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Boost Mobile pulling the plug on CDMA promotion January 31, 2009

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The writing was probably on the wall, but no one’s paying close enough attention to what Boost Mobile’s doing to even notice. phonescoop has it that the company famous for pushing its services with giant sized humans uttering one liners such as “yo” and “where u at?” is getting set to slowly (but surely) phase CDMA out of its life. According to company spokesperson Tatum Hawkins: “Boost mobile will still operate, support and service its CDMA-related products, but it will no longer promote them. If customers wish to sign up for CDMA-based services, they may still do so. However, Boost will no longer create new CDMA products and/or services, nor will it add new CDMA phones to its roster of devices.” From here, the firm hopes to focus on “building up the strength of its iDEN-based services and devices,” so from us to you — good luck with that Boost Mobile.


Virgin Mobile Helio Ocean 2 unboxed, scheduled for launch with Britney Spears January 31, 2009

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It looks like the world had better (finally) get ready for Virgin Mobile’s Helio Ocean 2 — not only have unboxing shots of the long-awaited set surfaced today, a Virgin press release hyping the company’s sponsorship of Britney Spears’ Circus tour casually mentions that it’ll be launched alongside Brit’s big comeback. “Select fans” will be given Ocean 2s to capture and share images and videos from each show using the phone’s blogging, email, and social networking features, so we’re guessing that means we’ll be seeing a launch before the tour kicks off in March — and with units out in the wild already, it could be as soon as a couple weeks on February 12. Check all the unboxing shots at the read link — it looks pretty slick, even if it is way late to the game.


Zumba Phone: the Steorn Orbo of cellphones? January 31, 2009

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Ready for this? The BBC is reporting on a “top-secret phone” developed by a 40-person strong ejector-seat technology company — IA Technology — from Hereford England. The Beeb calls it, “the world’s first fully accurate voice recognition system for mobile phones.” A bold claim (to say the least) from seemingly nowhere. The report starts with a dramatic lead-in, “It’s a secret world, much of which we can’t film,” before introducing us to the Zumba phone. A phone so secret that the BBC can’t even show us how it works. They do manage to demonstrate how it’s worn. A retro slug-on-the-ear type earpiece is removed from a thin slab sporting a display and circular dialer reminiscent of Bang & Olufsen fashionphones. The device relies upon a “100% secure” connection to an “Internet portal” (apparently called Zumba Lumba) that holds all your contacts. If the phone is lost or stolen “it is instantly useless to anyone else.” A lot of hype to be sure, especially with plans to deliver the Zumba to shops before Christmas. Hit the read link for the video and let us know what you think.


Bluetooth transfers come to jailbroken iPhones January 29, 2009

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No, no — bluetooth transfers haven’t come to the iPhone natively (um, Apple, are you taking this hint to heart?), but for those courageous enough to jailbreak their handset, you can enjoy the same spoils enjoyed by RAZR owners. It seems the final release has yet to be made public (it’s coming to the iSpazio Repository in short order), but if you’re ready to get your hopes up, a demonstration video is just after the break.


So close, yet so far: Kogan Agora delayed indefinitely January 17, 2009

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Oh, Kogan — we were so, so hopeful that you weren’t peddling vaporware, and the latest indications seemed to suggest that the Agora and Agora Pro were very much real devices. We wanted to root for the little guy, get another android handset out into the unlocked market, review it, and love it to death. Unfortunately, scrappy Australian entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has decided to delay the launch of his independently-designed phones indefinitely citing concerns over compatibility with future Android apps — concerns that were likely raised in a hush-hush meeting he’d recently scored with Google. One issue, it seems, is that the Agora’s screen resolution won’t likely play nice with Android apps going forward; that doesn’t seem quite right since the form factor is totally standard, but who really knows? The dude’s had working prototypes on video, so we can’t totally write it off just yet.


Boost launching $50 unlimited calling / texting plan January 16, 2009

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Hot on the heels of MetroPCS and Leap Wireless’ latest moves to pull in more customers on unlimited plans comes this: yet another unlimited plan, this one from Boost Mobile. Starting on January 22nd, mobile users looking for predictability on their bills can choose a $50 per month plan that allows for unlimited calls and texts. The only glaring omission is data allowance, so those fond of checking eHarmony alerts on the go won’t find much to love here. Not that you’d even want to surf for long on Boost’s iDEN network, anyway.


AT&T-branded E71x relegated to eBay January 12, 2009

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Remember that black AT&T branded E71x we saw some time back? Well, it came and went in an eBay auction yesterday — yeah, we’re kinda bummed we missed it, too — with some lucky soul getting the win for a cool $370. The rumor mill seems to have stopped turning on this one, but we’re really hoping to hear something new soon because the itch is just about killing us.



Microsoft unveils Netflix queue management for Windows Mobile devices January 10, 2009

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Taking a page from i.TV, last night during the Ballmer keynote microsoft announced a Netflix queue management app for Windows Mobile devices. Pick a Watch Instantly movie and it shows right up in your Xbox 360 (or any other Netflix-enabled device’s) viewing queue. PyxisMobile offers similar functionality in its Smartflix program for those who can’t wait until later this month when Microsoft & Netflix’s homegrown version becomes available.


Sharp’s SH810C brings Japanese specs to China January 7, 2009

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When we say “854 x 480 display and an 8-megapixel camera,” what’s the first thought that comes to mind? “Japan,” of course, and history would certain lend credence to that knee-jerk word association. Sharp’s expanding its high-spec horizons just a tad, though, with the SH810C — a 3-inch wide VGA beast with a penchant for high-res snapshots that’s actually going to end up gracing Chinese markets, not Japanese ones. We guess we understand the argument that Asian character sets make WVGA displays an easier sell, but come on now — we’re sure we can find a perfectly great use for ‘em.