The tech blogosphere was abuzz yesterday with the news that Apple seemingly started accepting applications that contain nudity into the App Store. Now, it appears someone over at Cupertino as ultimately decided to reject the first such app to get into the store after all. In our tests, we could still locate the app via the iTunes link, but were unable to purchase it and download it to our devices.

Other applications with the new rating (”Rated 17+ for “Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity.”) could still be downloaded without a problem, so it seems Apple just let ‘Hottest Girls’ slip through the cracks - something we suggested as a possibility yesterday as well - and has now fixed it by blocking it specifically.

So much for the grand opening of the App Store to all things naked (regardless, go have your say in MobileCrunch’s poll on the subject.

Source : www.techcrunch.com

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Facebook for BlackBerry 1.6 is more in line with the iPhone app or, um, the website than the previous version of the app with a more newsfeed-y homepage and a slideshow format for photos, among another new features.

The new goods:

• Status updates and highlights on the home page – you can now view your friends’ most recent status updates right on the home page. Highlights like photo uploads and wall posts are just a click away and you can comment on a photo, poke a friend, etc. right from the home page.

• Wall access from within Facebook for BlackBerry – with one click on your friend’s profile picture from the home page, you can access their wall without having to go to the mobile site.

• Photo viewing in a simple, easy-to-use slideshow format – check out your friends’ latest photo albums with improved photo viewing, and view albums in a simple and easy-to-use slideshow format. Just scroll back and forth through the thumbnails along the bottom to display the larger picture in the center of the screen.

• Facebook for BlackBerry 1.6 will also support three new languages:
1. Thai
2. Indonesian
3. European Portuguese



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The Blackberry Storm is finally usable. Most of our issues with the phone were resolved with the first official Verizon update for the Storm. It’s now a quality phone that’s worthy of the BlackBerry name.

As of Sunday, May 31, the update is available via either directly from the support section of VZW.com or from an OTA download. We downloaded the update over the air yesterday and it took about 2 hours for the 19MB update - the servers were probably running at full capacity. Once it finished downloading and installing, we were instantly pleased.

The phone is finally quick and responsive. The entire system feels noticeably faster. It no longer takes 5-7 seconds for the phone dialing app to load. Even the web browser seems to load pages faster. However, the auto-rotation of the screen still isn’t as quick as we would like it but it’s better than before. We still wish there was a way to disable this entirely though.

Even the camera is quicker. Now, the picture is displayed almost instantly when the shutter button is pressed verses the 5 second lag on the old firmware. Picture quality doesn’t seem upgraded though.

One of the biggest and most welcomed changes however is the new text selection mode. A little box appears around the selected text that can be easily slid one way or the other to modify the selection. Previously, it was a frustrating task to select text for deletion or copy and paste. It took a steady fingernail to select the desired text.

Overall, the update transformed the phone. It took the Storm from one of the worst phones ever made, to a quality BlackBerry. We just wish it hadn’t taken Verizon seven months to update the phone. RIM has issued leaked numerous firmware updates ever since the phone launched that greatly improved the stability, but this is the first one Verizon has picked up. Never mind that, the BlackBerry Storm is finally worth your time and money.


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AT&T's new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone has appeared for sale on AT&T's web site. The device is RIM's lightest and thinnest smartphone to date, and features WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, a high-resolution display and more and significantly less 3G’d BlackBerry Curve 8900.

3G or not, it’s still a solid device. The Curve 8900’s individual-button style keyboard is a whole lot easier to type on the back-to-back buttonry of the Bold. Plus, the Curve 8900 would totally stomp the Bold in a beauty contest. $199 and a 2-year contract and it’s yours.

As we reported earlier this month, customers who sign up for an unlimited data plan with the device will receive free WiFi access at more than 20,000 AT&T WiFi locations.



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Nokia has announced the Nokia 7020, a compact and stylish flip phone that makes use of light, color, and metal finishes to create a sleek and attractive design with a low price point. A hidden external display on the 7020 lights up to display pertinent information when it is tapped twice, or when a call or message is received.

Inside, a vivid 2.2-inch display will show off Nokia's suite of applications, which include Nokia Life Tools, Ovi Share and Ovi Store, Nokia Messaging, Opera Mini browser, and Nokia Maps. Users can enjoy their music collection on the phone or can listen to tunes over the airwaves thanks to the integrated MP3 player and FM radio.

The 7020 fold features a 2 megapixel camera, and users are able to save their multimedia files to an external microSD card. It's easy to connect with friends on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, which are bookmarked on the device. The 7020 offers up to 15 days of standby time and offers an estimated 4.5 hours of talk-time.

The Nokia 7020 flip phone will cost an roughly 90 EUR (US$122) and is expected to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com/

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Love it or hate it, the BlackBerry Storm is getting a followup. This thing has been spending a whole lot of time around the rumor mill as of late, and now it’s made its on-camera debut.

CrackBerry managed to obtain a handful of shots, and it’s looking pretty sharp so far. Not much to go off of spec-wise here, though the pics do confirm that the Storm 2 will sport the same 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera found in the original, along with a ton of polish around the edges. It looks like RIM has opted to drop the physical face buttons in favor of touch-sensitive keys.

So, what do you think, current model Storm owners? Does the sequel seem droolworthy yet?

Source : http://www.mobilecrunch.com


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Gesture controls for phones (or any other gadgets) sound like a great idea on paper. “Wow,” you think, “I can shake my phone to change the song! That’s so convenient!”

So you get your phone, you load your songs, and you shake. Shake. New song! Shake. New song! A day or two goes by, and it hits you like a breakdancer’s foot to the face: you can shake your phone around and make everyone around you think you’ve got a twitch - or you could just press the “Next” button.

Speaking of gesture controlled phones, Motorola just announced one. The Motorola W7 Active Edition lets you shake, flip, and tilt your way to the realization of futility. They’ve given it a health twist, adding a pedometer and a “Personal Trainer” application, two more things likely to see use for 2-3 days. It’s like a mobile Wii Fit.

As for things that will see regular use, it’s also got 3G, FM Radio, and dual cameras. The W7 will hit the shelves in Asia and Latin America next month at an unknown price.


Source : http://www.mobilecrunch.com



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We learned the other day from a slightly shady-looking leaked document that the second version of the G1 will be hitting T-Mo some time in the fall. Believable, but the picture for the phone looked all wrong — a little too Ocean-y for us (though we love that phone) [Greg says: I was totally right about the G1v2 image in that document being a fake placeholder]. But BGR appears to have unearthed a picture of the real thing, and it looks a lot more likely to us.

The very HTC-like keyboard (you can tell from the width of the keys), obscured as it is, looks nice, and you can barely tell but there are three touch-buttons at the bottom, possibly with placeholder icons on them. BGR has graciously put their watermark directly over them, but you can see they’re a bit anonymous and probably not final. After all, the “home” and “back” functionality are integral to Android and I doubt they’d use such arbitrary designs to represent them. So we don’t see this as a final design but it’s certainly more slick-looking than its predecessor.

It seems that Bigfoot will be dropping in October at Wal-Mart for just under $150 with a 2-year contract, and probably similar terms directly from T-Mobile. I’m sure we’ll learn more before then, so we’ll keep our eyes open.

Source : http://www.mobilecrunch.com



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Another day of WES2009, another day of BlackBerry news. This morning brings an announcement from LogMeIn, makers of the remote desktop access software of the same name. For those unfamiliar with the concept, LogMeIn allows you to control a Windows or Mac computer from another terminal across the internet. Previously, the term “terminal” here was limited to meaning any PC or system with an up-to-snuff browser. As of December, the launch of LogMeIn Ignition expanded it to include the iPhone. This morning, LogMeIn is announcing that they’ll soon be throwing the BlackBerry Storm into the mix as well.

The application isn’t ready to go just yet, but they’ve got an alpha release of it on display on the WES2009 showroom floor. Pricing info has not be disclosed thus far, but I’d imagine that it’ll go for something around the same price as the iPhone release: thirty bucks.


The notable features:

* No firewall configuration necessary: This is LogMeIn’s primary strength over VNC and other widely available solutions - it’s dead simple, even for the technically useless. No router configuration is necessary, nor do you need a static IP.
* Touch Screen Navigation/Keyboard: Zoom In/Out and pan around with the touchscreen, with full onscreen keyboard support
* 256-bit SSL encryption
* “My Computers” list: No remembering IPs - just tap to log in.

We haven’t had the opportunity to check out the new Storm app yet, but I can’t say I’ve had the best of luck with the iPhone version. I run a dual monitor set up, which LogMeIn supports. Unfortunately, one of my monitors runs at a fairly high resolution. Unless I unplug that monitor first, LogMeIn Ignition curls up and starts to cry as soon as I connect, claiming limited memory as the blame. Oh well - hopefully such setups fair a bit better on the Storm.

The LogMeIn alpha is currently private, but folks interested in getting beta access can check out www.LogMeIn.com/StormPreview.

Source : http://www.mobilecrunch.com/



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Google has released two nifty applications for Google Latitude, a feature launched through Google Mobile Maps that allows you to broadcast your location to select friends, family, and colleagues based on the coordinates of your cell phone (via GPS or otherwise). Google says that since Latitude’s launch, users expressed interest in sharing their location with people who are not their Latitude friends. The two apps rolled out today allow users to do this.

Google Talk location status automatically updates your Google Talk or Gmail chat status message with your Latitude location. The application will automatically update your status message to your current city as you move, and anyone who can chat with you will be able to see this location status. Your current city is shared with all of your Google Talk or Gmail Chat contacts even if you hide from certain “friends” in Google Latitude.


The Google Public Location Badge lets you publish your Latitude location on your blog or website via your mobile phone. You can choose to show just the city that you are in or you can have your device’s location detected automatically, using GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell tower ID, which provides a more specific location. Here’s an example of what a badge looks like embedded in a blog. For your privacy, you may choose to share your best available location or share only your city-level location.

Before these apps, there was no way to broadcast your location to the public at large via Latitude, only to your own Gmail contacts through the Latitude feature. Now you can publicize your location more broadly via Gmail Chat and your blog. Of course there are privacy concerns with publicly sharing your location at all times, but it is already happening and public geo-broadcasting will only become more popular over time. There are upsides to using location-based services to find friends or contacts-or even purse-snatchers- and other services have caught on to this rising trend, including Loopt, FourSquare, and Whrrl.

Source : http://www.techcrunch.com



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Several applications have been announced for BlackBerry smartphones including a mobile television application, a slick Twitter application and an app that allows Storm users to log-in to their PCs remotely.

Boy Genius Report has released TweetGenius, a Twitter application that according to EngadgetMobile, has set the bar for Twitter applications and apps in general on BlackBerry smartphones. It is available for $5 for BlackBerry Bold and 8900 devices.


Popular remote access software company LogMeIn has announced LogMeIn Ignition for BlackBerry Storm smartphones. The application allows users to access Windows and Mac-based computers over-the-air on Storm devices. Users can preview and pre-order the software at LogMeIn.com.

Last, QuickPlay Media has announced PrimeTime2Go, an application that will allow BlackBerry smartphone users to watch full-length television shows and a variety of channels including Lost, The Office, Top Chef, Monk, and more. The service will cost $8 per month and is available in BlackBerry Apps World.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com



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The 2009 Wireless Enterprise Symposium for BlackBerry Users hasn’t even officially started yet, but news from the event has already started making its way out. The BlackBerry Partners Fund has just announced their second annual BlackBerry Developers Challenge, offering up a hefty cash prize to the developer who brings the best BlackBerry app and business plan to the table.

The contest is similar to last years, though the prizes and focus have changed. Where as entries into the last event were split amongst 5 categories (Games, Multimedia, Productivity, Web, and Enterprise), it seems that all of this year’s entries will be competing against each other regardless of category. The winner will be selected based on “both the application submitted and its supporting business plan.”


Last year’s winners (Poynt by Multiplied Media, Nobex Radio Companion by Nobex Technologies, and Strands Social Player by Strands Inc) got the opportunity to pitch their application to the BlackBerry Partners Fund for up to $150,000 in investment opportunities. This time around, one winner will take home $25,000 cash and a package worth $25,000 including mentoring sessions with RIM, BlackBerry Partner Fund investment opportunities, and an Alliance membership. Additionally, this year’s challenge will have 1 runner up who takes home $10,000 in cash.

More contest rules and details will be revealed when submissions open up on June 1st, 2009. The winner will be announced at the BlackBerry Developers Conference in November. Anyone with a working BlackBerry application can enter, as long as they’ve received no more than $1 million of outside investment.

Source : http://www.mobilecrunch.com



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