The iPhone 3G first-mover advantage

We know you are probably sick and tired of hearing about the iPhone 3G by now--I know I am. But here's another one--a post that will answer some readers' questions about why we cover it so much.

These photos were taken last week in Hong Kong, outside three different mobile operators' shops along the same street within a 5-minute period. On the left, you see Hutchison's 3 shop, the operator which has the iPhone. The other two are Peoples by China Telecom and PCCW Mobile. See the difference?
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Dell hints it's working on smart phone

It wasn't much more than an offhand comment this time, but Michael Dell's got the gadget-obsessed stirred up again.

In an interview with Om Malik of GigaOm, Dell was asked about the company's plans in the smart phone industry. At first he gave a vague, corporate PR-type answer: "We are certainly looking at the whole smart phone category, but I wouldn't expect anything anytime soon." But when Malik pressed him about whether his company was more interested in a Symbian or Android OS for any potential handheld device, Dell was slightly more informative.

"We're not ready to publicly disclose our plans there...we're kind of working on that," he said.

Well, it's about time. Dell's been out of the handheld business for over a year, but there have been signs it's been testing the waters, such as when it picked up Zing in August. One round of rumors put the device as Android-based and more recently as Windows Mobile.

Dell did warn not to expect any product anytime soon, so perhaps it's waiting for Windows Mobile 7? Stay tuned.

Via CNET Crave

iPhone 3G battery results: Music and video

Our CNET Labs team have unveiled their battery performance results for music and video playback on the iPhone 3G. We're still working on iPhone talktime testing and we'll be doing another round of audio and video tests with 3G disabled--but at least we have another piece of the puzzle to add to our review.

To give the test results some context, we also retested the first-generation iPhone, and simultaneously tested a comparable 3G multimedia phone, the Samsung Instinct. Apple's public tech specs claim the iPhone 3G is capable of up to 7 hours of video playback and 24 hours of music playback. Surprisingly, with 3G switched on the iPhone sailed past 24 hours of music playback, but tanked when it came to video. Further testing with 3G disabled may yet redeem Apple's claim of 7 hours of video playback.

Enough talk--here're the numbers:
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Dirty hands-on with the Nokia 5800 "Tube"

And we mean finger smudges dirty. The rule is this: You know an impending release of a new phone whenever hands-on pictures start sprouting up on the Internet. This time, miyaliu from digi QQ did the honors of posting 14 pictures of the Nokia 5800 "Tube" which made a brief cameo on the recent Dark Knight movie. According to what was reported on the Web site, the "Tube" will be announced in August and the latest set of pictures suggests that the touchscreen handset will sport the XpressMusic label instead of the previous XpressMedia.

Other specifications of the "Tube" that were mentioned in the five-page article include a 3.2-inch 1.6 million colors TFT LCD with 640 x 360 (16:9 aspect ratio) resolution, haptics feedback, built-in accelerometer, 3.2-megapixel camera, dual-LED flash, geotagging ability, onboard GPS, 3.5mm audio jack and TV-out. Wireless radios are also aplenty with the phone supporting HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Now, the official word from Nokia is that it doesn't comment on speculations or unannounced products (duh). But, not to worry, these pictures should whet your gadget fanboy appetite for the time being until Nokia decides to make things official.
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Cancer doc urges cell phone precaution

A prominent cancer researcher's warning to limit cell phone use has rekindled anew the longstanding question over mobile-phone health risks.

The media is abuzz with news of the memo from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. He sent it to faculty and staff Wednesday, saying, among other things, that children should use cell phones only for emergencies, since their developing organs are the most likely to be sensitive to possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

In his 10-point advisory, Herberman also urges adults to keep phones away from their heads and use speakerphones or wireless headsets.

He suggests that people try to avoid constantly carrying their cell phones on their bodies and also try not to keep the devices nearby at night under the pillow or on a nightstand. He even warns against using cell phones in public places like buses because it exposes others to the phone's electromagnetic fields.

Herberman notes that the precautions have been reviewed by UPCI experts in neuro-oncology, epidemiology, and neurosurgery, as well as and the Center for Environmental Oncology.

The tumor immunologist's words are grabbing widespread attention both because of his professional position and because they contradict numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use.
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