An iPhone security flaw has been found which can allow other people to bypass the built-in passcode protection, which is supposed to lock your iPhone away from prying eyes. The trick to bypass the lock is simple enough, which just involves a couple of taps on the iPhone, which might hint that it was supposed to be a feature, not a bug. Once the security has been bypassed, the intruder will be able to access your contacts list, SMS, mail, and even Safari. Apple has supposedly been notified of this security flaw, and a fix for it should be issued in a future firmware update. Until an official fix is found, user’s can prevent this by setting their “Home Button” double-click preference to “Home” or “iPod”, instead of the default, which is “iPhone Favorites”.
If you’re prone to damaging your phone due to silly mistakes, you probably will want to check out Samsung’s a837, which is able to take more of a beating than most phones. The a837 look set to compete with Verizon’s Casio G’zOne. This phone should be available for around $99 to $150 on September 15th, though it’s rumored that pre-orders can be made on September 1st. Specs of the phone include:
Sony’s CEO, Howard Stringer is reported to have said: “It's certainly been a difficult year but buying out a partner is never an easy thing" in response to questions about possibly ending the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Stringer has said that the Sony Ericsson joint venture must perform better.” While this isn’t any indication that the Sony Ericsson joint venture is going through a crisis, but it does indicate that they need to buck up soon, especially if they want to keep everyone happy.
The U.S. based Mobile Marketing Association has declared that unsolicited Bluetooth spam is OK, based on its published guidelines. The reason is that devices which are left “discoverable” are opting to receive pushed advertisements. The UK’s Direct Market Association thinks otherwise, and believes that consumers should consciously decide to opt-in to receiving advertisements before they are sent any. Either way, if you’re not fond of Bluetooth spam, the best way to avoid it at the moment will be to disable your phone’s “discoverable” option.
If you’re trying to kick the smoking habit, you’ll definitely want to stay away from this cigarette pack shaped headset. It’s designed for phones from Nokia, Samsung or Sony Ericsson, so at least you’ll be able to use it across a variety of phones (provided you have that many). It seems the price of novelty is $6.79.
Textually.org has mentioned that cell phone operators in Zimbabwe have increased their prices by an insane 1000%, as the country’s inflation starts to get out of control. Under the new rates, sending an SMS locally will cost somewhere between $5 to $7, which is crazy enough, and it gets worse, as sending an SMS internationally costs about $12 to $20.
The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK isn’t too impressed with one of Apple’s iPhone adverts, specifically the one that claims “all parts of the internet are on the iPhone”, even though the iPhone does not support Flash or Java, which are important parts of the Internet. Apple has argued that the claim referred to the availability of web pages, rather than their specific appearance.
The ruling states: “We noted Apples argument that the ad was about site availability rather than technical detail, but considered that the claims “You’ll never know which part of the internet youll need” and “all parts of the internet are on the iPhone” implied users would be able to access all websites and see them in their entirety. We considered that, because the ad had not explained the limitations, viewers were likely to expect to be able to see all the content on a website normally accessible through a PC rather than just having the ability to reach the website.”
While Nokia’s 6650 hasn’t been officially announced for AT&T yet, users have spotted pictures of the phone plastered with the AT&T logo on Nokia’s site, though it seems that the page is no longer valid. That being the case, it’s probably a rather good indication that AT&T subscribers will be able to get their hands on Nokia's 6650 flip phone in either silver or red. Specs of the phone include:
Windows Mobile 6.1 looks like it’s making its way to Windows Mobile powered phones all around, and next up in line is Verizon’s XV6800. The latest ROM for the XV6800 adds the usual benefits of Windows Mobile 6.1, such as threaded SMS, better battery life and some others. The bad news is that Verizon still insists on keeping the GPS functionality locked down, so you won’t be able to use any 3rd party navigation apps.
Sometimes there is good news, and sometimes there is bad news, this isn’t good news. Boy Genius is currently reporting that Canadian carrier Telus will be adjusting those “unlimited” data plans that they offered to users, changing it from the original $75 for “unlimited data” plan to a $65 1GB package. So it looks like they’re going back to ripping customers off for data in terms of Canadian carriers. Hopefully customers can complain about this enough so that they change their minds.
The whole visual voicemail thing is cool for end users and all, but manufacturers are carriers that are implementing it might be in hot water. The patent holding firm, Klausner Technologies is currently going after Verizon and LG, probably because LG’s voyager has visual voicemail software on it. Seeing that they’ve already got to Apple, it looks like Verizon and LG might be in a bit of a fix.
A quick glance at what should be LG’s upcoming LX600, and most people would think somebody accidently stretched the picture sideways, but no, that’s the actual picture of the phone. This rather wide looking flip phone has a 2.4-inch display and a full QWERTY keyboard. There isn’t any additional information at the moment, aside that it rumored to be released on October 16th, so keep your eyes peeled, especially if you like weird shaped phones.
