 3G platform with EDGE and of course built-in G-Mail and Google Maps. Unfortunately, they will not be GPS enabled. The handsets are also said to sport both Google and carrier branding with "sources" claiming that European's Orange might be the first carrier to see the hotness. Digitimes doesn't have the best track record with rumors so please everybody... exhale and let's wait for secondary confirmation.

LG Prada, now with DMB TV

We heard it was coming, now sure enough LG announces their DMB-packin' Prada phone looking every bit like that hasty mockup we rendered back in January. Besides a big floppy antenna to snag digital TV from the air, the new LG-SB310/LB3100 packs the same 3-inch touchscreen we know and love(ish) as well as the original's 2 megapixel camera and 12-mm thinness so in-ness these days. Yup, S.Korea first as these DMB handsets tend to go.

Palm to Develop its own Linux-Based OS

Today Palm Inc., the manufacturer of the Treo line of smartphones, has announced that it will be releasing its own Linux-based operating system by the end of the year. Ed Colligan, Palm's CEO, made the statement during Palm's Analyst Day event. Colligan explained that Palm has been working on this new OS for several years, and that the company has no plans to license the OS to other hardware manufacturers.

This is not to say, however, that Palm is giving up on Palm OS or the Windows Mobile OS. Palm will continue to make WM devices and plans to use their rights to the Garnet OS (Palm OS) source code to evolve the current Palm OS platform into the new Linux based OS, much as Garnet OS owner ACCESS, formerly PalmSource, says it is also doing.

Japan's KDDI to Compete in US as an MVNO

According to Reuters yesterday, KDDI Corp, Japan's second largest mobile telephone network, announced on Sunday that it has plans to start a Mobile Virtual Network Operator business in the United States. An MVNO is a company that resells service on another company's network. In this case, KDDI has said that they are planning to work with Sprint Nextel.

While the company has said that they are planning to cater mostly to Japanese people who live in the United States, we certainly hope that the company intends to bring some hot Japanese market devices to the US just as Helio, a competing MVNO in the US, has done with Korean handsets. KDDI has said that it expects to launch by the middle of this month.

S0902 iWP+ Sony Ericsson Waterproof Cell Phone

I can finally talk in my bath tub whilst enjoying the bubbles & singing old Ernie songs & at the same time not worry about plunging my cell phone into the blissful bubbles.

At last I can take calls underwater! This new waterproof S0902 iWP+ Sony Ericsson cell phone can receive calls underwater, features a 1.3 megapixel camera as well as an MP3 player. What more could you want? Diamonds I guess. Maybe that model is on its way.

Nokia's N95 Dual-Sliding Powerhouse Smartphone

While it shares much with the Nokia N80 in terms of both design and functionality, Nokia's N95, the subject of this review, takes the capabilities of a mobile phone to a new level. On paper, at least, there appears to be little that this Finnish wonder can't do. It has quad-band GSM/EDGE support and 2100MHz UMTS as well as a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, a built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth stereo support, and 802.11b/g WLAN support.

This is not your generic slider handset.

Blocked AdBlocked AdPhysical Aspects

The Nokia N95 is a somewhat large slider form factor handset. It measures 100mm x 53mm x 20mm (3.9" x 2.1" x .8") in size and weighs 121g (4.3oz), which is to say it is by no means in the running for the thinnest and lightest handset on the market. The front of the N95 has a normal looking silver paint finish, but the sides and back of the device make use of a soft touch style deep burgundy color paint that has a very nice feel to it. Nokia has done a far better job with the slider mechanism on the N95 than it did on the N80. The slider in the N95 relies on a spring loaded mechanism instead of the friction based design used in the N80, which tended to slide open on its own. On top of that, the slider on the N95 moves in two directions, exposing the keypad when slid one way, and a series of 4 dedicated media playback keys when slid the other way.

The media keys don't have the best feel to them, and can not be located by touch alone since they consist of only markings on a plastic strip. Still, they are fine for their intended purpose. The regular alphanumeric keypad has its own issues, though. The keys are very stiff and located even lower on the slider than on the N80, which makes them a bit of a tough reach for somebody with large hands. The keys are also a fair bit smaller than those on the N80, making things all the more difficult. For their part, the d-pad and its dedicated center select button work very well, as do the rest of the dedicated keys that surround them.

On the right side of the device a dedicated two-stage camera shutter button can be found (half press to focus, full press to snap the photo) and a photo playback/gallery button that is similar to what one would expect to find on a dedicated digital camera. Pressing the button once will display the last photo on the screen, pressing it again will bring up the photo gallery. Also located on the right side of the N95 are the volume rocker switch and one of the two stereo speakers. The other speaker is located on the left side of the phone, along with the 3.5mm stereo headset jack, the Infrared port, and the covered microSD memory card slot.

The N95 gives up the Nokia proprietary pop-port and instead has a miniUSB connector located on its bottom edge. The miniUSB port can not be used for charging, though, a task that is handled by a new style mini Nokia power connector. The top edge of the N95 is home to the power switch, which is also handy for changing profiles when pressed briefly. Out back one finds the 5 megapixel autofocus camera and its flash. The camera lens is protected by a cover that is opened and closed with a slider switch. Opening and closing the cover activates and deactivates the camera. A secondary, QVGA resolution camera is located on the front of the device, just above the display, and is intended for 3G video calling.

Overall, I believe Nokia did a fine job on the physical design of the N95. The keypad design is the only aspect that I can find fault with, and given the constraints Nokia was working within, I think it is still quite acceptable.

- From MobileBurn.com