Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Orange had to suspend their sale of the Blackberry Bold, listing their reason as “software issues” in an internal memo to employees.  It seems that AT&T wasn’t the only company having issues with this one.  At least they chose to hold off and try to sort things out instead of rushing a release date. 

In the meantime, RIM is attempting fix the situation.  This came as a result of issues starting in the UK, where the Bold was pulled off the shelves. As a result, shipments in the US have been repeatedly delayed and it now looks like we know why.

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For those of you who ordered your G1 and just can’t wait for it to get here, you can get your G1 fix right now (sort of).  A new site, launched by T-Mobile, offers a G1 emulator (pictured) so you can play around and get the feel for it ahead of time.

The site offers a full 360 degree view of the phone, visual instruction guides so you know what you’re doing, and, of course, the emulator itself.  Now, I’ve got to say, I tried this and if I wasn’t sure what to think of the G1.  I just don’t know if this would sway me into buying it.  It’s not that I think the G1 might not be a great phone, but because the emulator, itself, is pretty buggy and several features don’t work right. 

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In an effort to expand its device business beyond the borders of just the corporate crowd, The Wall Street Journal just announced that Hewlett Packard is getting ready to release a new smart phone that is also going to be marketed to the “average joe consumer.” It will be sold by a (yet un-named) mobile carrier in retail stores and will debut in Europe.

The new smartphone will be the latest in the line of HP’s iPaq devices.  The most recent iPaq smartphone, which was geared toward the business crowd, was launched this past June.  The company began selling iPaq-branded devices in 2002, when it acquired Compaq Computer Corp; although earlier iPaqs focused more on businesses and weren’t usually sold in retail stores.  So, they are obviously trying to make a leap into a broader market.

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Looks like there just may be two new E series Nokia phones in the works if images on the ‘Net are to be trusted - the upcoming E72 and E75. Apparently, preventing leaks from those doing proto testing, or having promo videos leaked onto the web before they are supposed to be, is a problem companies are seeing more and more often. These images were initially found on the ever-popular YouTube site, before tech and gadget fans started to discover them.

It appears the E72 has the benefits of the E60 with a side sliding form factor. With text messaging, email and sms being all the rage, the full QWERTY keyboard both styles feature will probably also be considered a bonus by many.

Obviously, at this point there is no word on release date or price. Stay tuned for more updates as they come in.

Via [symbianfreak]

Mystery has surrounded the whole HTC Dream G1 launch from T-Mobile since word broke about the Android-powered Dream. There has been speculation running rampant about what the first Android headset is going to look like. Websites had mock-ups showing different views of what people thought it might be. There was even a video. Well, apparently, there have been photos leaked “from a trusted source” of what the G1 is going to look like...and there are a few things people didn’t see coming.

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12seconds just today launched their application programming interface (API) as well as announced it’s first three partners: Tweetdeck, Blippr, and Phreadz. With the goal of 12seconds being to be the go-to platform for video status updates, they needed this step forward of a strong API.

The company is happy with their first three partners, although they are still encouraging others to hop in and play around with the code. Of their newest partners, Tweetdeck, an Adobe Air client, probably holds the crown for being known for it’s Twitter service. Blippr is a site that does short-form reviews, and Phreadz is a startup company that does threaded video conversations.

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MobileSphere recently launched a free voice messaging service called (very aptly!) Slydial, that connects you automatically to someone’s voice mail so you can leave a message when you don’t feel like going through the conversation mode, or are pressed for time.

Some of the scenario’s they present where Slydial could be especially useful are quite humorous, others very realistic.  Feel like taking a play day and you are calling in “oh so sick” and don’t want to actually talk to your boss? There you go. How about that “let’s just be friends” call that you’re too chicken to actually have the other person on the other end of the line listening to because you don’t want to hear an hour’s worth of sobbing? Uh-huh. Want to call and thank Great Aunt Bessie for the lovely birthday sweater she sent you, but don’t want to hear all about her aches and pains for a half-hour? Yep, you’re seeing where this could come in handy, aren’t you?

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Widely used in devices like the iPhone, mini notebooks, digital cameras, Flash-based SSD hard disk drives and more, flash memory chips usually have a lifetime of about ten years. This is even being optimistic. When you are using applications that need a lot of repeat writing and rewriting however, this can cause the cells to wear out even faster, and you can find your flash device useless in only a couple of years. So, a flash memory chip that is purported to work for up to a century? Literally unheard of. But that is just what Japanese scientists say they have developed. Scientists from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo also claim that the new chips work at a lower voltage than conventional chips.

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We first laid our eyes on the F400 back at MWC this year amidst the F490 and Soul. Now, this music-oriented phone is all set to invade France later this month.

The Samsung F400 has all the makings of a good music phone including a very significant inclusion, a 3.5mm headphone jack. All the major manufacturers tend to ignore this vital feature on their “musicphones,” although there are a few exceptions. Along with the jack, the phone appears packed pretty good for the music lovers with Bang & Olufsen amplifier technology and DNSe 2.0 to enhance listening experience, which should be good either on a pair of headphones or its dual speakers. 

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In a rather bizarre effort to protect sensitive company data, T-Mobile has announced that its Sarnia, Ontario call center employees will no longer be allowed to use pens, pencils, or note pads in the open. If they must used them, they are required to keep them in their locked desks between uses. Taking the new policy even further, they’ve also required that all photos and papers on cubicle walls be laminated so they can not be used to write on.

While it’s easy to understand a company wanting to protect its data, this new policy is just a bit ridiculous. If the company is that paranoid it’s a good thing the employees don’t have access to any kind of small, easily concealable electronic device that can easily accept data and transfer it quickly over the net or any way to discreetly copy data directly from their computers, Wouldn’t that be awful? I’m sure T-Mobile execs are sleeping well tonight with that knowledge.

Read [The Consumerist]