Sprint’s public sector marketing director, Gerald Evans, recently posted a message on his personal blog noting that Sprint planned to launch the Wi-Fi version of the BlackBerry PlayBook on June 5th for $499.
The post has since been pulled, so it’s unclear if the tablet will make its debut on Sunday, but we suspect it was a slip on Evans’ part and that the launch is likely to take place on that date. Sprint has also announced that it will offer a 4G WiMAX version of the tablet sometime this summer; there’s still no official word on a launch date or price for that model, however.
Retina-X Studios just announced the availability of PhoneSheriff for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows smartphones. This parental control service for mobile phones allows parents to monitor, filter, and restrict their children’s smartphone activities. The parent sets the software to record and block activities associated with specific numbers and it can also track locations via GPS.
PhoneSheriff is a stealth application which allows parents to see everything their kids do while on the phone, like every text message sent or received, every call dialed or received and all videos and pictures captured by the phone. Yikes! Then, parents can check the kids actions by logging onto the hidden interface on the phone itself, or in order to be extra sneaky, they can log into a secure Web panel from any Web browser to view the recorded logs and stored GPS locations. Boy I’m glad my parents didn’t have this stuff when I was a kid!
This new program can also block phone numbers from contacting your kid via SMS or phone calls. In addition, applications and websites can be filtered or restricted. Parents can also set a time schedule to allow or disallow use of the phone at certain times. Score one, for total parental control.
PhoneSheriff also allows parents to send secret SMS commands to the monitored phone. This allows parents to track where their child is at any time using the Instant GPS Locate command. This feature also works as an anti-theft element, as parents can locate and monitor the phone even when the SIM card has been changed. Wow… I’m all for keeping track of kids, but isn’t this almost too much of a parental advantage? Not that I wouldn’t use it, I’m just saying if my folks had this, I’d still be grounded.
A one-year subscription to the PhoneSheriff costs $49.97 and works with Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Symbian OS smartphones.
RIM has just announced a new product in their accessory line, the HS-700 Bluetooth headset. It’s an innocuous little Bluetooth headset with a nice leather finish, but what makes it special is that you can launch into actions using only your voice. Using voice alone, you can start a call, mute a call, redial, call the last person to call you, swap between calls, or pair to another phone.
Instead of having to press the side of it to answer, you can just say “answer” or “ignore” out loud – it’ll even tell you who’s calling after pairing up with your BlackBerry’s address book and figuring out some text-to-voice translation. For non-BlackBerrys, it’ll still say the phone number of the incoming call.The HS-700 Bluetooth headset even plugs into GPS mapping on your BlackBerry to provide turn-by-turn directions, right in your ear. Volume controls are entirely automated based on ambient noise, which I would be wary about trusting, but will have to try out to know for sure.
If you’re interested, the BlackBerry HS-700 Bluetooth headset is listed in BlackBerry’s online store as Coming Soon for a steep $129.99.
During its regular conference Apple announced that 10 million iPhone were sold in 2008 calendar year, since last month has been sold more than 6.8 million iPhone 3G. Executive Director of Apple, Steve Jobs said: “Apple has surpassed RIM! And RIM – a quality company selling quality products. Apple became the third largest global supplier of mobile phones.
iPhone 3G together with Apple TV brought $11.7 billion revenue and $2.4 billion profit. But given the status of the Apple TV, this profit is largely a credit to iPhone.
Nokia and Samsung are the first and second handset manufacturers respectively, and RIM sold 6.1 million BlackBerry smartphones at the moment.
Gadget called Universal Solar Cell Phone / iPod Charger will charge your cell phone or iPod MP3-player, using solar energy. Thus you will make a contribution to improving the ecology of our planet.
The device is very small and it’s easy to carry with you anywhere, even in pockets.
It can charge the following models of iPods: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Mini. And there are inputs for charging mobile phones of the following companies: Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, Motorola and Blackberry.
Universal Solar Cell Phone / iPod Charger can be bought for $90.
FreeLoader Pro is a wonderful gadget that can be a good present for everybody. This is not the first charger, running on solar panels, but the compact size and functionality is very beneficial to distinguish it from other similar devices.
FreeLoader Pro, in folded condition, has the size of the entire 15h6, 3×2 cm, and while opened – 23,8 x6, 3×2 cm. This gadget is able to charge anywhere where there is sun, almost any modern portable electronic devices: mobile phones Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Blackberry and iPhone, portable game console Nintendo DS Lite and Sony PSP, most of today’s media, portable DVD-players, virtually all PDAs, the devices for reading electronic books and digital cameras.
In case your digital friend is discharged at night, FreeLoader Pro has a built-in battery with a capacity of 1600 mA / h, and if necessary, it can serve as a universal charger, operating from the USB-port.
