Michael Caputo
Articles by Michael Caputo
Canadian court certifies class-action lawsuit against carriers
If you're sick and tired of wireless carriers charging an arm and a leg for so-called "system access fees," you aren't alone. As wireless carriers up north rack in close to $800 million a year in said fees, they continue to brand the fees as required by the Canadian Radio-Television Commission -- even though the Government says that fees are no longer valid and don't need to be charged. Carriers were whacking Canadians with charges ranging from $6.95 for Rogers and Telus and up to $8.95 for Bell customers. Naturally, that kind of apparent overcharging can only lead to one thing: a class-action lawsuit. Get in while the gettin's good!
Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, hearing loss edition
Apparently, talking on a cellphone for 60 minutes or more per day can result in a partial loss of hearing -- at least that's what some researchers in India are saying. The scientists conducted an experiment to test the correlation of hearing loss to the average use of a cellphone call. The experiment covered 100 participants with cellphone usage ranging from four years and over to just started using a cellphone. The results? Long-time users seemed to suffer some high-frequency hearing loss, usually in their right ears -- the ear most commonly used for chatting on the celly. There also seemed to be some correlation between warm, full, or ringing sensations in the ear, so if you're experiencing any of those, enjoy the stealth ringtone while you still can.[Via textually.org]
Samsung's i640v for Vodafone caught on camera
Hot on the heels of its Christmas announcement, it turns out Vodafone teased with a preview of Samsung's i640v at GITEX. Hoping to improve upon its predecessor, the just-released i620, newest model adds a WiFi radio under its hood along with GPS support. Add these key features in with Bluetooth 2.0, microSD storage, a 2.4-inch QVGA display all running on Windows Mobile 6 Standard, and we figure this device is built to please. There doesn't seem to be any solid release info floating around just yet, but we can take a solid stab at the launch carrier, eh?[Via the::unwired]
British children surveyed: "poor children don't have mobile phones"
Researchers in England recently polled children about their views on poverty, and in their eyes, what signs indicated that another child was poor. The children ages ranged from seven to sixteen, and surprisingly one in five kids reported that not having a mobile phone was a sign that other children were poor -- the highest response among all the indicators. The study was used to demonstrate that school-age children are paying close attention to the most obvious signs of wealth among their peers, while ignoring the more damaging indicators like being unable to pay for food or being without a safe place to go after school. We're not even sure a six year old should know what a cellphone is let alone make snap judgments about a person's wealth based on it, but if you think age six is too young for British kids to have mobile phones, another country has them beat.[Via textually.org and SMS Text News]
Is this Fujitsu's F905i for NTT DoCoMo?
NTT DoCoMo customers will have no shortage of cool phones to choose from in the upcoming holiday season (as if they ever have a shortage of cool phones). Luckily, the same sleuth who found Mitsubishi's D905i has returned for round two, and now it looks like Fujitsu's F905i is appearing on the radar. It features a 3.2-inch display that rocks WVGA resolution (862 x 480) and a 3.2 megapixel CMOS shooter to match. Let's not forget that Fujitsu threw in a rotating display that offers split screen viewing for those times when you just can't tear yourself away from the teevee while you're browsing the 'nets. If we had to guess, we'd say this'll be one of about twelve or fifteen released in a typically NTT DoCoMo-esque launch extravaganza any week now -- everyone gettin' amped for it?
Nokia brings threaded SMS to an S60 device near you
Being unable to view SMS in a threaded fashion on your S60 handset got ya down? Fret no more, messaging fiends, as Nokia Beta Labs has heard our cries. The so-called "Conversation" app should run on most phones that rock S60 3rd edition, with or without Feature Pack 1. Seeing that the app isn't finalized yet, proceed with caution and if you do install it -- there are some concerns right now about memory usage -- so sound off in comments about your experience. [Via All About Symbian]
Disney Mobile next to throw in the towel?
In today's day and age, playing the MVNO game is a bit of a challenge. Some can't keep their head above water, others need a life raft, and a select few can actually stay afloat on their own. Disney's CFO Thomas Staggs -- who spoke at Merrill Lynch's Media and Entertainment Conference recently -- alluded that Disney was in the process of evaluating "where it sits" because of "some challenges" having the Disney Mobile brand distributed. "It's still too early to determine any losses for the MVNO," he concluded. With a variety of services targeted at kids filtering through virtually every mainstream carrier these days, does Disney still have a solid business model to work with?[Via mocoNews]
Samsung W619 gets peeped
It hasn't been long since this sucker graced the FCC with its presence, albeit with just a little (okay, a lot) less detail than we'd like. Once again the W619 makes our radar, but this time it bears Anycall branding, so it's looking like a probable release for Samsung's domestic market. With features like a dual band CDMA / GSM radio, 2 megapixel camera, and a 4.2 ounce weigh-in, it seems like a bit of a lightweight by Korean standards -- but hey, not every phone can occupy the high end, right?[Via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]
Vodafone preparing for Samsung i560 launch?
It looks like Vodafone will be adding more holiday cheer than expected this year. Expected to launch sometime in the fourth quarter of '07, the Samsung i560 slider looks good and seems spec'd to perform well, too. Features are said to include HSDPA, a 3.2 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, and a 2.4-inch QVGA display all atop S60 (wow, what's with Samsung and S60 these days?). Look to spend around €415 ($584) for this beauty when it's available.[Via Unwired View]
Bell brings unlimited data to Canada
Bell Mobility of Canada has announced that customers can sign up for its new unlimited data plans for $75 CAD (about $74) per month. The service is only available with wireless modems, so tethering is a negative. The data speeds are right up there with those in the States and is delivered via EV-DO Rev. A courtesy of Bell. Customers can choose between three different modems: the Sierra Wireless AC595, the Novatel U720, and the Novatel P720. Seeing how it used to cost $100 for 1GB of data, the boys and girls at Bell seem to be getting the bigger picture.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Emergency broadcast messaging coming to NYC
In a crisis situation, every moment is crucial in saving lives. Starting in early 2008, New York City will pilot a program that will deliver emergency notifications via text messaging alerts. "These messages could contain crucial information about the steam pipe explosion or subway flooding," says COO Paul Klein of Cellcast -- the company that will be providing the solution to the city -- "and these type of alerts can delivered even if wireless traffic had crashed the networks." [Via textually.org]
T-Mobile's Sidekick LX gets an early date with eBay
Even though it looks like T-Mobile will be launching the Sidekick LX on October 24, some lucky individual has the chance to own one before launch thanks to an eBay auction. With bids starting at $600 and just over nine days to go, the highest bidder can be the envy of all the tweeners on the block. There's no way for the Engadget staff to validate the authenticity of this auction, but if you feel inclined to bid (and win) -- drop us a line and let us know what you think of it![Via Hiptop3]
Verizon talks up Chocolate sales figures, compare favorably to iPhone
Sure, a million iPhones in a quarter ain't bad, but Verizon announced this week that the LG Chocolate has racked up 3.4 million phones sold -- an average of 850,000 phones each quarter during the year -- in the last twelve months. Of course, what makes the announcement so intriguing is that a simple music slider from LG has come within earshot of matching the iPhone's numbers, all with a tiny fraction of the fanfare. Don't get us wrong, we're confident that Apple's making its numbers even after factoring in the expense of an Apple-style launch and marketing campaign, but hey -- nice work, LG. Oh, and you too, Verizon.
Sprint wants to dress up cell tower, town says no
As the number of wireless customers grows, carriers must add cell towers to fill in gaps in coverage and dead spots. More often that not, there's a heated debate between local residents and the wireless carrier regarding where to place the cell sites and how to make them as visually unobtrusive as possible. In the small town of Philomont, Virginia, residents have turned down Sprint's offer to build and disguise a local cell site as a 106-foot barn silo. The cell tower was described as "visually obscene" by one of the local residents, suggesting the company instead share a 100-foot flagpole already used by Verizon. Naturally, Sprint's not so keen on the idea, pouting and screaming that it doesn't like to share (actually, they had some excuse about not having access to the best spots on the flagpole because they're already in use) -- but any way you slice it, take note that rural Virginians value their silo-free skyline over extra bars of reception.
Verizon chooses LTE for 4G network, hell freezes over
In a move to standardize two of the largest networks in the world, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have announced that both carriers will move to LTE (Long Term Evolution) for its next-gen networks. Verizon currently uses CDMA technology for voice and mostly EV-DO for data in both Rev. 0 and Rev. A flavors. LTE is the progression path for UMTS carriers like Vodafone -- who coincidentally was looking at WiMAX last month -- to fourth generation networks. LTE will run on an entirely IP based network and has data speeds up to 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. What's Verizon's next move, bringing in executives from Vodafone?
iPhone replacement LCD available, proceed with caution
If you've been unfortunate enough to have broken your iPhone screen and not had it replaced, we have a DIY solution that might (or might not) work for you. Apple has released its OEM LCD screen and digitizer that's available for sale through third party vendors for a cool $150. Fortunately, a handy video is on deck for the daring installer; it details the seven layers of parts needing to be removed for the lengthy replacement to be completed. If anyone is brave enough to try this, drop us a comment and tell us about your repair experience. [Thanks, Robby]
Orange announces city-themed mobiles for the UK market
Looking to add a breath of fresh air in the handset game, Orange has announced that it will launch a line of city-themed mobile phones in time for the Christmas holiday. The first mobile to launch is called the Berlin and is an entry level, rubberized slider sporting 3G. The device is designed for Orange's pay as you go service and is priced to be easy on the pocket book. Since the device will launch as a market exclusive, don't expect to find the device in any Orange markets other than the UK. Look for more geographically-inclined phones to hit the lineup in 2008, some of which will move toward the higher end. Does anyone else think it makes sense that Orange launches phones named after cities in which they don't have service?[Via textually.org]
2008 Olympics inspired phone ready to scare children
At first glance, we're not sure whether CECT designed its cell phone around an Olympic mascot or some sort of cellular voodoo doll. Apparently inspired by 2008 Beijing Olympics mascot Fuwa Huanhuan, the kid-friendly candybar rocks a 1.5 inch screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD expandable memory with a 256MB card, media player, and the requisite assortment of Olympic ringtones, wallpaper, and screen savers. The device will be a Chinese market exclusive, so we can see it being branded as an Olympic collectible and ending up on eBay for enormous amounts of money -- or peanuts. Hard to say.[Via Newlaunches]
Vodafone preps unlimited music download service
As Vodafone prepares for another busy holiday season, it's pulling out all the stops to entice customers to activate service. Starting in November, customers in the United Kingdom can subscribe to unlimited music downloads with no additional data charges for as little as $4.02 per week. They'll have access to over a million songs from four major labels and independents as well. The service being provided by another UK company, Omnifone, which has a similar deal with Telnor of Sweden. The first phone model the service will be available on is Nokia's N95 (8GB) with more handsets to follow before the holidays.[Via mocoNews]
Motorola tightens belt again, changes 3G chip supplier
In an effort to introduce yet more cost saving measures, Motorola has announced that it will change its 3G chipset supplier from Qualcomm to a combination featuring both Texas Instruments and Freescale (a spinoff of Moto, coincidentally). Motorola hopes to achieve lower manufacturing costs while increasing margins for its shareholders by changing chip suppliers away from Qualcomm. We think it might be beneficial for Qualcomm to rethink its royalties game plan starting -- now.