Google is going to pull all games from the Android Market in South Korea in a month’s time - the reason is because the country’s regulatory system prohibits games from being sold before being rated. Google took this decision because it was impossible to have all games sold on Android rated by the local regulator.

Apple ran a similar exclusion of games in its App Store for iPhone users but South Korean iPhone users could still create a secondary account outside of Korea and be able to download the games available. South Korean game software makers also found a loophole by listing their games in the entertainment category of the App Store. We’ll probably see the same thing happen to games on the Android market.

Via: Mobile Crunch

Cellphones.org takes a look at statistics from 2000, compared it to 2009 and showed some interesting study on how cell phones have evolved so much over in just a span of 10 years.

View the full stats list,

Via: CellPhones.org

The unbranded N933 HiPhone flip phone is basically the unwanted child of the iPhone and a Star Trek Communicator. Marketed as cheaper than iPhone with a 3 inch screen flip with QWERTY keyboard, the specs are very low for a phone that tries to make itself related to the iPhone.

The laughable specs of the N933 HiPhone include a 320×240 display, no onboard storage, MicroSD card up to 2GB and digital camera at VGA resolution 256K colors.

The N933 phone is compatible with GSM at the two frequencies of 900MHz and 1800MHz which will not work in the United States. It will only work in Europe, Australia, etc that uses dual band frequencies.

You can buy this phone at ChinaGrabber for a mere $125.99. 1 more pic of the N33 HiPhone after the break.

Via: Technabob

Read the rest of this entry »

Adobe is showcasing their latest technology in this promotional video as they present Flash 10.1 on the new Dell 5 tablet, Dell 12 smartbook(Latitude Xt2), Palm Pre, Nexus One, Motoroloa Droid and HP mini 311 netbook.

Adobe is delivering a message that Adobe Flash is coming to the different smartphone platforms as at current very few mobile devices support it. One Web, Any Screen - whether you like it or not, Flash will play an important part in our web usage as it will be used for playing games, media entertainment, learning tools and many others.

Apple has rejected Flash on the iPhone and it is speculated that it will harm their business model of the app store as many applications would be able to be played for free in Flash. When the Android or Windows Mobile phones embrace it, Apple would have no choice to follow suit or lose the competitive edge of being Flash-enabled.

1 videoclip of the Adobe Flash promotional video after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Courtesy of DigInfoNews, this video will give an insight how the Sharp 3D touchscreen technology for mobile devices work. Sharp has developed the industry’s brightest 3D touchscreen LCD, which can be switched between 2D and 3D modes as previously mentioned in the press release.

The 3D touchscreen LCD is twice as bright as previous models from Sharp. The display can be used in both the horizontal and vertical positions. The 3D LCD has a parallax barrier system consisting of vertical slits to control the direction of light. Despite the touchscreen, the thickness is about the same as that of a 2D display.

Sharp’s representative further explained that 3D content would be required to enjoy a 3D display. Their concept would be ‘3D ready’ where first of all they would provide superior 2D displays. This is to lay the foundations for the spread of 3D.

Sharp is also developing a 3D LCD without a touchscreen and mass production is scheduled in the first half of this year.

Check out the video walkthrough of the Sharp 3D touchscreen LCD technology after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Since the Nintendo 3DS was announced, it seems that it will be imminent that the glasses free 3D display technology by Sharp will eventually go to mobile devices too.

The fixed 3D technology is easier to pull off on small devices and the panel can switch between regular 2D and 3D mode and does not require 3D glasses. It uses a parallax barrier system to display 3D images.

From Sharp’s press release:

The newly developed 3D LCD uses a parallax barrier system to display 3D images. This parallax barrier, which has a series of vertical slits, is incorporated into an ordinary LCD to control the path of light reaching the right and left eyes, thus creating a sense of depth. However, the conventional 3D LCD with this system had difficulty in displaying high-quality images in 3D mode.

The 3D LCD developed by Sharp at this time significantly improves image quality by achieving both high brightness and low crosstalk*2 thanks to advances in CG-Silicon technology*3 and optimization of the parallax barrier. Advances in CG-Silicon technology have shrunk the wiring width within the LCD panel, allowing more light to pass and doubling the brightness (to 500 cd/m2, the industry’s highest) compared to the conventional model*4. In addition, optimizing the parallax barrier design has increased the efficiency of light, thereby dramatically reducing crosstalk. Also, the thickness of the LCD module is about the same as conventional 2D displays even though it is a touchscreen display. As 3D images can be displayed in both portrait and landscape screen orientations, it is ideal for sophisticated mobile devices such as smartphones.

Via: Sharp Press Release

The Japanese government has launched a review on the locking of sim cards by Japanese cell phone carriers that doesn’t allow people from using a handset from one operator on a rival network by replacing the SIM card.

This lock in method is not friendly for Japanese travellers who goes overseas and wants to use the services of the local carriers since the phone does not allow them to use a sim card other than the carrier which the phone was bought.

This was brought up by Kazuhiro Haguchi, the communications minister regarding the need of restriction and if the review goes against it, Japanese cell phone carriers would be forced to lift this ’sim locking’.

However cell phone carriers argue that unique handsets is bound by the special internet and networking services that is provided by them and abolishing the SIM lock would limit the type of services provided.

Source: Yahoo News

Bi Sheng 600TW from Gorld is a combination of e-reader and cellphone with a 6 inch display (up to 800 x 600) and battery life of approximately 6,000 page turns. It supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE as well as wifi and also supports popular formats such as Office, HTML and PDF. The Bi Sheng 600TW is selling in china for 2880 yuan (about $420).

Link: Taobao

Phone mad Japan latest craze is therapeutic ring tones created by a company called the Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory. The laboratory is led by Matsumi Suzuki an expert in voiceprint technology of the kind used to authenticate taps of Osama Bin Laden.

The technology is a bit unproven but the popularity is there seen from the number of downloads. An example of a theraphy would be where people gets hay fever easily during the arrival of spring. Sufferers would just wait for a ring of call on their mobile phone which exudes sound that is supposed to disloge pollen if the user holds the handset up their nose.

Source: BBC News

A new market for publishers have arised in the form of novels written from cell phones in Japan. Social networking sites like Mobage-town allows users to upload single sentences to form stories. Cell phone novel or keitai shosetsu emerged in Japan nearly a decade ago and this culture is also spreading to other countries.

The first and largest mobile novel portal in Japan, Magic Island has a million titles with some 3.5 billion monthly visitors and six million registered users. Many authors use pen names and most novels center around themes that are considered taboo in the Japanese society such as sex, pregnancy, abortion, rape and others.

However, keitai shosetsu which rapidly rise to mass popularity is slowly declining which shows that it could be just another teenage fad.

Source: CNN