zcallingcard.com

There are gimmicks and then there are features, and to be honest I don’t know which category the Speck CandyShell Flip falls into.

Its claim to fame is its easy-to-deploy “flip” stand which doubles as an easy slide-in entry for the iPhone itself. But let’s start from the basics. The Flip is made of a sturdy, bright and glossy plastic that looks more like a toy than it feels. In the hand the iPhone is sturdy and secure, though I far prefer the feeling of the CandyShell Grip.

The “flip” itself consists of a rubber hinge constructed out of what seems like a single piece of plastic, or as close to it as you’ll likely find. While it works well in theory, when the iPhone is installed the bottom portion is never entirely even with the top; there hinge always seems on the verge of coming loose.

This is essentially the compromise: in order to facilitate quick entry and exit, and a flexible stand, Speck had to make some decisions. Make the hinge too tight and you risk losing that multi-placement flexibility.

When leaning on its bottom half, the iPhone is in a perfect position for watching movies and browsing web pages. Except that portrait mode is not ideal for the former activity, and we can’t think of many situations in which you’d want to have the phone stationary for the latter.

More importantly, the Flip is designed to allow the phone to sit in most standard iPhone docks without having to remove the case. This is indeed an important advantage of its competitors, as most dock users will attest to. The inside of the Flip is made with a gentle ribbed silicone that absorbs most moderate shocks, while the outer portion is a firm and precisely-milled plastic.

It also cannot be stressed enough how nice the back of the Flip looks. While I could do without the garish blue bezel (the case is also available in white-and-pink and all-black) the overall design is quite attractive. Not only is the easy entry and exit a huge plus, but it prevents the occasional scratches that come with cases that require you to wedge your phone into one side or another.

All the ports are freely accessible: Speck has wisely chosen not to close off the charging and headphone ports, though there are rubber nubs that take over for the metal power and volume buttons. The bezel extends a couple millimetres over the front glass, preventing surface-level scratches when the phone is dropped on its face. In exchange the case feels somewhat bulky, though not quite to the same extent as the Otterbox Commuter.

The Speck CandyShell Flip is available for .95 from the company’s website. It is also fully compatible with the iPhone 4.

Related posts:

1. Speck Products rocks iPhone and iPad case lineup at CES
2. Fake iPhone flip actually has promise
3. Video Review: BlackBerry Pearl 8230 Flip (Bell & TELUS)

MobileSyrup.com

The news: While the year opened quietly, the appointment of a new chairman at Vodafone that was skilled in transforming companies was an indication of what was to come. The hiring of Gerard Kleisterlee, the outgoing CEO of Philips, was welcomed by the stock market given his track record of simplifying the previously unwieldy Philips conglomerate.

In March, Russia’s Vimpelcom pushed through a billion merger with Wind Telecom to become the world’s fifth-largest operator with 173 million customers. Analysts said the deal had strategic merit and would allow having Vimpelcom gain access to rapidly growing mobile operators in Africa, Asia and Italy.

Days later came the announcement AT&T planned acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for billion. If it has been consummated, the deal would have remade both AT&T and Deutsche Telekom by allowing AT&T to become the dominant player in the United States, and allowing Deutsche Telekom to focus on its core assets in Europe.As the year wore on though, regulatory hurdles, first from the US Department of Justice and then from the telecoms regulator, the FCC, kept cropping up. Earlier this week, AT&T pulled the plug on the deal, handing Deutsche Telekom billion in cash and billion in spectrum and roaming agreements.

A deal that went more smoothly was the sale in April of Vodafone’s 44 per cent holding in SFR. Majority owner Vivendi had long coveted outright ownership of SFR, and Vodafone was able to extract €7.95 billion from the sale.

In the same month, both France Telecom Orange and KPN began making noises about acquisitions. FT Orange confirmed it would continue to look for expansion in the Middle East and Africa via two to three acquisitions per year–a target it failed to meet in 2011 perhaps due to political unrest in some regions.

KPN, meanwhile, said it would look to expand into Europe where governments were planning to sell state-run telecom assets, or where other large operators, such as seen with Vodafone, wanted to divest minority shareholdings. Nothing more cameof this in 2011, perhaps due to economic unrest in the region.

By July, FT Orange had put its Swiss, Austrian and Portuguese operations up for sale, claiming that it wasn’t interested in operators where it didn’t have majority control or where the subsidiary wasn’t ranked among the top two mobile operators within that country. However, the company did register an interest in making acquisitions in Spain.

In the same month, Vodafone managed to quietly slip away from its 24 per cent holding in the Polish operator Polkomtel, scoring €896 million in the process.

in August, Telecom Italia was rumoured to be bidding for 3 Italia in a deal that valued the Hutchison-owned mobile operator at around €4.3 billion. But this rumour didn’t last long, with Hutchison MD Canning Fok squashing any plan for a sale, saying in October: “This looks to me more like somebody’s wish than the reality.” Instead, Hutchison’s Austrian subsidiary made a €1.4 billion bid to acquire Orange Austria in a deal that could be approved by late December or early 2012.

Why it was significant: The year was dominated by Deutsche Telekom’s effort to remove itself from its troubled operations operations in the United States–a saga that came to a sticky end as the year drew to a close. Opposition from federal regulators there proved too difficult, delivering bad news for AT&T, though not quite as dire for Deutsche Telekom, which scored a billion breakup fee. However, moves by Vodafone and FT Orange to divest themselves of minority holdings is an indication of a renewed focus on generating profits from businesses that are under their control, and it appears they are intent on selling off minority stakes in unappealing regions. KPN and Telefónica made the headlines by announcing M&A intentions–which proved nothing more than that. However, both companies now need to take action to rejuvenate their sagging fortunes–more so than ever before. The days when European operators roamed the globe opening subsidiaries or buying up local operators are long gone. The year demonstrated that breadth of operations is becoming less important, and control, focus and driving for profits are the watchwords entering 2012.

FierceWireless

The HTC ThunderBolt will be the first 4G LTE Android smartphone from Verizon Wireless.  Android and smartphone fans have been waiting to find out pricing and details about it.  The prices is expected to now be 9.99 with a launch date predicted sometime in February.

Leaked screenshots show the price of the HTC ThunderBolt as 9.99 for the period of 1/21/2011 to 7/21/2011.  Sales training appears to have started this week.

The HTC ThunderBolt has shown up at Walmart wireless with the description “The HTC ThunderBolt is Verizon’s first 4G LTE phone.”

The HTC ThunderBolt, when it was announced at CTIA, was supposed be the first smartphone from Verizon to offer simultaneous voice and data.  Recently, leaked documents suggest that the data will be 3G data, not 4G LTE data.  Verizon employees were informed that Verizon “cannot promise the experience will be one that is
consistent with [the] brand” and so are advising sales people to “not
reference this functionality as a benefit during your conversations with
customers.”

HTC claims that it is the first phone with integrated video Skype mobile – to any device, from anywhere – no Wi-Fi required via its
front-facing camera.

HTC ThunderBolt is a 4G LTE Android 2.2 smartphone with HTC
Sense,
4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Skype video calling,
mobile hotspots, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.  Other features include a
builtt-in kickstand, Dolby/SRS surround sound, and DLNA support.

It makes sense that the HTC ThunderBolt will come out before the dual-core Droid Bionic because it has a 1GHz processor.  Verizon probably would not launch their first LTE phone during the iPhone launch starting February 10.  The new Verizon iPhone 4 cannot use voice and data at the same time but will have an unlimited data plan and mobile hotspots option.

WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S) rated 4 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News’ Review of Reviews

Reviewers of the Samsung Captivate all agree that the Captivate captivates, and give it the accolade of being the best Android smartphone at AT&T right now. 

Reviews all agreed that the Super AMOLED touchscreen is gorgeous, captivating and brilliant, you can even see the colors pop in bright sunlight.  The processor is fast, the added TouchWiz features can be helpful and the call quality is very good.

All the reviewers hated a few things you can’t use/install apps that are not from the Android Market, the camera lacks flash and the Samsung Captivate lacks Wi-Fi hotspot sharing like its top Android competitors(Droid X, HTC EVO 4G and Droid Incredible.)

The six axis acclerometer sensor makes screen mode changing very fast. In benchmark tests the speed of the Samsung Captivate was very fast and on AT&T’s 3G network slightly faster than the iPhone 4G. Like the iPhone 4, you can get attenuation (loss of signal strength) when you grip the Samsung Captivate fully with your hand.

There are four modes of text input ensuring that you will find a way to enter text that you like. The music player and ability to sync media with PCs were praised. All reviewers found the web browser to be fast but one pointed out that you can’t force the browser to show the desktop version of websites when a mobile version appears. Video capture was also praise, but reviewers wondered why you can’t use and HDMI cable like other Android superstars. You can however show video via Wi-Fi with DLNA.

Most reviewers compared the Samsung Captivate to the iPhone 4, some call it a good alternative while other stayed on the iPhone 4 fence.  Because of the many features of this Android powerhouse, you’ll have to see what features are the most important to you.  If you however sit out in the sun and web surf along with wave surf, this may be the best option for you.  The Samsung Captivate sells for 9 with a contract after rebates from AT&T. Don’t forget to use the AT&T Coupon-Link  Off AT&T Wireless with Plan for New Customers with a Contract.

AmazonWireless Beta offers the Samsung Captivate  with a new contract for .99 and 4.99 for renewing individual accounts. Note: this price only valid on the Amazon Wireless Beta website.

www.Wirefly.com is offering the Samsung Captivate for for new customers with a contract and 9.99 for renewing customers.

Bonnie Cha at CNET Rated the Samsung Captivate 4 out of 5 or the gorgeous AMOLED touch screen, 1GHz Humming birdprocessor, great call quality, many wireless options and HD video capture.  As with all Android AT&T smartphones, owners can’t sideload/install non Android Market Apps, Unfortunately, the camera lacks a flash.  She does call the best AT&T Android device, now with great performance.  She found the design to be lackluster but solid.  The 4 inch touchscreen with 400 x800 resolution is great looking, crisp, responsive and fast. The six axis acclerometer comes in handy for quick gaming.  Samsung TouchWiz added some handy on screen shortcuts, the social networking is improved. It’s quad-band world phone but can’t be used as mobile hotspot. Although it’s supposed to combine contacts from various sources, she had to hand link some accounts.  AT&T added software and services come with an additional cost.  The speaker phone sounded hollow.  The web browser was good and the Captivate felt fast. 

Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the Samsung Captivate 4 out 5 for its fast processor, beautiful screen,  PC syncing options, calling the top Android smartphone at AT&T.  He didn’t like that you can only use Android Market apps and the absence of a camera flash.  He found the touchscreen thrilling and it didn’t wash out in bright sunlight.  It can use 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi.   He did find a death-grip of attenuation on when he held the bottom of the Samsung Captivate. He found call quality to be decent and liked the noise cancellation. For all it’s features it had goo battery life. The are four ways to enter text, two handwriting recongition programs, a T9 keypad and swipe.  The processor came out faster than the Snapdragon in benchmark tests. Merging of email, and calendars worked for him well with Samsung Kies.  He didnt’ like the social networking for Twitter and Facebook because they don’t auto update more than once an hour. Media Syncing works on PCs only.  The camera took decent photos. He found the social networking to be better than the iPhone, free Google voice-guided navigation/directions, and super colorful screen.

Mark Spoonauer at Laptopmag rated the Samsung Captivate 3.5 out of 5 for the super vibrant AMOLED touchscreen, daily briefings, HD camcorder, audio player and strong call quality.  He didn’t like the lack of a camera flash, lack of mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, and inability to sideload apps.  The Samsung media hub for downloading videos/movies isn’t ready yet,  He liked the still poacketable size, larger than the iPhone but smaller than the Droid X.   It lacks an HDMI cable but you can stream video via DLNA. He wrote good things about the TouchWiz interface. The process was fast but had some delays. Downloads on 3G were slightly faster than on an iPhone 4. In the browser, you can’t force desktop versions to download.  The coolest utility app that comes on the Captivate is the Write and Go app, you take a note and then decide later where to send it. For Wi-Fi file transfer there’s AllShare, which requires selecting the files first. The music player is very good and supports 5.1 sound. In order to use Google maps you have download it and another speech-to-text app. The captivate is the best Android phone on AT&T   

WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

Droid X Rated 4.5 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

Reviews of the Droid X by Motorola reveal that it is excellent and one of the hottest phones of the summer. The 4.3 inch (WVGA 854 x 480) touchscreen is referred to as gorgeous, beautiful and a knockout. The processor is speedy, making the Droid X the most powerful Android smartphone. Given Editor’s Choice by PCMag, the Droid X, marks the eXcellent spot  for Wi-Fi hotspots, Bluetooth voice dialing, video/multimedia, great call quality with super noise cancellation and good to great 8 megapixel camera.

Reviewers liked that the Droid X onscreen keyboard has multi-touch hold down shift key at same time some thought the keyboard was awesome while other found it the large screen a little too big. Droid X data download speeds were excellent. Noise cancellation works well on phone calls and video recording.  The Droid X runs Android 2.1 and because it has GPS, you can use it for free Google navigation. Of course it offers email capabilities. Motorola has added Moto Blur for unified social networking that works well even though it is timed delayed for Twitter.
Some reviewers loved that the Droid X has an HMDI cable to play
video on other devices. One review, however, pointed out that the HDMI
video out cable only works with the built-in photo/video app not YouTube
or V CAST. The full HTML browser allows for up to 8 open browsers and
pinch to
zoom.  DROID X
owners  get Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash
Player 10.1 with an over-the-air update in the latter half of the
summer as well as an update the faster FroYo Android 2.2.

Verizon
customers who have contracts ending by 12/31/2010 are elligible for an
upgrade without penalty.  DROID X by Motorola
will be available online
and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 15 for
9.99
after a 0 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
Don’t forget to use the
Instant Phone Rebate Only Available with Online Purchase
coupon-link to avoid waiting for a rebate (after you try it out in the
store.)

Verizon

Wireless
has had considerable success with the Droid line
of smartphones the well-reviewed
HTC Droid Incredible continually sells out and does not ship for
a few weeks. There have been shortages of the high-end components
smartphones need, we’re thinking if Droid X does neXt for your
smarphone, you may want to order it at 12:01 am July 15 online

Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the Droid X 4.5 out of 5 because it is THE most powerful Android smartphone. He liked the speedy processor,Wi-Fi hotspots, Bluetooth voice dialing, excellent reception and noise cancellation. It may be too big for some and if you don’t want Moto Blur, you are stuck with it.  He called the Droid X excellent and a little excessive. He gave it Editor’s Choice. He called the screen beautiful, the keyboard adequate, and Swype great for everything except urls and passwords. Data download speeds were excellent and he expects battery life to be better than Evo.The Moto Bllur automatic mix of Twitter and Facebook is great but messages can be a bit stale. The 1-GHz TI OMAP 3630 processor is faster than the Snapdragon. Music playing is fine, the camera is one of the best and video watching is excellent. He felt cheated because the video out cable only works with the built-in photo/video app not YouTube or V CAST.

Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the Droid X 4 out 5, for gorgeous touchscreen, video, 8 MP camera, HDMI out and Wi-Fi hotspot. She doesn’t like the sluggishness of the camera, Moto Blur and absence of front facing camera. She found the SWYPE keyboard accurate/quick and the standard Android onscreen keyboard awesome. It felt solid overall. The buttons are true physical mechanical, not screen. Moto Blur is less evasive and more refined. Video recording includes sound noise cancellation. The camera has effects, dual LED flash and 720 p video capture. It come with 8GB of onboard storage along with a 16GB microSD card, which can hande 32GB cards making it possible for
40GB of storage. Other features include Bluetooth, 3G, GPS, and integrated Wi-Fi. Call quality was great. Some data calls dropped. Photo quality was mixed.

Ginny Miles at PC World rated the Droid X 4.5 out of 5 for it’s beautiful 4.3 inch display and intuitive software as well as multimedia playback, network performance and features.  She called the Droid X the one of the hottest phones to debut this summer, but found performance sluggish at times. She liked the rubberized back and buttons, finding the design elegant. She misses the kickstand of the HTC EVO 4G. The 4.3-inch, WVGA 854-by-480-resolution display is a knockout. She found the multi-touch onscreen keyboard natural and Swype useful.  The 8 megapixel camera is respectable.  She found it to be speedy and  call quality good.

WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

The latest Sprint rage (understandably so) has been the new HTC EVO which is to come out on June 4th.  We at Sprintusers have been able to secure a first-hand look at this amazing device.  One of our own has written a review on the EVO giving us his perspective and thoughts on the workings of this phone.  To read and comment on the HTC EVO review, just click the link and let us know what you think!

Will you be getting this phone?

Sprint News & Phone Reviews from SprintUsers

update: a step by step setup guide at the bottom of this post

	Jumigamer Review. Perfect or Flawed Just Enough to Really Infuriate? Is the jumigamer iPhone Game Controller really worth the money? I love emulators. For the record, I do not actually own all 768 original Nintendo Entertainment System games that I downloaded yesterday, but I do own the ones that I plan on playing, but they are in a storage box in Canada, waiting patiently for me to come get them.
Recently I became inspired to start playing some of the old classic games that were a part of my childhood, and I thought that Jumigamer would be the perfect iPhone App to get me playing through the classics again. Simple Set Up Setting up the jumigamer is simple. Buy the App from the AppStore and then head to the companies website and install the software on your pc. Within minutes you will be able to use the app as though it is a real wireless controller on your PC. Simply start your chosen application and configure it through the options. I used a Nintendo Entertainment System emulator and configuration was easy.
	The Only Problem? The Controls… The only problem that prevents me from actually enjoying my new wireless controller is the fact that it is next to impossible to look at the character I am controlling on the screen and mash a virtual gamepad on my iphone without losing track of where the buttons are located. If you play iPhone games on an
iPhone, this is rarely a problem with a touch screen d-pad or action button, after all you are staring at the screen and controller at the same time. However when you play something on a screen other than the iPhone, you find that without the tactile feel of a game controller, you are lost when you cannot simply feel your way back to the controls. For this reason how can one really recommend this app? While it does exactly what it says it does, the actual execution was to me, a bad experience. If you are on an extreme budget and you can’t really afford a basic PC USB Game Controller, then maybe this is for you. Otherwise, best to stay away from jumigamer.
How to Retro Game in Style: If you want to really game in style, then be sure to check out the product pictured here. The FC3 is the ULTIMATE muti function machine, playing all consoles: Nintendo Entertainment System Super Nintendo Sega Genesis All THREE consoles on ONE MACHINE. An amazing deal, and you can let your heirloom consoles remain in safe keeping

UPDATE: STEP BY STEP SETUP (May 13. 2010)

Because I’ve started to see search results asking specifically How to Set Up jumigamer I am going to cover that here as well.

How to Setup And Install JumiGamer on iPhone and iPod Touch

Step 1.
Download jumigamer from the AppStore and install it on your device

Step 2.
Make sure you are connected to the same wifi network on both your computer and iPhone/iPad//iPod touch

Step 3.
Download the proper software and install it on your computer by clicking here (direct download from jumitech’s website)

Step 4.
After it is setup, launch the file and it will be sitting in your system tray near your clock.
When it runs you will be asked to enter a password. Enter one as later you need to enter this on your iPhone jumigamer app as well.

Step 5.
You should then launch jumigamer on your iDevice. You should see your computer listed.
If it is not listed then click the gear icon in jumigamer to be sure “autodiscovery” is enabled.

And then simply tap your computer in the list. If it asks you enter the password from earlier and the control pad appears on your device.

After this you need to set up the game you are using. Every game is different and you need to refer to the games instructions or manual but it is basic, instead of pressing a keyboard key in the games setup menu you will press the button on the jumigamer app on the iPhone.

THAT SHOULD COVER IT!
Any questions, post them in the comments (no registration needed) and thanks!

Att iPhone News, Hacks, App Reviews, How To and jailbreak