T-Mobile adds 1 million new subscribers in 2009, income and revenue decline

T-Mobile held its position as the #4 carrier in the U.S. by adding one million new subscribers to its coffers in 2009 and ending 2009 with a total of 33.8 million customers. Catherine Zeta Jones’ favorite network gained a total of 371,000 new subscribers in Q4 2009, a number that was achieved by the addition of 488,000 pre-paid subscribers and the loss of 117,000 net contract subscribers. Despite the yearly and quarterly growth in its subscriber base, yearly revenue declined to $21.5 billion, a 1.6% year over year drop and quarterly revenue dropped to $5.41 billion from $5.72 billion in Q4 2008. T-Mobile’s net income also took a hit, dropping from $483 million at the end of 2008 to $306 million in 2009. Though overall revenue and income declined, T-Mobile’s mobile data business was lucrative as total data revenue reached $598 million in Q4 2009 and $2.2 billion for the full year, a 35% and 37% year over year increase. Additionally, the Magenta network’s infrastructure was also on the rise; its entire 3G network has been upgraded to 7.2 Mbps HSPA, select markets are being upgraded to 21Mbps HSPA+, and its 3G coverage now reaches 205 million people nationwide.

PayPal to open application store

Internet company PayPal has announced plans to open an application storefront in an effort to court developer business and further its online payment system. The company’s plan includes an application store and payment system for both mobile and desktop applications. “I want developers to think of PayPal first whenever they hear the word ‘payments’ and I want to know what it will take to get there. We’re willing to do it. We’re willing to innovate and experiment on their behalf and hear their feedback,” said Osama Bedier, PayPal’s vice president of Platform Business Unit and Emerging Technologies, while speaking at the Future of Web Apps conference. Bedier continued: “The wallet should live in the cloud… Entering credit card information into a mobile device is the worst user experience ever.” It will be interesting to see how a mobile application store would play out. We can assume that Apple isn’t going to let PayPal just waltz in on its cash cow — do we feel a PayPal application ban coming from the iTunes App Store? — and Android’s market is already, for the most part, wide open to developers. Nokia has Ovi, BlackBerry has App World, and Microsoft has Windows Marketplace. What are your thoughts? Is PayPal a little too late to the game to make a significant impact? It’s worth noting that RIM’s App World is already exclusively using PayPal for payments.

PC World: AT&T download speeds 67% faster than its competitors

Before we begin let’s just get this out of the way: if you are a customer of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon it is most likely because that particular company provides a service you want, need, and/or like. The following article is based on tests done by PCWorld in December of 2009 and January of 2010 and may not necessarily reflect your experience with, or preference of, mobile providers. Now, let’s continue…
The PCWorld tests, from December 2009 and January 2010, were done as a follow up to tests done last spring in an attempt to see if the major U.S. mobile networks had made any improvements to their wireless data infrastructure. The speed tests were conducted in: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle on both mobile phones and laptop data cards. We’ve linked to PCWorld’s thorough article for your scrutiny, however, here is the high level overview.

Google Earth now available for Android, requires 2.1

Last week at MWC, Google CEO Eric Schmidt demoed Google Earth on his Nexus One, giving a pretty clear sign that the new application would be available to the masses very soon. And, as of today, the wait is over. Google has released its mobile version of Google Earth into the Android Market, albeit with one large prerequisite. The new Earth for Android will require a handset running Android 2.1, leaving pretty much everyone without a Nexus One out in the cold. N1 owners can head on over to the Market and download the fresh bits from Google. As for the rest of us… patience it a virtue?

Next iPhone OS to include video chat support?

Apple blog 9to5Mac has been doing some investigative work inside the the new iPhone SDK, and they’ve come up with a few interesting files. Located in TelephonyUI.framework are several resources that seem to indicate the inclusion of video chat functionality in future iPhones. Two PNG button files, one to accept a video call and one to reject it, and a call to these buttons in the TelephonyUI binary make excellent fodder for video chat rumors. Is Apple going to be including video chat in the next iPhone? We hope so… a front facing camera would also be appreciated.

Nexus One gets HTC Sense and Flash 10 courtesy of a HTC Desire ROM

Owners of a Nexus One not afraid of flashing a ROM can shake things up by installing a leaked HTC Desire ROM with Sense UI that has been carefully prepared and packaged for your Google handset. The ROM is an Alpha release that may be a bit unstable for everyday use but it gives those users who need to be on the forefront of technology a sneak peek at what is coming for Android in the upcoming months. One surprise included in the ROM is the presence of Adobe Flash 10.1, an inclusion that suggests the deployment of Flash for Android may be right around the corner. Interested parties can head on over to Modaco to get all the details on downloading and installing this custom ROM for the Nexus One. If you are just stopping by, you may have to wait a few hours though, as the download has been pulled while an improved version is being prepared. If you prefer to live vicariously through someone else, hit the jump for a quick video demoing HTC Sense on the Nexus One.

Leaked documents reveal the Symbian X^3 powered Nokia X10

Initial details on Nokia’s planned roadmap for 2010 were leaked earlier this month and the information revealed a set of new naming conventions Nokia may be using for its mobile hardware. One series, the X series, is supposedly comprised of handsets that target a young audience with a focus on music and entertainment. Details on the first handset in this series, the Nokia X10, may have now been leaked courtesy of a video on YouTube. According to the video, the X10 will be a Symbian^3 powered QWERTY slider with a 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 16GB or 32GB internal storage, 256 MB of RAM, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, aGPS and support for multiple homescreens with auto-rotation. The documents, though potentially fake, have an appearance similar to previously leaked Nokia documents that also appeared on YouTube in a video that was subsequently pulled by Nokia. Assuming that these details are based more upon fact than fiction, Nokia may be unleashing a nice mid-level handset with a name, X10, that’s pretty similar to what our boys and girls over at Sony Ericsson have named one of their own

Google Shopper makes its debut in the Android market

Fresh out of Google Labs is yet another application that Google can add to its growing Android library and embed on future phones. This time we have Google Shopper, a shopping application that utilizes Google’s online shopping data and allows Android users to search this vast repository using text, voice, barcodes, and photo scans of book and media cover art. Once your product of interest has been identified, detailed, and priced, it can be saved to your history, added to your favorites, and shared with your friends using the obligatory social networking integration. Android owners can snag the application from the Android market for free and use it as an excuse to go to the mall and spend some hard earned cash. Though we’re not exactly sure why this wasn’t just incorporated into Google’s Goggles application — seems pretty redundant to us.

WiMAX growth in the US lags, worldwide growth explodes

WiMAX is slowly and steadily expanding in the U.S. through the efforts of Clearwire, the primary provider of WiMAX stateside. Globally, WiMAX is on a different track, exhibiting explosive growth with Asia Pacific and Europe leading the pack. The numbers, compiled by the WiMAX Forum, are revealing:
■Asia Pacific: 237 million people covered by 100 network deployments
■Europe: 115 million people covered by 153 network deployments
■Central/Latin America: 113 million people covered 109 network deployments
■Africa/Middle East: 108 million people covered by 142 network deployments
■North America: 47 million people covered by 51 network deployments
Though Clearwire is currently behind the curve globally, it has set a lofty goal of blanketing 120 million people by the end of 2010. If achieved, Clearwire will be sitting pretty on top of a large potential user base while its competition, namely Verizon Wireless, is only beginning to roll out LTE commercially on a small scale. Look for things to get interesting in 2011 and beyond when the two 4G technologies begin competing head to head on a more level basis.

Firefox Mobile for Android to debut in late 2010, future Windows Mobile version uncertain

After a slow start, Firefox Mobile has been making great strides recently; releasing the final version of the mobile browser for the Maemo platform and ramping up development on its Android client. Mozilla’s VP of Mobiles, Jay Sullivan, recently told Tech Radar that Mozilla is targeting the end of 2010 as a tentative release date for the Android edition of Firefox Mobile. The development of the Android version poses a bit of a challenge as Firefox Mobile is based upon C and C++, while Android is Java-based and the latest Native Development kit which is necessary to bring Firefox Mobile to Android was only released last October. Sullivan also addresses other platforms in the interview, commenting that MeeGo presents an exciting opportunity for Mozilla, while the future of the Windows Mobile version, already in Alpha, is under review now that the radically new Windows Phone 7 Series operating system has been officially introduced by Microsoft.

HTC Desire, HD mini, Legend get official

HTC had a very busy day at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as it announced three new handsets: the Desire, HD mini and Legend (above left to right). Although they’re all quite different, they do have a few things in common including GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, G-sensors, 3.5mm headphone jacks and dual-band (900/2100MHz) 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity. Having said that, there are some huge differences as well, so let’s run through each device.
By far the most impressive of the bunch is the Desire. Best thought of as the Nexus One with Sense UI (albeit with a single mic), it has a 3.7″ WVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB ROM / 576MB RAM, optical joystick, fully supports Microsoft Exchange, runs Android 2.1 with Sense UI, is Flash enabled and 10.1 ready. It will be available in both Europe and Asia starting in Q2.
Next up is the Legend. A handset that that oozes sex appeal thanks in part to its chassis machined from a single piece of aluminum. The Legend features a 3.2″ HVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera, 600MHz MSM7227 processor, 512 MB ROM / 384MB RAM, optical joystick and Android 2.1 with Sense UI. Anyone living in Asia will have to wait until Q2 to get a Legend, but Europeans will begin to have access to it next month.
Last but not least is the HD mini. A scaled and powered down version of the HD2, the HD mini has a 3.2″ HVGA multi-touch capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera, 600MHz MSM7227 processor and 512MB ROM / 384MB RAM. It does indeed run Windows Mobile 6.5, although we were told it will not receive an update to Windows Phone 7 Series. That might sound a bit off-putting, but let’s be honest; you’re going to want the latest and greatest hardware when that OS is released. Look for it in Europe and Asia as of Q2.
We’ve mentioned that each of the new devices has Sense UI, and HTC was quite pleased to announced it has updated the skin. Some of the new features include general enhancements to the UI, a social media aggregate app called Friend Stream, a newsreader widget and Leap, which is basically card view. We haven’t heard anything US-specific, but European and Asian Hero owners will be getting the update in the near future.

Samsung’s i8520 Beam packs an in-built projector

Although we fear the only people who will buy a phone with a projector built into it are the same jackasses people who bring laser pointers into movie theaters, we have to admit the Samsung i8520 Beam is pretty darn cool considering the DLP Pico projector is actually built into the device and not some crappy add-on. But of course, no novelty feature can help a phone’s sales if the rest of it isn’t up to snuff, though it looks like the i8520 has enough packed into its 14.9mm thin frame to get the geek juices flowing: a 3.7″ WVGA Super AMOLED display, 8 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, aGPS, Wi-Fi, DNLA, 7.2Mbps up HSDPA (900/1900/2100MHz), 16GB of internal memory, 512MB ROM / 384MB RAM and an 1800 mAh battery that is said to yield 7 hours and 50 minutes of 3G talk time. OS wise, the i8520 is running Android 2.1 with “Specialized Projector UI”, something which is identical to the bada interface. No word yet on what processor we’re dealing with, although we have fired off an email to Samsung PR. The Samsung i8520 Beam will be available in Europe and Asia starting in Q3.

Microsoft introduces the new Windows Phone 7 Series mobile platform

At the MWC 2010 keynote, Microsoft officially announced Windows Phone 7 Series, the latest iteration of the Microsoft’s mobile platform. For the first time, the OS previously known as Windows Mobile, has seen a complete overhaul from the user interface to the concept behind the OS. The is not your typical plain jane Windows Mobile phone but is more like the Zune HD on steroids. Some the hightlights of the new OS as well as hardware requirements include:
■High resolution, capacitive, multitouch display with gestures that are similar to those in Windows 7 PC operating system
■Each handset will have the same three dedicated buttons: start, Bing search, back button
■UI is touch-friendly throughout the entire OS, no stylus is needed
■Personal and business information is integrated on the handset, emphasis on the dual function of the handset as a personal and business device
■New scrolling, tile based interface for the start screen that dynamically displays updated content and can be customized to display the tiles relevant to each user
■Phone/address auto-detection that links to dialer and map application
■Application bar at the bottom of each application that gives the user quick access to the most used functions within an application
■Bing search with geolocation to provide local results, directions, and business/restaurant reviews
■Focus on efficiency that minimizes the number of touches to perform actions
■Web browser is based upon desktop Internet Explorer code with improved text rendering technology to make web browsing easier
■Focus on the phone as an integrated device with different experiences organized into seven core hubs including
■people (social networking integration)
■pictures (view/share pictures between phone, desktop, and social networks)
■games (Xbox live games and service)
■music + video (Zune)
■marketplace (application store)
■office/productivity (Sharepoint/Exchange support)
■Tighter control over the phones with a minimum hardware definition for handsets to provide a consistent design experience for the user while allowing manufacturers and operators some flexibility to customize the handsets without changing the underlying core
■Windows Live service integration
■No Adobe Flash support in version 1 of the OS
■Close partnership with AT&T and Orange
Several handset manufacturers and mobile operators have jumped on board the Windows Phone 7 including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm. Additional details on Windows Phone 7 series application development will be revealed at the MIX10 conference in March. The first Windows 7 phones will be available by holiday 2010. Hit the jump for a promotional video from Microsoft.

Apple drops the ban hammer on iPhone hackers

No doubt Apple is leery of having its iPhone OS so easily and frequently hacked (its notoriously weak security being one of the many reasons the iPhone has yet to really take off in the corporate world), but Cupertino’s latest security precaution isn’t likely to win any favor. Just days after a scrappy young iPhone hacked discovered an unlock exploit for OS 3.1.3 baseband 05.12.01, Sherif Hashim received an ominous message on his iPhone after attempting to log into iTunes: “This Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons.” Proving that this is not an isolated incident, fellow hacker iH8sn0w responded to Hashim to let him know the very same thing happened to him after he released an exploit known as XEMN. Perhaps most puzzlingly, however, is the fact that Hasim’s exploit was never publicly released having only been given to the iPhone Dev-Team who plan to incorporate it into their next release. Obviously Apple could claim that its actions were in response to the violation of their intellectual property as well as a breach of the iPhone’s end-user license agreement, but one has to wonder just how far a notoriously heavy-handed company like Apple might go in the future if it is unable to gain the upper hand over hackers like Hashim.

Sony Ericsson makes the X10 mini, X10 mini pro and Vivaz Pro official

Sony Ericsson set the stage for MWC by announcing three new handsets in a press event held on the day before the launch of the international mobile phone conference. Sony rolled out two new compact Android handsets based upon the design of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and one Symbian-powered handset phone that is the big brother to the previously announced Vivaz. The X10 mini and X10 mini pro are similarly spec’d handsets with the X10 Mini Pro sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The Vivaz Pro is a slightly modified version of the Vivaz and offers a QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen interface and the Symbian S60th 5th edition operating system. All three handsets are expected to launch in Q2 2010 in select markets. Hit the jump for the full rundown of specs.

App Store catalog at 150,000, 75% of which will cost you

The Apple App Store, unsurprisingly and without much fanfare, passed the 150,000 application milestone this week. The world’s largest mobile application store, which contains over 27,000 books and over 28,000 games, has generated well over 3 billion downloads since its inception in July of 2008. Back in December 2008, when O’Reilly examined the App Store landscape, they calculated that 22% of the then 10,000 applications were provided free by developers. Today, according to analytics company Distimo, the App Store’s 150,000 app catalog has a ratio of 75% paid applications to 25% free applications; compare that with the second largest app store, Android Market, which has a ratio of 60% paid to 40% free. At the January 27th iPad announcement, Steve Jobs told the media that the App Store contained around 140,000 applications; Apple approved around 10,000 additional applications in the 16 days after that announcement.

Live photos and specifications of the Samsung S8500 Wave emerge

Yesterday we saw the Samsung Wave from afar, today we get our first up close look at Samsung’s first Bada-powered handset. The Wave is indeed the S8500, the first handset to receive Bluetooth SIG certification for the new Bluetooth 3.0 standard. Ironically, Bluetooth was left out of the list of leaked specs but we will presume that Bluetooth 2.0 and possibly 3.0 is on board. Besides Bluetooth, the Wave will offer a 3.3 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, five megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 720p video, DivX support, 2GB internal memory with microSD expansion, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, 1 GHz processor, 3.5mm headphone jack, aluminum body, 1500 mAh battery, and the Bada OS with Touchwiz 3.0. The Wave has the typical appearance of a Samsung phone with two flush front buttons, a triangular four way navigational button, triangular camera and flash, and brushed metal accents. Other than the performance of the Bada OS, which will have to wait until the first hands-on video is released, all that is left to find out about this handset is its launch date and geographic availability, a not so trivial fact we hope is announced when Samsung officially unveils this handset next week at MWC.

Nokia planning a powerhouse 12 megapixel, HD-capable camera phone, but won’t introduce it at MWC?

Conflicting reports are coming in this morning about Nokia’s upcoming handset lineup. Leaked information from Tom’s Guide, a French technology website, reveals several new Nokia handsets that rumored to be slated for launch starting in early summer. According to the not confirmed info, Nokia will be structuring its handset lineup using the following naming conventions:
■C: Lower end voice-based
■X: Focus on entertainment, music for a young target
■E: Dedicated to business, solutions for e-mails
■N: High-end
■S: Very upscale and limited editions
Nokia is supposedly developing a wide range of C-series handsets including the C5-10, a QWERTY handset that will take on BlackBerry handsets. On the top of the heap is the N8-00, a capacitive, multitouch handset with 720p video capture and a 12 megapixel camera. The N8-00 will be the first Symbian^3 handset and is rumored to launch this summer. Expectations are high for Nokia at MWC with this rumor pointing to a potential unveiling of one or more of these handsets at the upcoming Barcelona conference. This rumor would be exciting if not for the fact that another rumor fresh out today suggests that Nokia will not unveil any new handsets at MWC 2010. According to an unidentified source involved with the MWC planning, the Espoo manufacturer will not have a stand at MWC and has has made a strategic decision to withhold any hardware launches until a later unspecified date. When MWC finally begins next week, will Nokia dazzle us with its latest offerings or will there be a gaping hole where Nokia and its Symbian handsets used to be?

LG bakes up a new Cookie in the Cookie Plus

Hot on the heels of the Mini and GT350, LG announced the GS500 Cookie Plus. Carrying on in the tradition of the plain old Cookie which sold some 10mm units world-wide, in reality the Cookie Plus aims to please with a “cartoon-like UI” complete with 18 blinding themes, a 3 megapixel camera enhanced by the devices ability to edit pictures before firing them off as an MMS (this should thrill paranoid, sexting weary parents), FM tuner, all the social media support a tween could ever hope for and dozens of widgets. Pricing was absent from the press release, but the GS500 Cookie Plus will start to hit shelves in Italy and France next month with 45 more countries to follow. Oh, how could we forget — LG “plans to offer a full batch of new Cookie handsets in 2010″. Cute.

Apple iPhone 4G to be taller than its predecessor, sport a larger display?

Like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, some claimed fourth generation iPhone parts have emerged from the corn fields business district of Olathe, Kansas. The supposed parts arrived at iResQ, an iPhone repair shop, and include a front panel which iResQ notes is 1/4 inch taller than the iPhone 3GS. This small increase in size could potentially translate into an iPhone with a 3.7 inch display, a size which is fast becoming the industry standard. The front panel also has a small reflective surface right above the earpiece that, no, is not a vanity mirror but may be a spot for the proximity sensor, a location that differs from the previous iPhone models. Bad news for those that are hard on their phone and tend to break not just the glass but the LCD panels underneath, as the LCD is reportedly glued to the digitizer and must be replaced together as an all-in-one unit. We don’t need to remind you that this dual-pieced part may cost a small arm and leg to replace. Last but not least, make sure your Martini glass is lined with a bit of salt as you’ll need those extra white granules while reading the unconfirmed contents of this post.

Nokia 5230 Nuron headed to T-Mobile on March 17th?

In the days leading up to Nokia World 2009, the world’s largest phone maker announced the 5230, an affordable touchscreen Symbian S60 smartphone. At the time there was no official word whether or not it would ever make its way on to American soil, but thanks to the work of a few sneaky devils we now know that T-Mobile is gearing up to release it as the Nuron on March 17th. Pricing has yet to be passed down the corporate ladder, but we can’t imagine it would command a high price on or off contract considering it has nothing going for it in the eyes of the public other than its touchscreen and 3G connectivity. Perhaps this is one best left for the kiddies? T-Mobile’s slide doesn’t think so, however.

Google working on voice-to-voice translation for cell phones

UK-based Times Online is reporting that Google is developing a mobile phone service that will have the ability to translate speech, from one language to another, on the fly. Google’s hoping to build off of their text-to-text translation engine — which is currently capable of translating 52 languages — and voice search technologies. “We think speech-to-speech translation should be possible and work reasonably well in a few years’ time,” said Google’s chief of translation services. Industry experts remain skeptical, however, about the proposed timetable, “The problem with speech recognition is the variability in accents. No system at the moment can handle that properly,” said David Crystal, professor of Linguistics at Bangor University. “Maybe Google will be able to get there faster than everyone else, but I think it’s unlikely we’ll have a speech device in the next few years that could handle high-speed Glaswegian slang.” It certainly is an aggressive goal, and one we are pretty excited about. We’ll stay on top of this story and report back as more becomes available.

Symbian opens up its source code, available now for your downloading pleasure

It is official. The Symbian Foundation has released Symbian as an open source product today, four months ahead of its scheduled mid-2010 completion date. As with other open source projects, the move will allow developers to modify and contribute to the source code in hopes of improving the overall quality and hastening the development of the operating system. An open source Symbian can also be installed on any compatible device for free which should help to further expand Symbian’s reach and solidify Symbian’s position as the dominant mobile OS worldwide. Beating Android to the punch, Symbian will publish its platform roadmap and planned features up to 2011, an outline which the Symbian Foundation notes can be modified and expanded based upon developer contributions to the mobile OS. The full Symbian source code is available for download now at Symbian’s developer website.

Motorola handset rocking Android and MOTOBLUR pictured in Brazil

It looks as though Gizmodo Brazil got their hands on a yet-to-be-announced Android handset from device manufacturer Motorola. The full touch-screen device, which is being described as a Motorola BACKFLIP without the keyboard, is running Android 1.5 and is cloaked in the MOTOBLUR UI. Giz Brazil didn’t report on any specifications, however we can tell from the images the phone is SIM based, has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, micro-SD slot, and camera with flash. The phone is rumored to be released in March, although the chances of this little number Stateside appear to be pretty slim, and go after feature phone users looking to upgrade to their first semi-smart phone. Hit the link for the translated article and image gallery.

Google to launch its own business application store?

Technology companies are scrambling to jump on the application store bandwagon which has blossomed in the mobile arena and is now moving into the netbook and desktop computing realm. The latest app store venture may be originating from Google, which is rumored to be developing its own suite of business applications designed to compliment its Google Apps service. Google already offers a solutions marketplace with tools and add-ons for Google Apps, but this new business pursuit would expand upon this solutions marketplace and offer applications from Google’s software partners in an attempt to deliver its partner’s products and additional services more easily to paying Google App customers. Business productivity would be the focus of this venture and its crosshair would be aimed squarely at Microsoft.

Nexus One over-the-air update begins today, brings multitouch

Good news for early adopters of the Nexus One, you’re getting your very first software update! Aside from some bug squshing, Google has included a few extra, and highly requested, features in the update:
Google Goggles: this mobile application will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu. Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web
Google Maps: the Maps application with be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include:

■Starred items synchronized with maps.google.com – access your favorite places from your phone or computer
■Search suggestions from your personal maps.google.com history – makes it easy to search for places you’ve searched for before
■Night mode in Google Maps Navigation – automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving
Pinch-to-zoom functionality: devices will now include a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone’s Browser, Gallery and Maps applications


3G connectivity: we will provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones
The biggest improvement on this list is obviously the addition of pinch-to-zoom functionality in the browser, picture gallery, and maps application; however the “night mode” in Google Maps Navigation is a nice refinement. The update, which will be rolled out throughout the week, will present you with a message in the notification bar when Google decides it is your turn. Hit up the official press release to read the official announcement.

iPhone OS 3.1.3 goes live

Grab your USB to 30-pin dock connector cable kids, Apple has released iPhone OS 3.1.3 to iTunes for your downloading pleasure. It doesn’t look like 3.1.3 is going to knock your socks off, but hey, an update is an update, right? Here is a list of what’s new according to Apple:
■Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
■Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
■Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard

Nokia skipping Symbian V2, Maemo 6 products in second half of 2010

DigiTimes is reporting that mobile giant Nokia plans to forgo Symbian V2 and release Symbian V3, complete with multitouch functions, in the second half of 2010. Perhaps even more exciting than that, was what Digi’s sources had to say about Symbian 4: “Symbian version 4 is believed to be based on the Qt cross-platform application development framework developed by Trolltech. The Qt will allow software developers to develop application software supporting Symbian and Maemo platforms simultaneously.” Nokia acquired Trolltech back in June, 2008. While no details of Maemo 6 were revealed, the article does state that we’ll get our first look at Maemo 6 handsets by the second half of 2010. The source also went on to comment, vaguely, on Nokia’s 2011 product road map: “By 2011, smartphones based on the Symbian S60-platform will account for 55% of Nokia’s total handset shipments, followed by Symbian S40 feature phones at 35% and Maemo-based devices at 10%.” Not sure about you, but we’re pretty excited.

Sony Ericsson announces the Aspen

Sony Ericsson today announced the Aspen, the latest handset in its GreenHeart line of eco-friendly devices. A no-nonsense Windows Phone geared towards business users, the Aspen’s features include a full-QWERTY keypad, 2.4″ QVGA dispaly, 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and SPB Mobile Shell floating on top of Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the Sony Ericsson Aspen is scheduled to drop in Q2. And yes, this puppy is available with some US 3G love, albeit only on the 850 MHz band.

Zune Phone to make its official debut at MWC 2010?

More Zune Phone rumors are again hitting the scene, this time the rumor of the day is originating from the Spanish blog muycomputer. They claim that Microsoft will be unveiling the long-rumored Zune Phone at Mobile World Congress 2010. According to their inside source, the Zune Phone will be introduced by Microsoft with NVIDIA by its side and will even feature an NVIDIA Tegra processor, leading muycomputer to surmise that the handset will indeed be a Zune HD with phone and PDA functionality probably provided courtesy of Windows Mobile 7. The discovery of phone references within the Zune’s inf file is certainly suggestive of the existence of such a Zune Phone but we will have to wait a few more weeks to find out if this rumor is worth its salt.

Samsung Mobile Display to produce better AMOLEDs, have integrated touch functionality

Yesterday, Samsung Mobile Display announced that they will be producing a new 3.3″ AMOLED display, complete with on-board capacitive touch sensors. The WVGA screen will boast a 480×800 resolution and, purportedly, will bring image clarity to the next level thanks to a touch sensor that is a mere 0.001mm thick (on average a human hair is 0.018 to 0.08 mm thick). The on-board touch sensor, “marks the first time that a touch sensor was placed over an AMOLED substrate” reports the Korean IT Times. Typically, the touch-sensing glass panel and LED screen are manufactured separately and later connected; by putting both components on the same substrate Samsung was able to achieve minimal thickness and better screen clarity. Samsung hopes that this new, improved, and easy-to-manufacture AMOLED will increase manufacturer demand for LED displays. We can’t wait.

Steve Jobs disses Adobe and calls BS on Google

If you had any doubts about Steve Jobs’ confidence and convictions after returning to Apple from his sick leave, it’s time you leave those at the door. The revered CEO announced a hotly anticipated device last week and followed up by burning the competition. On Google, Steve Jobs said that its motto “Don’t be evil” is bullshit (Steve’s words, not ours). Clearly, Steve-o isn’t phased by the Nexus One while he boasts the three billion apps sold from the Apple app store. Regarding Adobe, Steve apparently went on to say they’re lazy and are squandering so much potential. Wow. And Flash? According to Steve, no one will be using Flash in the future; it’s going to be all about HTML5.
Is Steve Jobs’ boisterous attitude completely without warrant? Or is he just telling it like it is? Let us know your thoughts.

Full version of Firefox Mobile finally released for Maemo 5

Nokia N900 owners are now the envy of the mobile world having been given the privilege of being the first group of people to use the official finalized version of Firefox Mobile. Firefox Mobile will run on the Maemo 5 platform and incorporates many features seen in the desktop version of Firefox including the Awesome Bar, add-ons, tabbed browsing, location-aware browsing, and safe browsing which provides you with an instant web ID and allows you to your easily customize your security settings. Mozilla also introduced Weave Sync, a feature which allows you to sync your tabs, history, bookmarks, and passwords between your desktop and mobile device. Anyone rocking a N900 want to share your first impressions with us?

Google quietly adds group SMS to Google Voice web interface

It appears as though Google has quietly added the ability to send SMS messages to multiple contacts via its Google Voice web interface. Those who rely heavily, or primarily, on Google Voice have been requesting this feature for quite some time. There has been no official announcement from Google yet, but those of you with GV access can head over to google.com/voice and give it a whirl.

AT&T-friendly Nexus One passes through the FCC

We told you earlier this month that the Nexus One would be coming to AT&T and we now have the first sharable shred of evidence that our source was spot on. Spotted emerging from the testing halls of the FCC is an unknown mobile phone with the FCC ID NM899110. For the geeky folk, the NM8 is the FCC Grantee code for HTC while 99110 is the model. People who rock a Nexus One and have a penchant for studying FCC labels would notice that the FCC ID for this mystery handset is only a single digit away from the FCC ID of the current Nexus One (NM899100) and would be quick to recognize that this mystery handset is most likely a kissing cousin to their T-Mobile-friendly handset. Without looking at the FCC documents, one might casually pass this mystery handset off as the upcoming Verizon Wireless CDMA version, but a quick perusal of the testing report reveals that the handset in question is rocking WCDMA bands I, II and V which are decidedly AT&T. Any Nexus One owners crawling on AT&T’s EDGE a bit peeved by this discovery?