name=sl id=old_sl tabindex=1> Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish name=tl id=tl sl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_sl', 'sl_select', 'sl'); tl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_tl', 'tl_select', 'tl'); _SetupSubmit ( 'Translate', 'submit_button', 'sl', sl_select, 'tl', tl_select, 'text_form', 'old_submit'); / td> Translate a Web Page < / h1> _SetupURL ( 'url');

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

A retailer taking pre-orders for phones that haven't even been announced is considered business as usual, but there's something just a little out of the ordinary with Horizon Wireless' listing for the alleged touchscreen superphone outta Waterloo, the BlackBerry 9500 "Thunder" -- it's accompanied by a somewhat believable picture of the thing. Extreme blur always adds a healthy dose of credibility (we kid), but more importantly, the picture shows no telltale signs of being a render and looks essentially like what everyone's expecting it to look like. BlackBerry addicts who've been desperately fighting the urge to go to the dark side, consider this your shot of willpower for the day.

[Thanks, Yasim M.]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

A retailer taking pre-orders for phones that haven't even been announced is considered business as usual, but there's something just a little out of the ordinary with Horizon Wireless' listing for the alleged touchscreen superphone outta Waterloo, the BlackBerry 9500 "Thunder" -- it's accompanied by a somewhat believable picture of the thing. Extreme blur always adds a healthy dose of credibility (we kid), but more importantly, the picture shows no telltale signs of being a render and looks essentially like what everyone's expecting it to look like. BlackBerry addicts who've been desperately fighting the urge to go to the dark side, consider this your shot of willpower for the day.

[Thanks, Yasim M.]

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Detect language Arabic Bulgarian Chinese Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Greek Hindi Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish < option value = "pt"> Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish name=tl id=tl sl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_sl', 'sl_select', 'sl'); tl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_tl', 'tl_select', 'tl'); _SetupSubmit ( 'Translate', 'submit_button', 'sl', sl_select, 'tl', tl_select, 'text_form', 'old_submit'); / td> Translate a Web Page < / h1> _SetupURL ( 'url');

Filed under: Cellphones

Looks like Hutchison (aka 3) snagged the iPhone for distribution in Hong Kong and Macau, which will be coming "later this year." Like the rest, this was another one liner un-announcement with no real info, but you probably wouldn't want to anger Steve before WWDC. Besides, in Hong Kong 3 doesn't sell anything but 3G phones -- so put that in your iPipe and smoke it.

[Thanks, Chris and Joe]

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Detect language Arabic Bulgarian Chinese Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Greek Hindi Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish < option value = "pt"> Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish name=tl id=tl sl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_sl', 'sl_select', 'sl'); tl_select = _SetupSelect ( 'old_tl', 'tl_select', 'tl'); _SetupSubmit ( 'Translate', 'submit_button', 'sl', sl_select, 'tl', tl_select, 'text_form', 'old_submit'); / td> Translate a Web Page < / h1> _SetupURL ( 'url');

The drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

a) The location tech in the current iPhone is much quicker. No matter what chip, even SiRFstar chips in full blooded GPSes take awhile to lock on. When using the very capable N95, I'd often drive across town or walk half way to my destination before I'd get signal lock.
b) I'd never use an iPhone as a car GPS. Not even with updated software. The amount of work and expertise that goes into a high end, 5+ generation Garmin is some serious stuff. The logic is all proprietary. It's not easy to do. And GPS antennas need to be somewhat pointed. If it's on your dash, it needs to be on the back. If it's for walking, it needs to be on the front. Which is it?
c) Battery life gets screwed when you keep the GPS on with constant updates.
d) These chips aren't exactly small, although they have been known to fit in things like Suunto watches. That going to make this thing thicker?

No thanks. Don't need it. I'm fine with the current location technology. It works for walking and that's all I need it for.