Removing passcode on iPhone without restoring using iTunes is quite easy. This thread has step-by-step instructions on how to do this: http://tinyurl.com/ykg26x8. Which means, if you lost your iPhone, change the passwords that it stored for its applications!

2nd Gen iPhone

2nd Gen iPhone as early as this summer? Read the possible set of specs on engadget

Google's Lost Spectrum Bid and Future Plans, White Spaces

AT&T and Verizon won parts of 700 MHz spectrum bid that ranged around $4.6 billion [Wi-fiplanet.com]. Even though Google was one of the bidders and lost the auction, it keeps pushing towards opening the air for other (than cell phones) mobile devices. The targeted spectrum is the "white space", previously used as a guard band between broadcasting channels. FCC is welcoming the initiative by the White Space Coalition, including Google, Microsoft, Dell, Intel, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, HP, Philips, and Earthlink. Once FCC approves the proposals, the consumers might see a multitude of wireless personal devices on the market that are not based on the conventional cellular networks. Access to internet from anywhere can become massively available to anyone for a fraction of the price that RFs (regular folks in this case) are paying right now for their cellular plans, if not free (Go Google)! As a result, the cell phone monopoly will face the serious competition and will be forced to offer more competitive prices.

We need the similar initiative in Canada! I am sure most of Canadians are sick and tired of expensive mobile plans that they have compared to our Southern neighbor.

[Google's Next Spectrum Battle, Wi-fiplanet.com]
[First White Space devices failed, FCC, reports InternetNews.com]
[White Space Coalition]

Live Coverage of gPhone Mobile OS

As posted on www.Engadget.com

New iPhone models by Fall 2008?

With Apple's goals to ship 50 million iPhones by the end of 2009, the author of this blog suggests that several new models should come out by Fall 2008 the latest. There are rumors that there'll be a lower end model without the touch screen capability and a higher end one. Read the post here.

I've been thinking about getting iPhone or even iTouch for myself for a while now. Without flash memory, the 16 gig limit for the top of the line $450+ iTouch does not attract me that much. The phone part can justify itself. However, the iTouch has to have something more to justify my investment.

What I need in a PDA device:

• Internet access (free wifi is great)
  
• Storage (I like photography and it would have been nice to be able to show pictures to friends without the need to erase the old ones to free up space for new; with 1-3 Mb Mp3s, it might be harder to manage. Hence, the bigger the better)
  
• Organizational software
  

Hence, a few points against iTouch (for me):

• Vancouver, BC is not a wireless city (yet), especially if you go outside of downtown area
• There is no expandable memory. SD slot would have been nice.
  
• There is no todo or calendar software. It's ok when you are online as many online tools can take care of that. However, if you are not connected half of the time, what's the point? Reminders can be easily missed. This will be fixed with time with the new software add-ons coming out.
  

and a few Pros:

• Controlling computer and other devices at home will be really easy with the new iTouch - much better than with a cell phone. Hacking iTouch or iPhone must be a pleasure
  
• Touch screen is awesome. It beats the lack of memory. I am really tempted.
  

Just these two points above are enough to convince me to buy the "i". I do not care about YouTube or iTunes. The first one most of the time is for time wasting. And the second one can be done from your home computer just as easy. But the hacking and remote control parts can open up the new horizons. More on this later.

VoIP over GPRS or EDGE/EGPRS

Wouldn't it be possible to use VoIP over GPRS or EGPRS that is already supported by cell phones, thus, minimizing the number of minutes used from a regular plan?

I think technically it should work, since in both networks, data and voice 'calls' are made simultaneously using different time slots. So, if using one time slot per voice call is OK (that's what everyone is doing when calling), using the remaining time slots for data (one or more if paid for more) should allow encoding VoIP packets and transferring them via data channel.

The problems that need to be solved here are: (1) mobile hardware/software to allow fast packet creation and extraction and (2) cost effectiveness of this method. Cell phones are quite fast these days with majority of new cell phones and hand held devices supporting video decoding and even streaming over fast data connection (i.e. iPhone over WiFi). That means that hardware is fast enough to be able to packetize the voice. The second problem can depend on the data plan that a user pays for. Does it make sense to pay more for data and squeeze more minutes from a mobile plan over data channel? I think unlimited data plans can solve these problems.

Data plans are usually quite pricey. However, just last week Virgin Mobile in Canada announced Unlimited data plan option for just $10 on top of a regular cell phone plan. That should push other providers in Canada to decrease their rates soon as well!

References:
$10 Unlimited Data Virgin Mobile plan: link
Easy explanation of GPRS and EDGE: link

iPhone in Canada

Again, supposedly insider information. Read here and here.

If the price for iPhone will indeed be $799, there's no way I am buying it! iTouch simply as a gadget would be a better option for me then. I have a feeling though that it's an old political trick of overshooting (originally used by ancient Romans). Intentionally raise the expected price high, and then offer it at a better one, making buyers happy to have the lesser of two! Romans used it for interrogation to make the victim accept the lesser of two evils.

I think the strategy worked quite well before when Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, offered a $100 discount towards future shopping at Apple Store to those who bought iPhone early. That's only after dropping iPhone's price by $200 after 68 days following its release. Consumers were happy even though they lost $100!

Rumors of upcoming gGoogle mobile platform

There are rumors that Google might be working on a mobile platform and a phone. Check it out here.
Google Mobile Service in UK: here
Picture of how the phone could look like: picture

Cell Phone Hacking

Recently I have become really interested in cell phone modifications. Here is an interesting video: http://www.break.com/index/cell_phone_hack.html

Cool Tools

Here is another set of useful online tools that I came across this past week. First - somewhat randomly, unusually for me by following a commercial link.

1. QIPIT - Online jpg scanning tool with email and fax capabilities. It allows taking a pic of a document, whiteboard, notes, etc and sending it, already scanned (color and b/w) to email or a fax number. This tool has proved to be really useful the same day. JPG has been emailed to copy@qipit.com with email of a friend who the doc was supposed to be delivered to. Qipit scanned it and delivered both to my friend and myself as a backup in PDF format. PDF files are also stored on the server. Check it out: www.qipit.com
2. ScanR. Similar alternative for mobile phones, which I have not tested yet: www.scanR.com
   http://www.getjar.com/products/6744/scanRScanCopyandFax
3. RDM++ - remote desktop via cell phone. I did not like the idea of third party server storing info about your computer, but that's their implementation (I might be wrong as I have not spent too much time on their website). I'd look for something else. Nevertheless, here's the link: http://www.shapeservices.com/en/products/details/rdmhow
4. GMaps. Really cool mobile tool for your cell phone. That's what I was thining of building myself one of these days. I'll definitely come back to it later and check it out. http://www.getjar.com/products/6949/MobileGMaps

Remote control of PC using Sony Ericsson k790

Last night I was watching one of the episodes from Seinfeld from Season 9. I could not stop laughing at the scene when Kramer pretended to be a "wealthy industrialist, philanthropist and a bicyclist" just to get into the washroom of a $1.5 mil apartment that was put up for sale. I was having my dinner at that time and did not want to stand up from the couch to rewind it back. However, I did anyway.
Sitting at work during lunch the following day I was thinking of a way to add a remote control functionality to my PC with minimal expenses. My cell phone has a Bluethooth and an infrared port. There must be a way via software!
A quick search revealed that my SE k790a has the HID (Human Interface Device) feature and all I need is HID profile supporting soft. Here are a few links I found that are worth checking out:

Sony Ericsson Developers Zone: http://developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/home/p_home.jsp
VIAO Zone remote control: http://atinyblip.wordpress.com/vaio-zone-remote-control/
Salling Clicker (commercial soft): http://www.salling.com/Clicker/windows/devices.php

For future reference:
http://www.macncell.com/index_html/archive/2006/08/22/sony-ericsson-k800--k790i-cyber-shot-camera-phone-using-it-with-the-mac

Mobile Processing

Mobile Processing is an open source programming environment for people who want to design and prototype software for mobile phones. It is based on and shares the same design goals as the open source Processing project. Sketches programmed using Mobile Processing run on Java Powered mobile devices. (http://mobile.processing.org/index.php)