Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Opera has announced version 4.1 of the Opera Mini mobile web browser. Yes folks, Opera Mini is still alive and I assume more mobile phone users will be using it as its a simple, hassle-free, no-strings-attached mobile web browser that works with a wide variety of phones. I’m still using Opera Mini with my trusty old Sony Ericsson P990i, so I’m definitely excited about the update to version 4.1.

So, what’s in store for all of us with this latest version, Opera says - faster features. Opera Mini 4.1 receives request for web pages 50% faster than the old version, faster searching within a web page, faster web site upload and faster file uploading and downloading. In addition, when typing web addresses, Opera Mini 4.1 now suggests completions based on bookmarked sites and browsing history. 

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Yahoo! may have successfully deterred a Microsoft takeover, but it cannot escape the fact that it still has to work with the software maker in its other products. Barring all indifference’s with Microsoft, Yahoo has quietly made available the new Yahoo! Go 3.0 in beta mode for Windows mobile-powered handsets. And no, Yahoo did not underplay the new version of its mobile web browser to get back at Microsoft. On the contrary, it has transformed Yahoo! Go 3.0 into a powerful mobile web portal with features that even the Microsoft guys would love. These new features are; a new mobile web start up page that displays what’s new since the user’s last visit plus previews of users favorites, an improved oneSearch that now includes up-to-date flight information and content from Yahoo Answers as well as Wikipedia, enhanced design and navigation that gives users an option to use the traditional carousel or the icon display, mobile widgets from eBay, MySpace and other sites that fully support mobile widgets, and other customization features. This is suffice to say that Yahoo has transformed Go 3.0 into a more powerful mobile internet facility for mobile phone users.

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Customers in Florida will now have access to information about traffic incidents, traffic updates and detours as Verizon Wireless has made its VZ Navigator Version 4 service available. The VZ Navigator is a location-based service (LBS) application utilizing GPS technology and real-time information feeds from government traffic monitoring groups.

With VZ Navigator, customers will have access to traffic integration information which updates them of traffic routes based on the analysis of both historical and real-time traffic information. This allows customers to know which traffic routes are affected by traffic lights, heavy traffic situation and activities in school zones. VZ Navigator also gives out information on location of gas stations closest to customers location and even includes gas pricing. So customers can plan in advance whether to stop by the nearest one or skip it and stop by the next station. Of course, like some GPS navigation services, VZ Navigator also provides turn-by-turn directions on how to get to the nearest identified gas station.

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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]

The FCC has just approved the Nokia 6210 navigator, which is the follow up to the 6110 navigator that was released not so long ago. As such, the 6210 bears much resemblance to its predecessor in terms of features and functionality, after all that’s how Nokia has always been when it comes to updating most of their mobile phone series.

The 6210’s features which are mostly similar to the 6110 an include a built-in GPS with A-GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi and voice-activated controls. But that is not to say the Nokia 6210 is a mere copy-cat of the 6110, it also has some nice new features of its own. For one, the 6210 is equipped with an improved 3.2-megapixel camera and it now runs on the Symbian Series 60 OS. In addition, we could also see a dual-LED flash near the 6210’s camera lens.

Is that all? We’re afraid so, yes. But we expect to know more new features as Nokia preps to release the 6210 sometime in the third quarter of this year. With a tentative retail price of $430, we certainly deserve to get more great features than a 3.2-megapixel camera, right?

Read [FCC] Via [IntoMobile]

Walk up to any right-minded business owner and you’re sure to be told one thing - it’s supposed to be about the green stuff. And I don’t mean the Benjamins. To get an idea of what I’m talking about, ask yourself what it would take to give your mobile device enough juice without doing Mother Nature any harm. The answer to that question might not yet be known for sure, but that question is what Devotec Industries is trying to address with its new Solar Charger. While it doesn’t have the best thought of name in the business, this little number should be able to “keep your phone juiced up twice over before needing a recharge.” It contains a built-in 1800mAh battery under a charging solar panel, and aside from that it also charges via USB cable or AC adaptor. Devotec made sure it would be compatible with the widest range of portable devices possible, and at £19.99 or about $40 USD a pop, it sure beats replacements.

Product [Devotec]

Those who have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Instinct from Samsung will be glad to know that a new promo site was just launched in preparation for the official release of the phone. The site reviews the Instinct’s features which include; a touchscreen interface, hi-speed wireless internet connectivity with a full HTML browser, customizable favorites, landscape QWERTY keypad, stereo bluetooth profile, 2.0-megapixel camera, GPS and more.

The site also features an interactive gallery showing the Samsung Instinct in various angles. Our only gripe about this is the fact that the image of the Instinct doesn’t look very realistic. It would have been a little better if Samsung used a more realistic image so that users could get a better idea of what they may be getting if they buy the handset. Hopefully, Samsung and Sprint will release a more realistic image of the Instinct before the release date, which incidentally, was never mentioned on the site. What the site offered instead was a reservation link for those who are willing to buy the Instinct without even testing the actual device first. Hopefully, nobody is disappointed once the Instinct is released.

The Samsung Instinct will be released in the US through Sprint, sometime, soon?

Read [Samsung Instinct]

Another recent FCC discovery is showing off a new mobile handset coming from HTC, dubbed the Census. The FCC document, unfortunately did not reveal many details about the Census, and we can mostly just make assumptions about its features based on what we see from the accompanying picture. Based on the image, the Census appears to have a fingerprint reader and bears a logo for the wireless technology company Harris. Likewise, the handset seems to have a touch-sensitive display as no keyboard can be seen, and the keypad is also not a standard numeric style. 

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So, what do we have here? An “exclusive screenshot” of the rumored new Sidekick Aspen/Gekko mobile device courtesy of Hiptop3. But don’t get too excited folks, we have yet to hear an official word on the accuracy, which means we may be looking at a real screenshot or just a product of some imaginative minds with excellent photo editing skills. But it’s nice to speculate and to get excited over something as good looking as this screenshot of the Sidekick Gekko/Aspen.

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What ever happened to killing two birds with one stone? This - the Sigma APO dual USB charger from Japan. As the name suggests, it will have a total of two USB ports so you can charge two devices with it simultaneously. Not exactly groundbreaking technology, but it’s something road warriors such as yourself would gladly appreciate, I’m sure. It’s light, weighing in on only 43 grams, and runs 1000 mA in total for each port. Meaning that each device gets half of that, 500 mA whenever it is plugged in to it. So now you can relax, and watch your iPod and cellphone get charged while you do nothing. You know you can’t play with devices that are charging, don’t you? Ah, multi-functional devices. How could we have ever lived without them?

Via [jkontherun]