cellphones

AT&T & eMusic Open Over-the-Air Music Store: No DRM, No iPhone Support

Rumors of an impending AT&T/eMusic tag team for an over-the-air music store were true: The eMusic Mobile store will be stocked with 2.7 million songs in delicious DRM-free MP3. Better yet, not only do tracks download directly to your phone, a second copy is sent straight to your computer. Not so delicious: https://gizmodo.com/rumor-has-it-that-at-t-has-teamed-up-with-drm-hatin-onl-282374 The price,…

Surgeons Finish Operation Using Just Cellphone-Screen Lighting

Surgeons in Argentina were able to complete an operation using the light from cellphone screens after a city-wide blackout. The hospital’s generator failed to kick in and they continued to work in darkness until someone stepped into the room—not the Spanish Inquisition but, nevertheless, someone completely unexpected. Local man Leonardo Molina was on the operating…

iPhone-ish Virtual Keyboard for the Nokia N800

No predictive text, but plenty of popup letter action, plus sliding. In landscape mode, the letters here seem to have a bit more breathing room between letters, esp on the 4-inch screen. [JKOntheRun]

The Best iPhone Wannabe Yet, from Sugarcat Cakes

This is an iPhone Cake. For the Steve that is Fake. Did it take a long time to Make? I dunno, I’m not very good in the kitchen. [PhotoBucket via The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs]

Nokia N95 Ads Portray Laptops as Crazed, Jealous, Violent Exes

What better way to portray your so-called laptop-replacing smartphone than to make fake videos and images detailing how laptops are attacking people who use it? Take this ad, showing a new college student being bitten by an unnamed laptop as she’s making a movie with her parents with the Nokia N95. Then there are the…

Video of AT&Ts Videoshare Service in Action

AT&T’s Videoshare, their strange one-way video messaging service, is now working in a bunch of urban markets if you’ve got phones that’ll work with it. I took it for a test spin this morning, and yes, it does work as advertised. See it in all its blurry glory in the above video. https://gizmodo.com/hands-on-at-ts-video-share-283074

Self-Destruct Button Mobile Charm Doesn’t Do What It Says on the Tin

Most cellphone charms seem to have no point whatsoever. This Japanese self-destruct button charm, however, does. Perfect for when you’re having One Of Those Days, press the button and you will hear a countdown, and a red LED light will flash, followed by a Boom! (insert Steve Jobs joke here if you can be bothered,…

iFuntastic 2.1 Released: Easier AT&T Logo Destruction

iFuntastic, the iPhone Ringtone swapping GUI app, just jumped to version 2.1. It still can load your iPhone with ringtones of your choice and can even rearrange the main menu icons. But now you can swap out that swarmy AT&T logo for any PNG at 65 x 18 pixels. (Above, I used a transparent background,…

Apple Patents Text-to-Speech Messaging

In a recent patent filing “Multimedia data transfer for a personal communication device,” Apple is offering text messages without the GSM SMS protocol, or even the need to read. While SMS requires an intermediary server between sender and receiver, Apple’s patent has a sender’s device convert text messages to an audio signal with this audio…

iFuntastic 2.0 Released: iPhone Ringtones and More

iFuntastic, the iPhone custom ringtone GUI app, is in version 2.0. They’ve added the ability to change carrier logos, and reorder the main menu’s icons. [iPhonealley, thanks Mike]

SK Telecom Cleaning Robot Controlled by Cellphone

Sometimes we just want to tell our Roomba what to do, but we can never find that frickin’ remote. Well SK Telecom has decided to fix this problem, they are developing a cleaning-robot that is controllable via your cell phone. Not only can you decide where the little bot cleans, but you can also see…

T-mobile’s pre-paid refill system has gone down today, and a T-Mobile representative said all calls are free until 11 p.m. [Engadget]

Free iPhone Ringtones from iTunes

TUAW’s post on how to rip the 30-second track samples from iTunes for use on an iPhone is evil, brilliant and I love it. The secret: export a playlist from the iTunes store, download the MP4 sample clips, and upload them using iFuntastic. Stick it to the carriers who overcharge for ringtones of songs you…

Hands-On AT&T’s Video Share

I played around with a few phones using AT&T’s new Video Share service, which requires UMTS HSDPA, so it’s not live everywhere. New York just got it this week, LA should have it by September. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a way for one person to show the other person streaming video…

Oki Japan Bring Iris Scanning to Existing Cellphones

Oki Japan has developed software that brings iris recognition security to existing cellphones. Before now, biometric security has meant either hugely expensive military systems or cheap, novelty peripherals. This new development is part of a growing number of practical and affordable solutions. The software can be used to add another layer of security on any…

Motorola Cellphones and Headsets and Chargers Oh My!

Take a peek at my meticulously annotated slideshow of Motorola’s holiday event tonight in NYC—you might even learn a thing or two.

Motorola Shows Off Cheap Sexy Still-Unannounced i335 for Nextel

The i335 is a thin candybar with a rubber keypad that feels like leather and a funky corrugated plastic back. It’s been rumored here and there, and should not be confused with an older Moto with the same name. Regardless, Motorola and its partner in iDEN crime Sprint (as in Nextel) have yet to say…

Gallagher Blends In At Motorola’s Line Show

I turn around at the Motorola show and there’s Gallagher (first name unknown). Apparently he reviews gadgets these days. I ask him what size of mallet it would take to smash a Moto phone, and he says the phones look pretty sturdy. This might have been code for “Everyone asks me smashing questions all the…

Motorola Quietly Introduces MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth Music FM Transmitter Speakerphone

Today at the Motorola holiday show in NYC, amid a sea of RAZR-style phones and accessories that many Giz readers have already seen, Motorola showed off a few new items. The coolest (we hope) will be the ROKR T505 speakerphone. Like its predecessors in the T line, this one clips to the visor above your…

Fans of Yahoo and Windows Mobile can have both now that Yahoo! Go 2.0 has been released. Phones like the Sprint Mogul and AT&T 8525 can get in the action. [Yahoo Go]