Verizon has announced that choose BlackBerry users (Curve 8330, Pearl 8130, and 8830 World Edition) can use their addictive smartphones to “stay connected to their financial information while away from home with Verizon Wireless' Mobile Banking application.”

With Verizon's mobile banking service, users can:

• Get account balances and account transaction history.
• Transfer funds between eligible accounts at the same financial institution.
• View and pay bills when enrolled in their financial institution's Bill Pay service.
• View the last five transactions successfully completed on their mobile devices.

To get Mobile Banking on Verizon Wireless, users should click on the “Mobile Banking” link from the “VZ Start” homepage to download the app. There’s no monthly charge for the application, even though data charges may apply.

In addition to BlackBerry smartphones, Verizon's mobile banking app/service is also available on a number of Get It Now-enabled phones.

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Generation Y to drive the mobile banking growth in the U.S.
• mFoundry to offer m-banking services to Verizon's users
• Juniper Research: Over 800 million consumers will use mobile banking services by 2011
• Only 8% of U.S. mobile users interested in mobile banking
• Sprint teams up with mFoundry to offer mobile banking services

Share This

Share This

I'm not sure should we trust the image above or not, but apparently the upcoming low-end Sony Ericsson J132 will come with the standard 3.5 headphone jack. Maybe it's me, but I do want to believe the Swedish-Japanese company will finally opt for the logical way and join other handset makers which have been shipping phones with 3.5mm audio jack for years.

A month ago when it was announced, Sony Ericsson hasn't mentioned such a feature in the official release. It's good to see them going this way, and we can only hope they'll do the same thing with all of the upcoming Walkman phones. After all, it's only natural to sell music-centric phones with standard 3.5 headphone jack, don't you think?

[Via: Unwired View, image from Kraj]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• More live photos of the Sony Ericsson W890i
• Sony Ericsson unveils J132, K330 entry-level phones
• Sony Ericsson W890i hits the FCC
• Say hello to Linda, the Sony Ericsson who snuck into the club because she didn't have ID
• Video: Sony Ericsson W350 demo

Share This

Share This

Web-apps are here to stay. Like a new wave of easily developed (relatively) and deployed applications, cloud-computing has taken its first steps to true legitimacy.

Just as Apple's revamped .Mac service, MobileMe, has pushed cloud-based computing to Joe MacUser, Sharpcast is poised to bring their SugarSync on the internet backup/storage solution to the iPhone.

SugarSync aims to keep all your files (pictures, videos, documents, etc.) synchronized across any and all devices you use to access the web. The SugarSync manager sits on your Computer or Mac and grants you to configure which folders (directories) you want to keep synchronized through SugarSync's servers. You can choose to upload entire picture libraries or specify a choose few.

SugarSync's Magic Briefcase feature allows you to swiftly drag-and-drop any files that you want to synchronize across all your devices. Simpy drop a picture file from your desktop in to Magic Briefcase and access that picture file from your work computer, friend's computer, or iPhone (and other handhelds). But wait, don't you have to install a SugarSync client on every single machine? Totally not.

When you register your SugarSync account, you are assigned a personal URL. Simply point any browser to that personalized URL and you'll have access to all the files you've chosen to upload from your home personal. And, with SugarSync's newly minted iPhone web-app, you can flip through your files with iPhone-esque, sliding-panel ease.

You can even upload photos from your mobile phone to the SugarSync mobile photo manager - as long as you take the photos with the SugarSync mobile pic application. A tiny birdy told me that there's going to be some exciting iPhone applications launched soon - I'm hoping it has to do with uploading photos from my iPhone to SugarSync.

Now, here's where it gets a tiny confusing. Each personal with a SugarSync manager installed can upload different files that are accessible from any other computer. So, you can have Personal A with photos uploaded and filed in the cloud under “Computer A,” and you can have Personal B with music uploaded and filed under “Computer B.” You can access both computers' files from any computer with a web connection. But, then there's also the Magic Briefcase, which is something like a cloud-desktop, that synchronizes any files that you toss in there across the internet. Confused yet?

The service is great, but it takes a bit of time to get used to thinking in terms of cloud-based storage. It helps to think of the Magic Briefcase as a desktop in the cloud, and multiple personal as separate hard drives in the cloud.

SugarSync also makes it possible to upload huge files of any size. The files can be synchronized across all your computers, stored only online, or downloaded to just a single personal. You can even email a link to the file to family and friends to download within 3 weeks. And, with an iPhone application set to hit the AppStore soon, SugarSync may just turn out to be the cloud-storage solution of choice.

All in all, SugarSync is powerful and a good alternative to MobileMe (but with no push email). And, keeping all your files on the internet gives you peace of mind like nothing else. Still, easily-confused users will need a tiny time to get used to SugarSync's interface.

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Apple launches MobileMe for data sharing in the cloud
• On the web OS Glide Mobile adds iPhone support
• Ecamm iPhone Drive 1.4 - update to iPhone Drive is live
• On the web storage service Box.net adds support for iPhone
• SeeFile.com announces free storage for iPhone users

Share This

Share This

Virgin Mobile, always looking to offer new hardware to its customers, has announced that they will be picking up the LG Rumor for its SMS text messaging users in Canada.

The 17.8mm thick vertical slider features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and speakerphone. But, the LG Rumor's dual keypad and slide-out QWERTY keyboard design takes the lion's share oft the limelight. For text messaging aficionados, a physical QWERTY keyboard is a nice addition to the numeric keypad on the front face of the device. And, now Canadians on Virgin Mobile Canada's network can get their own LG Rumor, in Black, for $79.99 on a 3-year plan, or $199 to buy outright. Buy the LG Rumor on the web before July 31st and you get a $25 activation credit.

Share This

Share This

The premier of one of the most-anticipated movie-releases in history is upon us. We're speaking about “The Dark Knight,” of course. And, to help market the new motion picture, there's a new iPhone application available through the Apple AppStore that let's you celebrate your Batman-enthusiasm by making yourself look crazy.

You can use your iPhone's camera to take a picture of yourself and apply some Joker-esque makeup with a touch of your finger. Much like the Pirate application that ushered in National Pirate Day last year, this new Dark Knight application gives you all the good looks and charm of the Joker. Give yourself a “dark” makeover before you enjoy the motion picture.
Grab the iPhone application here (iTunes AppStore link).

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• The Dark Knight gets Glu'd
• Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight edition mobile phone hits Verizon Wireless
• LG Viewty has a new color - Dark Silver, and a redesigned jog wheel
• Int13's CrazyKart 2 coming to iPhone
• Knight Riders get to play with touch-enabled Nokia N95

Share This

Share This

The one thing keeping the HTC Diamond from sweeping across America as the next massive competitor (and a capable one at that) to the iPhone 3G is the HTC Diamond's lack of support for the 850Mhz GSM frequency band that us Yankees love to use. Sure, 850Mhz has better penetrating power than the higher frequency 900Mhz band that's used in ubiquity throughout the rest of the world, but it still means the US has to wait for European handsets to make the jump to the US.

But, the thing is, Euro handsets usually lag in hitting the US market due hardware limitations. We were under the impression that the HTC Diamond, in European trim, lacked the radio hardware to jump on the 850Mhz frequency in the US. Lo and behold, there's 850Mhz support built-in to the HTC Diamond! Who knew?

A new cellular radio ROM has surfaced at XDA developers that somehow (we're betting there's some magic involved here) enables 850Mhz support in the HTC Diamond. This basically means an HTC Diamond with this radio ROM is now a US-compatible, quad-band GSM smartphone - albeit, EDGE data is about as good as it's going to get.

So, if you just can't wait to jump on the HTC Diamond before it hits the US in official quad-band spec, grab a European HTC Diamond and give it some unofficial ROM-love. Just remember, you're messing around with critical firmware at your own risk.

HTC Diamond 850Mhz radio ROM 

[Via: xda]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• HTC shipping newer HTC Touch Diamond handsets with updated TouchFLO 3D
• HTC Touch Diamond US-spec available through CompUSA
• HTC Touch Diamond goes toe to toe with Apple iPhone
• HTC Touch Diamond heads to India, forgets 3G radio
• HTC to release the Diamond accessories, too

Share This

Share This

Marketing and hype are keys to getting the consumer excited about the next big handset. Apple, HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia all know that you’ve to get the market hyped up about an upcoming product launch if you want to sell boatloads of handsets. And, it seems Sony Ericsson is also getting in on the fun.

The Japanese-Swedish mobile phone manufacturer has launched a new web portal to highlight the past three years of Sony Ericsson Walkman phone history. Sony Ericsson is pushing their Walkman phone lineup's media-playing prowess ahead of their new Walkman-branded mobile phone launches. The new Sony Ericsson Walkman phone portal urges visitors to return to the website on July 22 at 10am CET in anticipation of a “new chapter” of Walkman phones.

Share This

Share This

What's this? Brand-new and unlocked iPhone 3G handsets shipped to your door from China? Say it ain't so!

We waited over 10 hours in line for the iPhone 3G last week, and all we got was a fully network-locked 16GB iPhone 3G that took several excruciating hours to activate. So, with Hong Kong's Alibaba Wholesale pushing fully unlocked iPhone 3G handsets through parent company Union Camera Ltd., we're feeling a bit of buyer's remorse.

The mobile electronics retailer is offering brand-new, unlocked iPhone 3G handsets in 8GB and 16GB trim. But, with Alibaba requiring a $1,000 USD minimum purchase order, that tinge of buyer's remorse we were feeling is starting to fade. Still, iPhone 3G hopefuls looking to pay a premium for an unlocked handset might find this deal attractive.

We're not sure how these guys managed to get their brand-new iPhone 3G's unlocked already, but anyone looking to find out just how legit this offer really is can put in an order through Alibaba's online store-front.

Drop us a line if you decide to take the plunge.

[Via: PMP This day]

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Unlocked Apple iPhones working in Hong Kong with non-AT&T SIM cards?
• Chinese iPhones in Hong Kong with full Chinese-language support
• Hutchison's 3 to carry iPhone in Hong Kong and Macau
• Porsche Cayenne Mobile Phone - From Hong Kong
• HTC Touch available in Hong Kong?

Share This

Share This

We already knew the iPhone 3G ran up a $175 bill of materials (BOM) on Apple's tab, according to iSuppli. So, there's nothing new on that front. But, the newest press release from iSuppli gives us a component-by-component breakdown of costs associated with the iPhone 3G.

While we can't know how much it costs Apple to ship, market, and service all those iPhone 3G handsets out in the wild, iSuppli's latest component breakdown pegs Apple's cost on 8GB iPhone 3G parts at about $175 ($174.33, to be more exact). That figure is a good $53 lower than what it cost Apple to put an original, first-generation 8GB iPhone together. Apple managed to cut costs by reusing the Samsung-sourced CPU from the original iPhone and transitioning to a single logic board, rather than the two separate logic boards that we saw in the iPhone.

Here's a look at what Apple's paying for iPhone 3G parts:

iSuppli also estimates that Apple is forking over $50 in technology royalties for each iPhone 3G sold, boosting Apple's immediate hardware costs to about $225. But, factor in the healthy AT&T subsidy (and presumably other carriers' subsidies) and Apple's likely looking at a 55% margin on the iPhone 3G. Not an insignificant profit margin in the mobile market.

iSuppli

—
Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• iPhone 3G costs Apple $173 in parts, and how Apple saved $53 over the original iPhone
• The iPhone was outsold by RIM's BlackBerry lineup 2 to 1 in July
• Apple iPhone sales eclipse all other smartphones in July!
• Apple iPhone 3G manufacturing costs - Would you believe $100?
• Unofficial iPhone replacement back cover costs only $32!

Share This

Share This

this is a video on how to get the xbox4iphone on itouch/iphone

Share This

Share This