111
Latest
Velocity Mobile's WinMo-powered 111 hits the FCC
Being that Velocity Mobile's 103 just made it through the FCC gauntlet a few months back, we knew the delightful 111 couldn't be too far behind. Sure enough, the Windows Mobile-based smartphone has made its final stop before hitting store shelves in the United States, though we can't say for certain where it'll actually be sold. Also of note, the linked Users Manual is inexplicably corrupt, so we can't say much about the functionality, either. Ah well, it ought to be landing in eager hands soon enough -- we can stand the wait. Maybe.
Hands-on with Velocity Mobile's 103 and 111
It's hard to stand out in the sea of Windows Mobile handsets; no smartphone platform is already more stratified, serves more market segments, and offers more form factors, so where's a new entrant supposed to fit in? Somehow, though, Velocity Mobile manages to do exactly that -- partly through an interesting software strategy, partly through sheer brute force of its first devices' impressive spec sheets. We had a chance to check out both the 103 and 111 models that'll lead off Velocity's production roadmap, and while they don't really look much different than your average high-end WinMo handsets, the flush touchscreens, trackballs, and clean lines all feel great to the touch. We're told that Velocity's slick, finger-friendly, widget-based interface will improve over time; the improvements will be made available to all existing owners, too, so don't let that little fact deter an early purchase.%Gallery-19649%
Coming in iPhone 1.1.1. probably
Eagle-eyed reader Travis (thanks!) went over Engadget's photos of the O2 iPhone announced yesterday morning, and sussed out every little feature and update he saw on their iPhones that current owners don't have. We can only believe that the iPhones shown must have already been updated to 1.1.1, and that US iPhones, via Software Update, will receive these features soon. Now Playing controls everywhere! Double clicking the home screen goes to Favorites or iPod, similar to what the iPod touch can do now. The iTunes WiFi Store (well duh) Closed captioning, and the already leaked support for Video Out. New Calculator icon-- to match the iPod touch as well International keyboards Network setup with VPN support and EDGE disabling A "Carrier" menu, but your guess is as good as ours on that one. This could simply be a European thing, as their rules may not match American regulations. I really don't think AT&T would like to see Apple give the ability to unlock iPhones from their service in the next major software update. Not listed: the disabling of ringtones, and a rollback of all the open source hacks so far. Ha, I'm kidding! Ok, maybe only about 50% kidding. Otherwise, looks like a nice update.
