From the past few weeks of lawsuits surrounding generic patents from Apple vs. HTC, the first company to have this patent approved is going to revolutionize portable electronics as we know it.  It is like those wind-up flashlights in your car’s glove compartment or was it the shaking flashlight.  In the end, it is almost the same technology, only smaller.

From the patent: A battery for an electronic device is contained within a first frame that is coupled to a second frame by one or more piezoelectric elements. The second frame is coupled to a device chassis by one or more additional piezoelectric elements. In response to translation and/or rotation of the electronic device, portions of forces induced by the battery mass are transferred to the piezoelectric elements. Electrical energy output by these piezoelectric elements is received in a power controller and can be applied to the battery. Additional device components can also be contained within the first frame so as to increase the total mass that induces forces applied to the piezoelectric elements.

[TreeHugger via Digg, and New Scientist]

The “SW” and “LA” are just what you’d think – “SouthWest” and “Los Angeles”.  But the SKELLUM represents a seven digit phone number – an anagram to remember the numbers without actually remembering the numbers.  See, I didn’t spoil it all that much…

Sixteen years ago, this would have worked perfectly from any phone – push button or even rotary.  Ten years ago, this would still have worked with just about any cell phone.  But what about today?

I ran into a man at a poker table a couple weeks ago who was unable to make a phone call from his BlackBerry8800 (pictured above).  The phone number he was given used an anagram to make the numbers easier to remember.  The trouble is, not all BlackBerry’s have standard phone keypads – in fact, today many of them have QWERTY keyboards to make them more like mini-laptops and less like phones.

Well, when a phone number is converted to an anagram, it is done using the normal phone layout – #1 is blank, #2 is “ABC”, #3 is “DEF” and so on.  But if you try to dial an anagram using a QWERTY keyboard, you might end up with A falling on #4, B on #8 and C on #7.  In the case of the 8800, the “A” isn’t even on a number, it’s on a question mark.  Since phones are dialed by number and not letter or punctuation, this is a serious problem.

We may have seen the last of the anagram phone number.  With more and more people switching to smartphones as their primary means of communication, the old “ABC/DEF/GHI” phone layouts are starting to go away.  Some phones, like the BlackBerry Storm for example, have a visual layout of their phone pad which represents standard number/letter settings.

I’d recommend always getting a phone number by using the actual numbers anyway.  Let’s face it – it’s not hard to write down a phone number or punch it into your cell phone, call and immediately hang up, then just search the call history when you need to find it.

1. The “S” in the iPhone 3GS is for the support for the faster 7.2 Mbps 3G standard or in Apple’s case… “speed.”  The problem is that AT&T’s network isn’t quite ready for the 7.2Mbps (see prior post).  While some cities are already experiencing this, the majority of the US won’t see it until 2010 or even 2011 in some locations.  Again, with Verizon’s LTE due out next year, these speeds will exceed 7.2Mbps which would not only make for a better “network gaming” platform, but for better download speeds and tethering.
2. Tethering… AT&T still isn’t ready for this.  It should be something as simple as plug and play like BlackBerrys have, but I think AT&T is pondering the idea of charging an additional $70 for unlimited data tethering on top of the already exisiting phone and data plan of roughly $70.  And when I say unlimited, it usually means a cap of 5GB/month.  Wouldn’t it be easier to just get a wireless broadband card instead? [BGR via Gizmodo]
3. MMS is another built in service with most cell phones now, sending pictures, videos, songs or even sexting if you are adventurous… but again, this service is delayed with AT&T.  As Gizmodo puts it “MMS [has] been around for literally years” but for the 3GS, not until later this summer.  Rumor has it that:
   

   “According to BGR, the reason AT&T isn’t going to be ready with MMS at launch is not because of any new pricing plan—it’s because of Opt-Out MMS codes. Apparently, because people were using MMS with the iPhone 3.0 betas, AT&T put an opt-out on all iPhone accounts. So, theoretically, if AT&T manually (yes…manually) removes all of these opt-outs, MMS would work just fine.”

   This should have been resolved before the 3GS release and if I were Apple, I wouldn’t be too happy about not giving our biggest customers (the United States) the best and fastest service available.

4. And the cost?  AT&T is desparate for new customers.  Verizon still has the biggest subscriber pool after absorbing Alltel.  So of course AT&T would have lower prices for the new 3GS for new customers.  Prices of $99 for 8GB version, $199 for 16GB version, $299 for 32GB version would entice anyone… even me (except for the fact I have will power and will wait until next year).  But what about your faithful customers who have stuck by you for so long?  You know, those early adopters of the iPhone 3G?  Well, if you fall into this category, you are screwed!  From Apple’s website:
   

   “For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).”

   … awesome!

Don’t forget, these are just my opinions and theories just like Tom.  Take a read of what he has to say about this too!

[Flickr]

• Next time you go on a trip, maybe this cigarette charger will come in handy! [engadget]
• The world’s oldest carmera [gizmodo]
• ASUS introduces on-the-fly overclocking station [engadget]
• A look at Samsoung’s 8-inch digiframe monitor [engadget]
• Dell Studio XPS 13 with Ubuntu installed! [engadget]
• AT&T first Android phone [gizmodo]

• Some guy takes his Mom for a walk using Google Streetview [gizmodo]
• AT&T plans to buy equipment and infrastructure from Verizon [gizmodo]
• Verizon’s HP Mini 1000 coming out soon. [engadget]
• A glimpse at Sony’s Alpha series DSLRs [gizmodo]
• Roomba mod allows it to pick up things for you. See for yourself! [engadget]

The photo above is of my friend Jay’s cell phone.  Or, at least what used to be his cell phone.  He had a mild accident on Tuesday and his phone was run over.  Now, Jay got lucky – the only thing that looks to be broken on his phone is the screen (obviously).  He was able to use his speed dial functions to call his wife.  That means that most of the internal components of the phone are likely intact.  If this were an actual emergency, he’d still have the use of the universal #9 speed dial for 911.

Naturally, since I’m the tech geek friend, I got the next phone call asking for help.  And since this is a problem that likely plagues many cell phone users I thought, “Hey, why not put it up for the world to see”.

So, without further ado, the quick restart guide for getting reconnected after your cell phone dies.

• Test the phone.  Duh.  It might just have a dead battery.  If you can plug it in and make a phone call you’re probably in good shape.
• Call your cell phone carrier.  Many carriers offer insurance on their products – you may have been paying for it and not even known it.  If so, you can probably get a free replacement or a reduced cost upgrade.
• If your phone isn’t functional and your cell company won’t replace it, you’re gonna need to get a new phone.

Now here’s where being a bit of a pack rat comes in handy.  Generally (not always), I keep my last cell phone when I buy a new one.  It’s good in a pinch as a replacement, and if I end up not liking my new one I can easily switch back.

Most cell phones come equipped with a SIM Card – a small memory card that stores all your important data; your phone number, your contact list, and the files that your phone requires to operate.  Some carriers don’t use SIM Cards (Verizon chief among them, leaving me out of luck if/when my phone dies), but if your phone is on a carrier that does, you can simply remove your card from the dead phone and insert it into a new one.  After the new phone restarts, you should be right back where you were.

Of course, if you happen to not be on a SIM Card enabled cell network, you could be looking at a long recovery process of data, contacts, calendar and other personal information.  The best solution to this is to consistently backup your data.

Cell phones are more like miniature computers these days anyway, so it makes sense to apply the same principles of data recovery to your phone.  If you have a smartphone (Blackberry, iPhone, Palm) make sure to sync it up to your computer regularly (I recommend nightly, but weekly is usually enough).

Other cell providers offer data “Clouds” – a wireless sync program through your cell carrier that will store your contacts, calendar and whatever other data you choose on the carrier’s data network.  The benefit to this is that you can recover data no matter where you are – if you’re on a cruise ship and your phone falls into the Caribbean, you can get off at the next port, find a Sprint/AT&T/Verizon store and buy a new handset, login to your data cloud and get all your information back.  The negative of this system is the fact that your personal data is being stored out of your hands.  For all the promises of network security and personal privacy, let’s face it – there’s no such thing as an impenetrable network these days.

I personally choose the computer backup option for my Blackberry.  I sync my phone 3-4 times a week and then backup my computer to an external hard drive once every two weeks.  This way I have backup redundancy – if I were on that same cruise ship and dropped my laptop bag into the Caribbean with my phone inside it, I’d still only lose a maximum of two weeks of data.  Much better than losing a couple years’ worth.

Of course, you can always go the route I suggested to Jay for his phone – put the SIM Card into a different handset, then print out a list of his contacts and tape it to the screen of his broken phone.  It might be low-tech, but at least he wouldn’t have to try and remember all those numbers.

• Looks like the Transformers 2: ROTF trailer stayed up. Good! Because if you watch it carefully, you can see Devastator! Don’t quite remember him? Here is the new toy! And here is the comparison from the 80s. [Gizmodo]
• Microsoft has announced that it will have over 50 Windows Mobile handsets by 2012! A little late boys? [Engadget]
• If you missed last night’s Simpsons episode (like myself), you missed the first full HD episode. You could probably find it oh Hulu but here is the trailer. [Crunchgear]
• And for all you Facebook users… you better read the new Terms of Service! [Slashdot via Consumerist]

Drool-inducing…

Design

Yep. It’s pretty damned gorgeous. Unfortunately, mine arrived in the mail with a fairly large scratch on the screen, but a call to Verizon cleared that up pretty fast. I’m awaiting the silicone case to protect the outside edges (they’re high-gloss plastic with a metal-looking plastic band) and keep the phone from getting scratched with all the junk I keep in my pockets on a daily basis.

Touchscreen & Keyboard

Since this is the biggest new feature of this particular Blackberry, I was very interested to see how it would work. The screen takes a little getting used to, especially in web browsing. The touchscreen actually is a little funky – you tap the area that you want to select, then press the screen relatively hard in order to actually select.

Same goes for the keyboard. Tapping the screen highlights the key to type, then pressing down actually types. Once you get used to the keyboard though, quick-typing is not hard to do. And the intuitive typing tools that can correct for Fat Finger Syndrome (FFS) do come in handy. As long as you’re in the general vicinity of the word you’re shooting for, you usually get at least a word or two to choose from, and often times the word is auto-corrected for you.  I use the keyboard pretty constantly, and it’s only taken me a week to adjust to it and get back to my normal speed typing.  I might not send 14,000 text messages a month, but between my average of 400 monthly texts and a couple thousand e-mails, I have a feeling I’ll be wearing out the fake keys in no time.

The one thing I miss sorely from this keyboard is any type of “arrow” key – something to move between the text I’ve just typed without having to touch a specific spot or deleting everything I’ve just typed. The touchscreen isn’t horribly accurate for selecting test, and there is no click and drag feature that I’ve found to highlight multiple words for editing. Seems like this would be kind of important for an office tool, especially for word processing on the go.

Sorry, you can’t have my e-mail addresses…

Software

This is my first Blackberry. I’ve always stayed away because, let’s face it, I can occasionally get attached to gadgets and can definitely get addicted to something like this. For me, the software is plenty robust enough and fairly intuitive to use. I have yet to find the Owner’s Manual since unboxing it, and haven’t had any trouble using any of the features I need on a day to day basis.

Personally, I currently have three e-mail addresses pushing messages to the Storm everyday, and a fourth to be added next week. It is very nice to be able to access many different accounts, and even nicer that the Storm gives me the option to sort messages by account.

The Web Browser is kind of a clod, but it gets the job done. Pages open pretty smoothly, and I’ve been able to do everything from manually check e-mails to update Facebook, read ESPN and CNN headlines and articles, run Google searches for work, update my Netflix queue and place an order on Amazon. That’s pretty much everything I need.

The camera seems to work pretty well – the few photos I’ve taken so far have all come out pretty crisp and clear. The 3.2 Megapixel lens is protected by a solid piece of glass, which is nice for not allowing dust and pocket lint to clog up the lens. I’ve yet to use the media player – I still love my little iPod video. Can’t comment on that yet.

Phone/PDA

Oh, right. It’s a cell phone too. And a PDA. So far, I’ve had nothing but good results from the PDA for Calendar & notes. The phone has been useful, but in all honesty hasn’t had quite the quality that I expect from Verizon. I haven’t had any calls drop, but I’ve had trouble staying connected at full or even good signal strength whereas my old Verizon Smartphone had no connection issues of any kind in this area. The Bluetooth capacity is wonderful – I’ve had a lot of problems with my little Jabra earpiece in the past, but haven’t encountered any connection or sound problems to date. The biggest detractor is the lack of a Wi-fi antenna, but I’m certain that will be added in a future release.

Overall Impressions

Love it. Worth the money I spent on it (got it for $199 with a 2-year contract). If there was one thing I’d change, I’d probably amend the keyboard a little and definitely add Wi-Fi capabilities. Still, it’s a winner in my book.

I’m also back for now, as Dave, Corey and Andy had to fill in for my absence as I was galavanting in San Diego for a conference. I have pictures here!

Here is the weekend recap… not an exciting weekend but here are some top stories:

• iPhone nano rumors? Not again… [CrunchGear]
• MSI encourages Hackintosh by releasing drivers for wi-fi [Gizmodo]
• Estonia will be the first country to be able to vote via cell phones [Gizmodo]
• GW Bush says NO to free public wi-fi. We say BOOOOO-urns! [Gizmodo]
• Western Digital HD player: Like a XBox360 but not [CrunchGear]
• OCZ releases eSATA flash drive: faster than USB2.0! [Engadget]

Engadget covered everything from the color scheme of the phone to the new clickable keyboard that is expected to be all the rage with kids and business professionals alike. They gave particular consideration to the “clickable” touchscreen, since that is the aspect of the phone that Blackberry is hyping to the nines in all of their advertisements. Engadget found that while interesting and useful, ultimately the onscreen keyboard is slow to react and ultimately not a huge upgrade.

The lack of third party software for the software is also a problem. Not to say that phone makers don’t provide users with the best applications for their products, but developers have proven that they can usually come up with new and interesting ways to use your mobile device that the manufacturers don’t always think of.

As a phone, the reviews are all positive – the Blackberry/Verizon combination appears to be ready to jump back to the head of the class when it comes to smartphones & convergence devices. The biggest omission was the lack of any Wi-Fi connectivity (something that won’t be a big deal as long as you’re inside Verizon’s coverage zone) and the fact that the 3.2 mega-pixel camera takes eons to load, focus and snap a photo.

The overall review from Engadget gave Blackberry the proper chiding for RIM’s shortcomings in the design and software, but also is quick to mention that with a handful of software updates and the next hardware revision, the Storm could be at the top of the ever-expanding cell phone heap.