FreshPhoneNews.com

This is your last call to quit that Sprint contract of yours if it’s bugging you or if you’ve got your eyes on a cooler hotter phone. Since Sprint will be raising their non-government mandated administrative fee from 75 cents to 99 cents, your Sprint contract gives you the right to reject this change and terminate the contract without paying any Early Termination Fees.

You have this option till January 1, 2009. Now getting the customer service reps to actually cough up the contract closure will be a bit of a task, but if you stick through it, it can be done.

Here’s a dialogue posted by a successful ex-Sprint user.

RIM has finally released the much awaited BlackBerry Operating System 5.0 for the BlackBerry Curve. The OS brings many needed and wanted features to the BlackBerry phones and RIM has now given detailed specifications on what to expect from it.

 In the past, to add, delete or edit a folder, you needed to go through your computer. With OS 5.0 however, it will be possible to do this from the device. Users will also be able to store personal contacts separately from business contacts without having to resort to filters. You will also be able to forward and share Calender options. Sharing documents and media will be able to done through the Files application. On the Visual side of things, RIM is apparently working on a way to make emails sent from devices look as they would if they were sent from Outlook. There isn’t any release date for the OS 5.0 yet but there is speculation that it will be acknowledged during Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) in April.

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If you’re a developer, you’ll be interested in knowing that your fellow technological brethren are making loads of money off of designing applications for the iPhone. Here are a few very interesting stories;

Smule, a small software company created 4 small programs for the iPhone – voice changer, virtual firecracker, virtual lighter, and virtual wind instrument.  The virtual wind instrument is named Ocarina and is the winner of the group with 400,000 downloads in less than 1 month.  Smule had hoped to generate a $100,000 in revenue this year, but will now generate close to $1 million.

In another tale of developer success; Case in point is Steve Demeter, a 30 year old programmer, who created the iPhone game Trism in his spare time. In two months he earned $250,000 selling the game to iPhone users.  He ended up quitting his full time job and hired 5 engineers to develop various games for the iPhone.

Designing applications for the iPhone and selling them through the Apple Apps Store is turning out to be quite a lucrative business. Though there will be a point where the market will reach its saturation point, but the way things are at present and with the many features still wanting on the iPhone, that saturation point will came after a good number of developers have made their creative genius known to all iFans. Oh and Apple gets 30% of the gross revenue that an application generates, just to give you an idea that the company won’t be having a bad recession time after all.

For users, this means tons of applications to load on your iPhone, and since developers are the guys who critically look at all these smartphones, you can bet there’ll be plenty of stuff coming off their trays you’ll like.

There’s always a great deal of pleasure to be had from knowing that the FCC has cleared a new handset for launch, more toys for us. The latest of promised coming attractions is a Nokia handset marked RM-412, but this may well be the codenamed smartphone “Victoria”, which was on the leaked roadmap of Nokia’s internal strategies on how it’s going to rule the smartphone world.

There isn’t a lot to be said about the phone because the FCC news piece didn’t give a lot of details. So far, what can be confidently reported, is that the smartphone is a quad-band GSM handset with tri-band WCDMA (900/1900/2100 MHz) and also that it has a counterpart, RM-413, that is likely an identical model with a variation in WCDMA frequencies (NAM variant perhaps). It packs an anemic 1000 mAh battery, WiFi and Bluetooth. Beyond that, your guess is as good as ours. Wi-Fi is good, so that means the phone will be well received. What about real pictures and not just this sketch we have for you for now, well FCC will release official shots of the RM-412 on March 17, 2009. Of course if we all know the internet and the beauty that is sleuthing, there will be plenty of eye candy before the boring official debut.

HKC, that nice company from China that likes making dual-stuff, has come out with a dual Operating system smartphone, the HKC Pearl. Err…no big secret, it’s a total copycat phone. And not only does HKC sound like HTC, it looks a good bit like HTC. The two operating systems that it’s showing off are the Windows Mobile and Android. Other dual-something sets launched by HKC are the dual-SIM W1000-Global Storm and the dual-network G1000 Global Wind (CDMA and GSM).

Now while the handset is violating a good number of copyrights, so it won’t be making any appearances outside China, it certainly is a novel idea. The smartphone world now has a new possibility, while it may not be easy to have Windows Mobile and Android on the same handset because of high license fees, putting the Symbian and Android on the same handsets could be a viable option in the near future. Now let’s see who does it first, the right way.

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Qik has just recently revealed that it is going to launch the beta version of a new client that will support over 20 Windows Mobile handsets. The slick new video streaming software, brings with itself the company’s first Palm-compatible client with support for the 800w and Treo Pro, as well as a plethora of Samsung and HTC-based phones. The Qik client also comes with another cool feature, the ability to utilize external flash memory to create bigger upload buffers and enhanced support for touchscreen devices.

Live video streaming is hands down the best feature to hit mobile handsets this side of the century and nothing is sweeter than knowing that major players in the mobile phone industry are working on improving this feature. Here’s a list of all the phones you can be Qikking on;

Palm:

1.      Palm Treo 800w

2.      Palm Treo Pro (alpha support)

Samsung:

1.      Samsung SGH-i900/i908/ SCH-i910 (Omnia)

2.      Samsung SGH-i907 (Epix)

3.      Samsung SGH-i760

4.      Samsung SGH-i780 (Blackjack3)

HTC-based:

1.      HTC Touch Pro

2.      HTC Touch HD

3.      HTC XV6800

4.      HTC TyTN

5.      O2 XDA Trion

6.      T-Mobile MDA Vario II

7.      Vodafone 1605 VPA Compact III

8.      Orange SPV M3100

9.      Dopod CHT 9000

10.  Dopod 838 Pro

11.  DoCoMo HTC Z

12.  Qtek 9600

13.  iMate JasJam

14.  AT&T 8525

15.  Swisscom XPA v1605

16.  SoftBank X01HT

17.  Vodafone PDA 1605

18.  Vodafone PDA 9600

Right so the absolutely lousy battery life of the G1 is no big secret. And the degree of irritation that the battery’s early death causes has caused more than a nerve twitch on most G1 users. Obviously, when the users of the G1 signed up for an Android phone, this is not what they had in mind. So who should do something about this? Users don’t really care, but the problem needs to be solved. So the latest buzz is the T-Mobile will be giving all its current lot G1 users an extended life battery with a matching battery cover too. Though it isn’t confirmed yet, but yes this is what they need to do and what they should do.

The new battery will pack 1400mAh, which would add roughly 20% more capacity than the current 1150 mAh juicer that the G1 currently ships with. Confirmation should be heading our way within the next week, so G1 users keep your fingers crossed.

Well Merry Christmas Everyone. From FreshPhoneNews, to all those who stop by daily and have great holidays. Enjoy with your family and be safe.

Ho! Ho! Ho! To everyone!

Alltel wireless has launched a brand new application to give company its outdoor loving user base; the Trimble Outdoors Application lets users take full advantage of the GPS features on their GPS enables handsets. So no matter where you are, you’re never out of touch with the world. The Trimble Outdoors application turns a wide range of Alltel GPS-enabled handsets into a versatile, off-road navigation and journaling tool for hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, hunting and many other outdoor activities.

The application costs only $1.99 a day and lets users do a number of nifty things, you can plan your trip ahead and preview it online too. It also enhances user safety and navigation by sending trekking routes, maps and waypoints wirelessly to the phone for use as a guide during trips. Customers can track their current and previous routes with a GPS “bread crumb trail,” mark and edit waypoints during their journey, and utilize a built-in digital compass to display coordinates, speed and heading. Try and get lost now!

The Trimble Outdoor generates maps for your use as well and you view them in topographic, street and aerial views. You can also make your trip memorable and share with your friends; the Trimble Outdoors lets you capture photos, audio and video, which allows for GPS-tagged online journaling at trimbleoutdoors.com. There’s also an online library of professional trekking tips as well as those from users that you can access.

The Trimble Outdoors application is available to Alltel customers for $39.99 per year, $5.99 per month or $1.99 per day. The application is compatible with the Motorola V3A, V3C, V3M, V9M and K1M, the Samsung Muse, LG AX656 and AX8600, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and the BlackBerry Pearl 8110. You can download the application from the Navigation folder of your handset’ phone’s Alltel/Axcess Shop. You can also get from Alltel.com.

Well Sprint certainly has taken a technological jump forward, it has just recently announced that it will be making the very first 3G/4G dual-mode device, which operates on both the Sprint 3G and 4G networks. The device is available in stores now.

The Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300 delivers the power of the Now Network, the nation’s largest and most dependable mobile broadband 3G network, while also harnessing the turbocharged speeds of Wi-MAX on the new Sprint 4G network.

Sprint has already launched 4G in Baltimore in September and has plans to launch in other markets across the country throughout 2009. The dual-mode device will enable customers to experience blazing fast Internet access, greater productivity and enhanced multimedia quality throughout 4G markets, and offer access to the dependable Sprint 3G network virtually everywhere else. Also the 3G/4G USB modem represents another major development in truly un-tethered broadband access.

Sprint 4G is the tomorrow of how people will use mobile broadband. Businesses, consumers and governments will be able to extend their Internet experience beyond home or office use. For the business customer, a typical user experience might be the ability to participate in a video conference from anywhere within the coverage area in a Sprint 4G city in addition to sharing and retrieving large data files in a matter of seconds.

For consumers, it might be the ability to download a song in several seconds or a movie in significantly less than an hour while in the park or moving through the city, three to five times faster than 3G networks. The Sprint 3G/4G USB modem will access mobile multimedia applications at an average downlink speed of 2-4 Mbps within Baltimore Sprint 4G service areas. In areas where the Sprint 4G service isn’t available yet, the dual-mode device will operate on the Nationwide Sprint Mobile Broadband 3G Network at average downlink speeds of 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps.

And now for the 3G/4G USB Modem itself, it was manufactured by Franklin Wireless, is a sleek, easy-to-use data card which connects to a standard USB port. The device is priced at $149.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement, after a $50 mail-in-rebate. You can purchase the USB data card from the Sprint direct business sales force, at most Baltimore-area Sprint stores and at select Baltimore-area retailers.

Starting in January, the device will also be available in Baltimore-area Best Buy stores. With the Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem, users living in and traveling to Baltimore will be able to work even faster while on-the-go. For $79.99, yes that is $20, more than other mobile broadband connections, but it will give you simple-to-use access to the best possible mobile broadband connection. The Sprint Connection Manager recognizes and connects to the fastest connection available. You can visit Sprint’s website for more details.