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T-Mobile lets parents control their kids phone bills with “Family Allowances”

IntoMobile,T-Mobile lets parents control their kids phone bills with “Family Allowances”,

T-Mobile USA has announced a new service called Family Allowances, to allow parents to easily manage when and how their family members use their phones and service on T-Mobile’s network.

From the official release:

With Family Allowances, parents can give their teens an upfront monthly wireless allowance that works on all the phones T-Mobile offers - virtually eliminating the worry of surprise overages. The feature lets parents set and change limits for minutes, messages and downloads (e.g., games, ring tones and wallpaper) using a simple online tool. Once the allowance is reached, the feature shuts off service for that specific element and parents receive a notification. Parents can stay in contact with their family members by setting up “Always Allowed” numbers that will continue to connect, even after allowances have been spent. Any unlimited calling features that are included in a family’s plan, such as myFaves and T-Mobile-to-T-Mobile, can also still be used, which preserves the value of the calling plan. Additional controls are available so parents can choose to set allowances on unlimited calling features, if desired.

Family Allowances will be available in the coming weeks at select T-Mobile retail stores and through mobile operator’s website. For the introductory rate of $2 per month, parents can manage all lines within their T-Mobile family plan.

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Latest Sony Ericsson Walkman phones previewed

IntoMobile,Latest Sony Ericsson Walkman phones previewed,

Lucky folks of PhoneArena had their lucky hands on the latest Sony Ericsson Walkman phones - the W302, W595 and W902. Devices they scored are prototype units, but they drew some conclusions, nonetheless.

Here’s what they think about each on of the devices:

• W302 - “a very cute budget solution from the Walkman series, mainly offering a very attractive design.”
• W595 - “…the key feature which will help it repeat W580’s success is the attractive design.”
• W902 - “…thanks to the promising 5-megapixel camera, it could become a rival of the new mid-level cameraphones, and thus transforming in a good multimedia device.”

Click the model name above to read the full preview.

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Nokia 5610 in white/silver heading to T-Mobile

IntoMobile,Nokia 5610 in white/silver heading to T-Mobile,

We’ve already reported that T-Mobile will be getting the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic. Today we’ve found out that not only Nokia’s music-centric phone is heading to the Deutsche Telekom owner operator in the States, but that it will also be available in additional color.

The image above shows the Nokia 5610 in white/silver combo, which will reportedly be available on the same day when the black 5610 start selling. That’s August 11th, as far as we know. Stay tuned…

[Via: CellPhoneSignal]

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Skype now Windows Mobile 6.1 compatible

IntoMobile,Skype now Windows Mobile 6.1 compatible,

Windows Mobile device users who are at the same Skype fans may have experienced problems with their VoIP client of choice. That’s about to change as Skype has released an updated version to fully support Windows Mobile 6.1. I’m not what else is affected aside from the OS compatibility, but we’re surely looking forward to the full headset support.

If anyone tries this out, don’t hesitate to drop us a word or two in the comments bellow. We’re eager to hear your thoughts…

[Via: jkOnTheRun]

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iPhone Voice Dial app hits AppStore

IntoMobile,iPhone Voice Dial app hits AppStore,

In case you’re missing voice dialing on your iPhone, you’ll be glad to know a third party application which enables the mentioned feature is now available on AppStore. I haven’t tried it myself, but I guess there’s no much fuss when it comes to voice dialing. Record your voice, assign it to a contact and take it from there. It should be that simple and considering we’re talking about an iPhone app here, it probably is.

Voice Dial for iPhone costs $25, which is kinda expensive for the iPhone app. Then again, Makayama’s solution for jailbroken iPhones which we saw back in January also costs money.

[Via: Gizmodo]

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Duracell unveils two pocket chargers

IntoMobile,Duracell unveils two pocket chargers,

Duracell has recently unveiled two cool pocket chargers, My Pocket Charger and PowerSource Mini, to provide users with some extra juice for their favorite gadgets.

Here’s what the official release says about the two chargers:

The Duracell My Pocket Charger and the Duracell PowerSource Mini are pocket-sized power sources for popular devices such as a cell phone, BlackBerry and MP3 player. They’re small and versatile, making them especially convenient for travelers looking for ways to reduce the number of extra cords, chargers and device-specific batteries required for mobile devices. Each My Pocket Charger comes with two Duracell CopperTop AA batteries, and the Duracell PowerSource Mini’s lithium-ion battery can be recharged through a lightweight AC charger, through a vehicle’s DC socket, or through a computer’s USB port.

My Pocket Charger is available in two models, one with a connector for MP3 players and the other one with a BlackBerry connector. The Duracell PowerSource Mini, on the other hand, includes a mini USB pivot arm that allows users to connect directly to a device without cable. Plus, it features a second USB port for charging two devices at once…

[Via: Coolest-Gadgets]

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Hitachi uses Silicon alloy to increase Li-ION battery capacity by 20%

IntoMobile,Hitachi uses Silicon alloy to increase Li-ION battery capacity by 20%,

Portable electronics are in store for some longer up-times as Lithium-ion (Li-ION) batteries (the predominant power source technology used today) become increasingly more efficient and longer-lasting. Following on the previous research-breakthrough that yielded ten times greater power storage capacity by replacing a Li-ION power-cell’s Carbon anode with Silicon, Hitachi has announced that they’ve created a lithium-ion batteries with 20% greater power capacity.

Hitachi says that by replacing the Carbon anode with a Silicon alloy (silicon monoxide comprised of silicon and carbon nano-particles) can, in and of itself, increase battery capacity by up to 20%. That’s a significant improvement over current Li-ION capacities, especially considering that no other modifications were made to the battery. Hitachi also plans to bump up battery capacity even higher by replacing the mostly Cobalt-based cathode with a material composed of Cobalt, Magnesium and Nickel.

The new cathode, combined with the new anode should yield ever higher capacities - while the cathode itself should help reduce materials-costs, as costly Cobalt is replaced, in part, with Magnesium.

Hitachi plans to launch their new, higher capacity batteries in 2009. With ever advancing hardware bumping up against battery limitations, a more efficient battery design allowing for longer uptime in cellphones and laptops will be a welcome development.

[Via: TechON]

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iPhone 3G hits melting-point, burns sleeping dude’s leg

IntoMobile,iPhone 3G hits melting-point, burns sleeping dude’s leg,

The iPhone 3G is the new hotness. It’s so hot, in fact, that iPhone 3G hopefuls are still hitting backorder-walls at Apple Stores nationwide, three weeks after its initial global launch. But, we’re speaking in metaphorical terms here.

Metaphorical terms, that is, unless you’re MacForums user LonginottiFilms. He’s apparently had his iPhone 3G get so hot that it started to warp the casing and gave him a nasty burn where the sun don’t shine. The guy apparently fell asleep with the iPhone 3G in his pocket, and woke up to a burning sensation on his leg.

Lo and behold, he found that his iPhone 3G was so hot that the casing had warped and bulged out. He was left with a nice little iPhone 3G-sized burn mark on his thigh.

Push email, 3G, and screen was set to auto-lock after a minute, so intense data transfers couldn’t have caused the iPhone 3G in question to overheat to skin-burning temps.

Perhaps the li-ion battery was in the early stages of overheating and discharging? Has anyone else experienced overheating issues with their iPhone 3G?

[Via: MacRumors]

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Analyst predicts RIM to reign in growth and lose AT&T’s favor

IntoMobile,Analyst predicts RIM to reign in growth and lose AT&T’s favor,

Research In Motion (RIM) has seen impressive growth in the enterprise-oriented smartphone market during recent quarters. The BlackBerry maker’s bullish performance on Wall Street underpins the firm’s 70% smartphone share on AT&T and 107% year-on-year growth as of Q1 2008. But, Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha believes RIM’s stock price is significantly over-valued. Why? RIM is losing AT&T share to the iconic Apple iPhone.

RIM has traditionally seen their BlackBerry smartphones being pushed hard by the largest GSM carrier in the US, AT&T. Research In Motion saw their BlackBerry handsets comprising 70% of AT&T’s smartphone sales in June, and is likely to see a 55% share among smartphones on Verizon’s network in the quarter ending December 2008. That may all change.

AT&T has been putting significant marketing resources behind Apple’s new iPhone 3G handsets. The iPhone 3G is still selling in record numbers three weeks after its initial launch, and AT&T’s promotional shift to the iPhone 3G could prove to eat in to RIM’s BlackBerry sales figures. With 25%-30% of BlackBerry revenue tied to AT&T’s network, RIM could see a significant drop in future sales of BlackBerry smartphones - particularly the BlackBerry Bold - as the leading US wireless carrier shifts its focus to the more highly marketed iPhone 3G and the smartphone market as a whole cuts sales prices and experiences production cost increases.

Still, all is not lost in Waterloo. RIM is slated to release their own all-touchscreen device, the BlackBerry Thunder, to cash in on the touchscreen revolution that’s rolling though the smartphone industry. But, it remains to be seen if RIM can both refine their touch UI to compete with the iPhone 3G and launch the device in a time to give Apple, Samsung, HTC, and Sony Ericsson a run for their money.

[Via: Electronista]

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Quake founder John Carmack: iPhone better than dedicated gaming systems

IntoMobile,Quake founder John Carmack: iPhone better than dedicated gaming systems,

If you have an iPhone or, better yet, an iPhone 3G, you’re probably well aware of how powerful the iPhone is as a media, web surfing, and gaming platform. Pairing a powerful set of processors and graphics acceleration technologies with the huge multi-touch display has made for a mobile gaming platform unlike any other currently available.

So much so that John Carmack, of Quake-fame, has gone on record as saying that the iPhone is “more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined.” Carmack went on to say that the iPhone’s  hardware was equivalent to a Sega Dreamcast gaming console, and comparable to the Sony PlatStation 2 or Microsoft’s Xbox. Those are huge statements, especially from the co-founder of id, the company that created one of the more hardware-intensive gaming titles out there - most of you will know Quake intimately.

The Quaker-maker says that id is currently toiling away to release 2 new iPhone games through the AppStore. One of the iPhone games will be a more conventional (read: pared down) gaming title, while the other will aim to take the iPhone to the edge of its graphical performance envelope - a goal worthy of id’s hardware-taxing software.

Still, Carmack says Apple needs to seriously consider their stance on iPhone gaming. Apple isn’t exactly always helpful to game developers, like id, looking to make “game-changing” software for the iPhone. If Apple can get a grasp on their iPhone-as-gaming-console concept, then the iPhone will certainly rise to the top of the mobile gaming-crop.

[Via: MobileCrunch]

Image from phonedifferent.com 

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