iPhone 2G, Firmware 3.1.2(7D11) and Pwnage 3.1.4

It's been a while since I've played with the PwnageTool (almost 6 months since I've upgraded to a contracted iPhone 3G account). My old iPhone 2G has been kept around just as a glorified iPod Touch. That said, I do miss having Copy and Paste on this old iPhone as well as starting to feel left out when new app updates require firmware 3.0+.

Reading the latest updates from the awesome iPhone Dev team, looks like Pwnage 3.1.4 for Mac is rocking out and pwn'ing the latest 3.1.2 firmware with ease. According to their blog post, previously unlocked iPhones doesn't even have to enter the dreaded DFU mode.

I simply grabbed the Pwnage tool 3.1.4 and build a custom firmware based on the latest 3.1.2 (7D11) for the original iPhone (2G) and Option-Restored the custom firmware within iTunes onto my iPhone. Since I am not using this iPhone any longer for phone calls or data plan, so long as it has the latest firmware and supports a few apps here and there, its good enough for me. Again, this old iPhone is not functioning as a basic iPod Touch for me.

OpenTable Seats 1 Million Mobile Reservations!

Wow, the folks at OpenTable must have hit it off big with their mobile initiative. I've been told that they've been able to seat 1 million mobile reservations through mobile web, iPhone/Palm/BlackBerry/Android applications. Based on an average check of $50 per meal, we can back that number into $50M for the 11,000 restaurants who participate in the OpenTable network. Impressive!

Review: ifrogz Timbre Headphones w/ Mic

(Update: I stand corrected. This remote has built in control in the mic module to let you "play/pause" or "receive/end" calls. The button is not really defined but definitely is there. This makes the headphones an extremely good value.)

I mentioned in the past that there has been a shortage of affordable, decent sounding stereo headphones with integrated microphone, folks at ifrogz has answered my call with a series of affordable and high quality headphones with high definition microphone. In this post, I'll cover the Timbre (MSRP $49), a set of noise isolating ear buds for your iPhone or BlackBerry.

Quality: The Timbre headphones is aptly named after its usage of a natural wood ear bud chamber (see pic) which covers the sound range between 20Hz to 20KHz beautifully. As far as sound quality goes, I'd say they are some of the best and will give my all time favor V Moda headsets a decent run for the money. I tried out a number of songs ranging from soft rock to hip pop and the sound just comes through very naturally hitting both ends of the frequency spectrum. The ear buds felt light and sits comfortably in my ears with three different sizes I can change to. I wonder if this is a result of using wood as its ear bud chamber. Test phone calls are loud and clear for both ends so this headphones is definitely a quality piece.

Construction: The Timbre is not flashy, aside from the wooden chambers and some use of aluminum that reinforces important joints, the rest of the headphone is conservative and black is the common denominator. The 3.5mm jack is thin enough to work with iPhones of all generations and some BlackBerry models. Where I can think improvements can be made is upgrading its rubber cords to some type of fabric based like some of the premium headphones out there. Also I wished the microphone would include some basic control/remote function to receive/end calls or play/pause iPod operations.

All together, I think ifrogz Timbre is a very good headset. Its definitely going to meet the demands of those iPhone or iPod Touch owners looking for quality headphones w/ mic without a hefty price tag.

Review: Griffin Elan Form Etch for the Artist in you

Griffin Elan Form line of iPhone 3G/3GS case has been around the block ever since its original introduction and we've had a few reviews here and there. The latest edition is known as the Elan Form Etch which is composed of six different graphics laser etched on to the back of its leather hardshell. Still utilizing the same trademarked EasyDock design as many Griffin cases. The Elan Form Etch adds a bit of a flair to the creative personalities of its users. The review sample I received is called the Solstice. With the white leather as its background, it ties together nicely with my wife's white iPhone 3G. As with any Elan Form products, my general feedback is that the luxurious leather finish may be a little slippery if you intend to keep this in the side pockets of your pants especially if you are commuting in a plane or train over a long period of time.

Forensic Science Regulator Report

Forensic Science Regulator Report.Did you read this document from the Forensic Science Regulator dated July 2009?.Online Google Document:http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:byViwdsmrFQJ:police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/practitioner-reg-summary%3Fview%3DBinary+Practitioner+Registration+Consultation+Responses+Summary&hl=en&gl=uk&sig=AFQjCNF-6wcm-lxTM8_

A web guy and a telecom guy talk about net neutrality

It was a nondescript bar in the American Midwest, the sort of place where working men drop in at the end of the day to unwind before they head home. You wouldn't expect to find two senior business executives there, and as I sat in the empty bar at midday I wondered if maybe my contact had given me a bad lead. But then the door opened and a general manager from one of the leading web companies walked in, followed by a senior VP from one of the US's biggest mobile network operators. I hunched down in the shadows of a corner booth and typed notes quietly as they settled in at the bar.

Bartender: What'll you have?

Telecom executive: Michelob Light.

Web executive: I'll have a Sierra Nevada Kellerweis.

Bartender: Keller-what?

Web executive: Um, Michelob Light.

Telecom executive: Thanks for coming. Did you have any trouble finding the place?

Web executive: All I can say is thank God for GPS. I've never even been on the ground before between Denver and New York.

Telecom executive: I wanted to find someplace nondescript, so we wouldn't be seen together. The pressure from the FCC is bad enough already, without someone accusing us of colluding.

Web executive: No worries, my staff thinks I'm paragliding in Mexico this weekend. What's your cover story?

Telecom executive: Sailboat off Montauk.

Web executive: Sweet. So, you wanted to talk about this data capacity problem you have on your network...

Telecom executive: No, it's a data capacity problem we all have. Your websites are flooding our network with trivia. The world's wireless infrastructure is on the verge of collapse because your users have nothing better to do all day than watch videos of a drunk guy buying beer.

Web executive: Welcome to the Internet. The people rule. If you didn't want to play, you shouldn't have run the ads. Remember the promises you made? "Instantly download files. Browse the Web just like at home. Stream HD videos. Laugh at an online video or movie trailer while travelling in the family car."

Telecom executive: That was our marketing guys. They don't always talk to the capacity planners. Besides, who could have known that the marketing campaign would actually work?

Web executive: Don't look at me. I've never done a marketing campaign in my life. I think you should just blame it on A--

Telecom executive: You promised, no using the A-word.

Web executive: Sorry. But I still don't see why this is a problem. Just add some more towers and servers and stuff.

Telecom executive: It's not that simple. The network isn't designed to handle this sort of data, and especially not at these volumes. Right now our biggest problem is backhaul capacity -- the traffic coming from the cell towers to our central servers. But when we fix that, the cell towers themselves will get saturated. Fix the towers and the servers will fall over somewhere. It's like squeezing a balloon. We have to rebuild the whole network. It's incredibly expensive.

Web executive: So? That's what your users pay you for.

Telecom executive: But most of them are on fixed-rate data plans. So when we add capacity, we don't necessarily get additional revenue. It's all expense and no profit. At some point in the not-too-distant future, we'll end up losing money on mobile data.

Web executive: Bummer.

Telecom executive: More like mortal threat. Fortunately, we've figured out how to solve the problem. The top five percent of our users produce about 50% of the network's total traffic. So we're just going to cap their accounts and charge more when they go over.

Web executive: Woah! Hold on, those are our most important customers you're talking about. You can't just shut them down.

Telecom executive: The hell we can't. They're leeches using up the network capacity that everyone else needs.

Web executive: Consumers will never let you impose caps. You told them they had unlimited data plans, that's the expectation you set. You can't go back now and tell them that their plans are limited. They won't understand -- and they won't forgive you.

Telecom executive: First of all, the plans were never really unlimited in the first place. There's always been fine print.

Web executive: Which no one read.

Telecom executive: Off the record, you may have a point. On the record, the fact is that you can retrain users. Look, you grew up in California, right?

Web executive: What does that have to do with anything?

Telecom executive: Once upon a time, there weren't any water meters in California. Now most of the major cities have them, and they'll be required everywhere in a couple of years. Something that was once unlimited became limited, and people learned to conserve.

Web executive: The difference is, I can read my water meter. You make a ton of money when people exceed their minutes or message limits, and you don't warn them before they do it. If you play the same game with Internet traffic, it'll scare people away from using the mobile web -- or worse yet you'll invite in the government. Look what happened with roaming charges in Europe.

Telecom executive: Jeez, don't even think about that. Okay, so we'll need to add some sort of traffic meter so people will know how much data they're using when they load a page.

Web executive: Great, that'll discourage people from using Yahoo.

Telecom executive: Huh?

Web executive: Oops, did I say that out loud?

Telecom executive: Then there's the issue of dealing with websites and apps that misuse the network.

Web executive: Not this again.

Telecom executive: I'm not talking about completely blocking anything, just prioritizing the traffic a little. Surely you agree that 911 calls should get top priority on the network, right?

Web executive: Of course.

Telecom executive: And that voice calls should take priority over data?

Web executive: I don't know about that.

Telecom executive: Oh come on, what good is a telecom network if you can't make calls on it?

Web executive: (sighs) Yeah, okay.

Telecom executive: So then what's wrong with us prioritizing, say, e-mail delivery over video?

Web executive: Because when you start arbitrarily throttling traffic, I can't manage the user experience. My website will work great on Vodafone's network but not on yours, or my site will work fine on some days and not on others. How do you think the customers will feel about that?

Telecom executive: Not as angry as they will be if the entire network falls over. Listen, we're already installing the software to prioritize different sorts of data packets. We could be throttling traffic today and you wouldn't even know it.

Web executive: But people will eventually figure it out. They'll compare notes on which networks work best and they'll migrate to the ones that don't mess with their applications. Heck, we'll help them figure it out. And if that's not enough, there's always the regulatory option. The Republicans are out of office. They can't protect you on net neutrality any more.

Telecom executive: You think you're better at lobbying the government than we are? We've been doing it for 100 years, pal. Besides, we have a right to protect our network.

Web executive: You mean to protect your own services from competition!

Telecom executive: Parasite!

Web executive: Monopolist!

Telecom executive: That's it! It's go time!

They both stood. The telecom guy grabbed a beer bottle and broke it against the bar, while the web guy raised a bar stool over his head. Then the bartender pulled out a shotgun and pointed it at both of them.

Bartender: Enough! I'm sick of listening to you two. Telecom guy, you're crazy if you think people will put up with someone telling them what they can and can't do on the Internet. The Chinese government can't make that stick, and unlike them you have competitors.

Web executive: See? I told you!

Bartender: Shut up, web guy! You keep pretending that the wireless network is infinite when you know it isn't. If you really think user experience is important, you need to start taking the capabilities of the network into account when you design your apps.

Web executive: Hey, he started it.

Telecom executive: I did not!

Bartender: I don't care who started it! Telecom guy, you need to expose some APIs that will let a website know how much capacity is available at a particular moment, so they can adjust their products. And web guy, you need to participate in those standards and use them. Plus you both need to agree on ways to communicate to a user how much bandwidth they're using, so they can make their own decisions on which apps they want to use. That plus tiered pricing will solve your whole problem.

Telecom executive: Signaling capacity too. Don't forget signaling.

Bartender: That's exactly the sort of detail you shouldn't confuse users with. Work it out between yourselves and figure out a simple way to communicate it to users. Okay?

Web executive: I guess.

Telecom executive: Yeah, okay.

Bartender. Good. Now sit down and start over by talking about something you can cooperate on.

Telecom executive: All right. Hey, what's that guy doing in the corner? Is that a netbook?

Web executive: He's a blogger!

Bartender: There's no blogging allowed in here!

Telecom executive and web executive: Get him!

I ran. Fortunately, the bar had a back door. Even more fortunately, the web guy and the telecom guy got into an argument over who would go through the door first, and I was able to make my escape.

So I don't know how the conversation ended. But I do know that I wish that bartender was running the FCC.

ICCI 2010

International Conference for Communications Interception 2010

Google Maps Navigation on Android 2.0 Kicks Ass

Its news like this that really excites me and makes me proud of being part of the mobile community. It turns out Verizon/Moto's upcoming Droid phone will be the first to feature Android 2.0 OS update which will provide a full on GPS navigation with 3D street view as you get closer to your destination. This is huge because telecoms usually like to offer turn by turn GPS as a feature but this one seems to be purely based on the smartphone's capabilities and data plan. These are the kind of warm and fuzzy feeling I used to get when learning about new iPhone features... could I be more certain that Android is going win the mobile war?

More info at PC World
More info at Washington Post
More info at Engadget (w/ video)

Review: Otterbox Defender for iPhone 3G, 3GS

If you are searching for the toughest protection in the world for your precious iPhone 3G or 3GS, look no further than the Otterbox Defender series cases (also available for iPods, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Samsung phones). This monster of a case is menacing just by looking at it! The case itself w/o the belt clip (included) is almost 1" in thickness (0.8" to be precise). Take a look at the comparison photo I took showcasing its bulk next to the Griffin Outfit case (left) I reviewed yesterday, this thing is not kidding around.

Construction: All that thickness didn't come without a reason; the case comes with in total three components with four pieces of parts. The inner hard-shell case is composed of two halves (front bezel and back casing) which provides a very strong foundation for your iPhone; it even includes a built in LCD protector that doesn't need to be applied separately. The outer rubberized case adds more protection and acts as a reinforcer to hold the inner casing together snugly as well as plug out just about every port on the phone. Finally there is a polycarbonate belt clip which tops the entire package off. The end result is a massive case that is ruggedized for a very active person.

User feedback: With your iPhone 3G or 3GS enclosed in the Otterbox Defender, it looks like it belongs right next to a Panasonic Toughbook riding inside a military spec Humvee. The sheer size of this case is impressive not to mention how solid your iPhone feels in your palm. For some reason, I don't feel like the ladies would be drawn to this case and for that matter, the added thickness may not chime well with urban/artistic types. If you are a hardcore traveler or take your iPhone outdoors in some tough terrains, I can see this case paying dividends.

Conclusion: Overall, the Otterbox Defender case is built with high quality engineering and is probably the toughest protection available to date. At $49 MSRP (Amazon $29), this case is here to serve the needs of people who demand the highest form of protection to their prized iPhone. If you want a solid case without going to this level of committment, checkout Otterbox's new Commuter series (my review here).

Sony Aino, Unlocked, PS3 Connected and Kinda Cool!

Sony Aino is released into the wild today, unlocked at Sonystyle.com for a cool $600. If you study its slick Flash-based user-interface, you'd probably think it looks very familiar to your PS3; that is because this little multimedia powerhouse is intended to stream content right off of your PS3's remote play function and to my understanding it will do so via WiFi and 3G data.

I dare say that this phone is not powered by Windows Mobile and if I have to guess, I'd say its running on some iteration of Symbian OS (much similar to the Nokia N series, possibly 5th edition). It is packed with a meager 55MB internal memory but does include an 8GB microSDHC to compensate that department. Where it more than makes up for is the massive 8MP camera that also supports 30fps video recording over a gorgeous 3" 240x432 touchscreen LCD screen. If that is not enough, this little slider powerhouse has a real keyboard (non-QWERTY) and comes with WiFi, 3G HSDPA, AGPS and FM radio w/ RDS support. The only part that concerns me is the anemic 1000mAh battery which makes me question how long will it support all the hardcore actions this phone will experience (full spec from GSM Arena).

This phone looks pretty amazing from my standpoint, I'll try to arrange a demo to see if it really lives up to its gorgeous image, stay tuned!

Mobile Marketing Showcase: Sprint-bCODE-Screenvision

If you live nearby a Screenvision theater and happen to be a Sprint customer, here is a little something to brighten up your day. Simply text "Sprint" to 22633 (or bCODE), you'll receive a discount text message that can be redeemed at one of the kiosks in the theater for various promotions (upgrades to popcorn for example).

Whats kind of interesting here is the appliance produced by bCODE known as MediaPlane 220 (video demo here). It acts as the translation medium to scan a digital coupon (via SMS) into a paper coupon for redemption. In this partnership, Sprint is providing a value-added service to its customer base while mutually benefiting Screenvision theaters as well as pushing the mobile marketing envelope with bCODE all at the same time. If you run a marketing service for a large retail company with multiple locations, this is something worthy of consideration.

At time of writing, there should be 500 Screenvision theaters fitted with this service (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Houston and Dallas). This number should reach to 900 by 2010.

Get your Garmin nuvifone for $99 at Amazon

Source: Engadget

Amazon is probably one of my favorite location to find smartphone deals (locked or unlocked). Here we have Garmin's GPS nuvifone down to $99 with a new contract. If you've been holding out for a GPS phone, here is your chance.

Is the $99 worthy of this phone, you'll have to be the judge on that one.

Philips V808 Newest Full touchscreen phone



Philips is not a very famous mobile phone maker, but they have launched several phone models. also this is their 2nd full touchscreen phone. Philips V808 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen with an Accelerometer sensor. but unfortunately 3G is not available in this phone.
also Philips V808 has 30MB internal memory and supports up to 8GB memory cards. also the very special thing is this phone runs with a Google Android-based OPhone OS. it has a 3.15MP camera which supports 2048x1536 pixels maximum picture resolution.
Philips V808 has a GPS receiver with google maps. and it has a very good media player which supports many video formats.

Review: Griffin Outfit Case for iPhone 3G/GS

If you are looking for a plain and reliable iPhone 3G or 3GS case by a reliable case maker, I think the new Griffin Outfit (MSRP: $25) is probably a good choice that comes in two colors. This hard shell case uses the popular easy dock design (so you can pull the bottom portion out for quick docking) and has an extreme minimalist design.

The case I received is a dark gray/black that is somewhat translucent. The entire polycarbonate shell is finished with a rubber-like texture to provide maximum grip and minimal finger prints. This means the phone will stay in your pants pocket more so than not having the case on; in some cases I find the extra grip makes it a little difficult to put into my pocket. With a case like this one, you are not going to catch anyone's attention, its a utilitarian piece which is a pretty good trait. I find the case complements the my iPhone 3G nicely.

One thing you'll notice with Griffin's new packaging is that they are more environmentally friendly (paper outer box instead of plastic). I do miss, however, the cleaning cloth and screen protector film that used to come with all Griffin cases. Essentially, when you buy the new Griffin Outfit case, the case is all you get.


Announcing Android 2.0 support in the SDK!

I am excited to announce that the Android SDK now supports Android 2.0 (also known as Eclair).

Android 2.0 brings new developer APIs for sync, Bluetooth, and a few other areas. Using the new sync, account manager and contacts APIs, you can write applications to enable users to sync their devices to various contact sources. You can also give users a faster way to communicate with others by embedding Quick Contact within your application. With the new Bluetooth API, you can now easily add peer-to-peer connectivity or gaming to your applications. To get a more complete list of the new capabilities you can add to your applications, please go to the Android 2.0 highlights page.

Current developers can use the SDK Manager to add Android 2.0 support to their SDK as well as update their SDK Tools to revision 3. New developers can download the Android SDK from the download site. After the download, Android platforms must be added using the SDK Manager

The SDK Manager allows you to add new Android platforms to your SDK.

Android SDK Tools, revision 3 is required to develop for Android 2.0. It includes support for code coverage through the Ant build system, as well as Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) support for the SDK and related tools. For those of you who develop using Eclipse, we are releasing ADT version 0.9.4 through the usual Eclipse update mechanism.

Over the next few months, we expect to see more and more Android devices being released. These devices will be running Android 1.5, 1.6, or 2.0. We are also planning a minor version update of Android 2.0 towards the end of the year, and that will be the last update for 2009. Below are some of the things you can do to be better prepared:

  • Download the Android 2.0 platform and make sure your existing apps continue to work on new devices running Android 2.0.

  • Make sure that your apps work when using the WVGA (800x480) & FWVGA (854x480) emulator skins. We expect devices with these types of screen, running Android 2.0 to be launched soon.

Checkout the video below for more information about Android 2.0.


100,000 reach trewmte blogspot

100,000 reach trewmte blogspot.Three years after trewmte.blogspot was launched and today it has reached over 100,000 visitors. For a small, but hopefully helpful and informative blog on mobile telephone evidence and forensics, amongst a sea of websites and blogs on the world wide web, it reminds us all of what is possible from being on the web, but also the amazing library of information that is

The power of the unexpected

We're all naturally curious beings, but our day to day lives often get stuck in predictable routines that can dull our minds. And what's a great way to wake up our curiosity? The unexpected. Something that makes us pause and wonder, something that requires us to reconsider what we know about the world.

Like the company that added the ability to hear a duck quack when calling their toll-free number. Or The Fun Theory initiative, which among others included the world's deepest bin to motivate people to throw garbage into the trash bin. Take a look below and pay attention to people's reactions.



I love this example because it shows a lot of people inspecting the bin, trying to figure out how it works.

And that makes me wonder why is there so little of such wonder in our schools? The place, where such behavior should be expected; the people in the video above show a very clear desire to understand the bin, to learn why it behaves in an unexpected way. Do our students have such a desire to learn in our schools? And if not, what can we do to bring the unexpected and the wonder in our schools?

Motorola WX180 cheap and very simple phone


this is a very new Motorola phone but it's a very simple and cheap phone. Motorola WX180 has very necessary features only. it has a 1.5 inch colour display. also the design of this mobile phone is suitable for rough usage.
keypad made with a flexible rubber material and keys are not separated. also Motorola WX180 has a 500 entries phone book and a good FM radio with RDS. the good thing of these simple phones is their battery life. Motorola WX180 has very good talk and standby time, you can use it even without charging for a week!

Android Android Android

Google's Android OS for smartphones is finally getting ready for a full blast. You can now consider T-Mobile's G1 and MyTouch3G as a soft launch pad as Verizon's involvement and some heavy hitting manufactures are lining up with some big hits to come: (lots of links, you've been warned!)

Verizon: Incase you've been hiding in a cave somewhere, the whole "Droid" campaign is really a whole series of Android phones that is about to arrive. You've got atleast two phones in the "Droid" series Sholes by Motorola and Eris (aka HTC Desire) coming very soon. Lets not forget Sprint has got a set or two running Android while old T-Mobile will be up to its third Android handset (G1, MyTouch3G and Pulse) and a limited edition MyTouch3G Fender edition w/ 3.5mm headphone jack!

Motorola's entire survival strategy is pegged against mobile. You've got: Sholes, Zeppelin, Cliq, Motus?, Calgary, and Morrison.

HTC is of course no slouch with its smartphone efforts, already with G1, Hero, Tattoo, Hero (Sprint version) and MyTouch3G out and about, they've got Eris, Desire, Dragon, Pulse and probably a whole lot more coming your way.

Samsung is not going to hold back either, with i7500/Galaxy, Behold II, and Moment added to its lineup.

Asus will launch an Android phone before the year is over while Sony's rumored Xperia X3 will also be running Android. Acer decides to join the Android party with Liquid.

Remember that old prediction I've made about Google Android to dominate mobile space, looks like its happening right before us!

UI framework changes in Android 1.6

Android 1.6 introduces numerous enhancements and bug fixes in the UI framework. Today, I'd like to highlight three two improvements in particular.

Optimized drawing

The UI toolkit introduced in Android 1.6 is aware of which views are opaque and can use this information to avoid drawing views that the user will not be able to see. Before Android 1.6, the UI toolkit would sometimes perform unnecessary operations by drawing a window background when it was obscured by a full-screen opaque view. A workaround was available to avoid this, but the technique was limited and required work on your part. With Android 1.6, the UI toolkit determines whether a view is opaque by simply querying the opacity of the background drawable. If you know that your view is going to be opaque but that information does not depend on the background drawable, you can simply override the method called isOpaque():

@Override
public boolean isOpaque() {
return true;
}

The value returned by isOpaque() does not have to be constant and can change at any time. For instance, the implementation of ListView in Android 1.6 indicates that a list is opaque only when the user is scrolling it.

Updated: Our apologies—we spoke to soon about isOpaque(). It will be available in a future update to the Android platform.

More flexible, more robust RelativeLayout

RelativeLayout is the most versatile layout offered by the Android UI toolkit and can be successfully used to reduce the number of views created by your applications. This layout used to suffer from various bugs and limitations, sometimes making it difficult to use without having some knowledge of its implementation. To make your life easier, Android 1.6 comes with a revamped RelativeLayout. This new implementation not only fixes all known bugs in RelativeLayout (let us know when you find new ones) but also addresses its major limitation: the fact that views had to be declared in a particular order. Consider the following XML layout:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="64dip"
android:padding="6dip">

<TextView
android:id="@+id/band"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="26dip"

android:layout_below="@+id/track"
android:layout_alignLeft="@id/track"
android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"

android:gravity="top"
android:text="The Airborne Toxic Event" />

<TextView
android:id="@id/track"
android:layout_marginLeft="6dip"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="26dip"

android:layout_toRightOf="@+id/artwork"

android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium"
android:gravity="bottom"
android:text="Sometime Around Midnight" />

<ImageView
android:id="@id/artwork"
android:layout_width="56dip"
android:layout_height="56dip"
android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"

android:src="@drawable/artwork" />

</RelativeLayout>

This code builds a very simple layout—an image on the left with two lines of text stacked vertically. This XML layout is perfectly fine and contains no errors. Unfortunately, Android 1.5's RelativeLayout is incapable of rendering it correctly, as shown in the screenshot below.

The problem is that this layout uses forward references. For instance, the "band" TextView is positioned below the "track" TextView but "track" is declared after "band" and, in Android 1.5, RelativeLayout does not know how to handle this case. Now look at the exact same layout running on Android 1.6:

As you can see Android 1.6 is now better able to handle forward reference. The result on screen is exactly what you would expect when writing the layout.

Easier click listeners

Setting up a click listener on a button is very common task, but it requires quite a bit of boilerplate code:

findViewById(R.id.myButton).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
// Do stuff
}
});

One way to reduce the amount of boilerplate is to share a single click listener between several buttons. While this technique reduces the number of classes, it still requires a fair amount of code and it still requires giving each button an id in your XML layout file:

View.OnClickListener handler = View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
switch (v.getId()) {
case R.id.myButton: // doStuff
break;
case R.id.myOtherButton: // doStuff
break;
}
}
}

findViewById(R.id.myButton).setOnClickListener(handler);
findViewById(R.id.myOtherButton).setOnClickListener(handler);

With Android 1.6, none of this is necessary. All you have to do is declare a public method in your Activity to handle the click (the method must have one View argument):

class MyActivity extends Activity {
public void myClickHandler(View target) {
// Do stuff
}
}

And then reference this method from your XML layout:

<Button android:onClick="myClickHandler" />

This new feature reduces both the amount of Java and XML you have to write, leaving you more time to concentrate on your application.

The Android team is committed to helping you write applications in the easiest and most efficient way possible. We hope you find these improvements useful and we're excited to see your applications on Android Market.

BlackBerry Storm2 9520 with multi-touch announced!!


BlackBerry Storm is a very popular phone in the market. it is the one and only iphone type blackberry phone which has a full touchscreen. because of this success, blackberry has decided to make it's next phone, blackberry Storm2. the main disadvantage of blackberry Storm was it has a resistive touchscreen. because of it's technology , this touch screen is less efficient and doesn't support multi-touch.
but this new Storm2 has a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch support. it's very sensitive and efficient. also new storm 2 has a fast Accelerometer sensor. it has 2GB internal memory and supports up to 16GB memory cards. also Blackberry Storm2 has both bluetooth and wi-fi. and it has 7.2MBP/s HSDPA modem.
the main camera of this phone is 3.15 and it comes with a LED flash. the camera application supports Geo-Tagging and image stabilization features.
The new Storm2 has a GPS receiver with A-GPS support. it has BlackBerry maps application and very good Organizer.

HTC HD2 4.2 inch large touchscreen phone


HTC announced a revolutionary huge touchscreen phone, HTC HD2. this phone has 4.3 inch capacitive touchscreen and lot's of other new features. the first thing is HTC HD2 has almost every new features in HTC phones. it has a new interface called Sense UI and Pick-to-mute a call feature.
and also this phone is like a small computer because it has a super fast 1GHz processor. HTC HD2 runs with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS and it has a 448MB RAM. the internal memory of this phone is 512Mb but it supports up to 16GB memory cards.
HTC HD2 has 5mp main camera which supports 2592 x 1944 pixels maximum picture resolution. the camera comes with a LED flash and supports Geo-tagging feature. HTC HD2 has a digital compass like in iphone 3Gs. also it comes with lot's of built in applications like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter and Pocket Office.

Booking Form Mobile Forensics Conference UK

25-26 Nov 2009 UK MTEB Mobile Forensics Conference UK.The Booking Forms are now available. A massive email mailshot was sent out yesterday in the hope that I sent the Form to those who had requested it. Just in case I missed anyone (sorry), can you please send an email to me titled:."MTE - Conference Booking Application Form" to request a Form being emailed to you..Email: trewmte@

ifrogz Premium Headphones w/ Mic, Affordable too!

I've said it before that there ought to be more manufacturers to produce stereo headphones with built-in mic. With iPhone sales taking off and lots of other smartphones starting to support this trend there this demand is becoming more serious. Now that iPod Touch has a few VOIP solutions, I'd say this is a must.

Up until today, I can only think of a few choices: 1). Apple OEM headphones [no thanks], 2). Apple Premium headphones [mixed reviews], 3). V-Moda series [we like it] and 4). Griffin TuneBuds Mobile [excellent value]. That is until I received a communication from ifrogz about 3 of their headphones ranging from $19 to $49 and they all have built-in mic. What a concept!

I'll see if I can get some reviews in for you on these, so stay tuned! For now, you can check 'em out your self here:

ifrogz Plugz ($19.99)
ifrogz Reflex ($29.99)
ifrogz Timbre ($49.99)

Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani like Nokia N79


Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani is another newest samsung phone. it has Nokia N97 design and tons of cool features. this phone has a very powerful 800MHz processor and runs with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS. also Samsung Giorgio Armani is a full face touchscreen phone which has 3.5 inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen.
Giorgio Armani has 8GB internal storage and supports up to 16GB memory cards. this phone has samsung's own sound technology called DNSe which gives very quality sound output.
it supports both wifi and bluetooth. also Giorgio Armani allows 7.2 MBP/s HSDPA connectivity. the main camera of this phone is 5MP and it comes with a LED flash. also the camera application has lot's of features like Geo-tagging and face and smile detection.

these are the other listed features

Giorgio Armani fashion applications
Business card scanner
Photo/video editor
TV-out

HTC Pure, purely a supper phone!


HTC recently announced about this super phone, HTC pure. it has new design and combine features of all previous HTC phones. basically HTC pure is a full touchscreen phone which has 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen. multi touch feature is not available in this phone but it's cheap!
like many HTC models, HTC pure has a touch sensitive zoom bar at the bottom. it also has an Accelerometer sensor and supports Handwriting recognition feature. this phone has 512MB internal memory and supports up to 32GB memory cards.
HTC pure is a 3G HSDPA phone which supports 7.2 MBp/s speed. it also has both bluetooth and wi-fi. pure runs with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS. it has very powerful 522MHz processor and 256MB RAM.
the main camera of this phone is 5MP which supports 15fps video recording. it has nice touch focus feature and gives very quality pictures.
as other features HTC pure has a GPS receiver , pocket office and many more useful applications.

Concertimatic app for the Music Fanatics!

I don't usually unless they serve a very good purpose (enhancing one's mobile experience). Concertimatic caught my "ears" because it is pretty darn cool. This iPhone/iPod Touch app (app store link $0.99) can scan your iTunes library and tell you when the upcoming events for your favorite musician will be based on your location (or designated zip code). There is something about taking a static information and pull up live/real time information to enrich your mobile lifestyle. I think this app is pretty creative and should not be left home without for all music lovers!

Review: Otterbox Commuter Series Cases for iPhone 3G/3GS

Otterbox, the name that is now synonymous with “tough”, “protection” and “defense” just released two more cases for your iPhone 3G or 3G[s]. I first read about Otterbox’s legendary protection when reading an editor over at TUAW describing how he protected is first gen. iPhone with the Defender series case. When I learned about the new Commuter series for the iPhone 3G (3GS), I knew I had to get in a review to find out for myself.

The commuter series cases (Commuter & Commuter TL) offer ample protection as expected; Otterbox uses a unique design where the case is composed of two parts, a soft-silicon inner that is enclosed within a hard case. This is a design approach that I’ve never seen before. The silicon layer offers really good protection for the iPhone from shifting around and making small scratch marks while the outer hard layer can be used to shield against harder impacts. Both cases has covers to protect the power, headphone ports as well as the power and volume switches. While this case does add a bit of thickness to your iPhone, its still within a reasonable thickness to carry in your pocket. Both cases are very similar in design with minor differences that I will get to in the preceding paragraphs by model.

Otterbox Commuter Case (MSRP: $34.95)
Available in an all black finish (a color pack of swappable color plates is soon available), you can tell this case means business. It draws its major difference from the Commuter TL case in that the back side where the Apple Logo is located, it is fully open. Also, the hard protection layer actually wraps around the sides to provide extra rigidity. I’d argue that this case is more structurally sound and will provide extra protection over the TL.






Otterbox Commuter TL Case (MSRP: $29.95)
The Commuter TL case offers seven colors to choose from and differentiates itself by using a frosted colored hard layer that only wraps around from the top to bottom of your iPhone. Because it doesn’t wrap around its sides, I find the extra exposed rubber/silicon layer to be more commuter friendly to which the phone might offer more traction to stay in my side pants pocket while sitting on a plane or train. Before testing, I thought I would prefer the non-TL case better as it would offer stronger protection, but I actually found myself drawn more to liking the Commuter TL case more.






In any case, if you are searching for a sturdy iPhone 3G or 3GS case, Otterbox is definitely a brand that you should consider since you'll feel good knowing that these Commuter series cases will protect your phone under all conditions.