BlackBerry Storm 2 due October 26 [UK]

Research in Motion today launched the new BlackBerry Storm 2 on Vodafone in the UK.

Vodafone is the first official carrier of the BlackBerry Storm 2 (model 9520). The new Storm 2 includes a better touchscreen for faster and smoother typing. It also features Wi-Fi, more memory on board and better performance.

• Size - 112.5 mm x 62 mm x 13.9 mm
• Weight - 160 g / 5.65 oz
• Memory - 256 MB Flash memory, 2GB eMMC
• Battery - 1400 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic Lithium cell
• Battery Life - CDMA: 11.2 days standby, 5.5 hours of talk time
  GSM: 12.7 days standby, 5 hours of talk time
  UMTS: 11.7 days standby, 6 hours of talk time
• Display - High-resolution 480 X 360 pixel color display 3.25" Transmissive TFT LCD
• Camera - 3.2 MP camera, flash, auto focus, image stabilization, 2X digital zoom
• GPS - Integrated GPS with A-GPS
• Wi-Fi - 802.11 b/g enabled
• Video format support - MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV
• Audio format support - MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus
• Network - Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
  Single-Band: 2100 MHz UMTS/HSPA networks
  Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO Rev A network

The Storm 2 will also include the new Blackberry OS 5.0. OS 5 offers a lot of new features for BlackBerry Enterprise Server users as well as better typing accuracy, better performance and improvements in the BlackBerry browser with faster javascript and CSS processing.

Vodafone is aiming to ship the Storm 2 out to UK customers on or shortly after October 26. The device is free on 24 month plans over £35 per month. If you are interested in purchasing the device you can pre-order right now.

Companies making Wi-fi easier, goodbye Bluetooth?

Business Week is reporting that a consortium of companies which includes the likes of Intel, Cisco, and Apple is set to release new technology called 'Wi-Fi Direct' which will turn a slew of gadgets into hotspots.

Wi-fi (when considered 'outside' as in not at work or at home) is currently only available to the general laptop, netbook or phone user in a disjointed array of pubs and cafe's across the globe where users can intermittently enjoy broadband out of the confinement of offices and houses. Wi-fi users who like to get out of the office can fret no more however, because come mid-2010, a technological upgrade will make it easier for users of consumer electronics to exchange files between electronic gadgets.

Yesterday, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced plans saying that its members will release technology that effectively turns gadgets into mini access points. These gadgets, equipped with the new technology will then able to create wireless connections with other Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets or broadbandmodems within a radius of about 300 feet.

This new technology named "Wi-Fi Direct" will be built directly into consumer electronics and automatically scan the vicinity for existing hotspots along with the numerous Wi-Fi equipped devices, including phones, TV's, computers and gaming consoles. Users with existing Wi-Fi-enabled technology will be able to upgrade to the new standard. Whilst this is positive news there are concerns that the companies involved may be overlooking the fact that these new plans will reduce the need for the more traditional router.

"The feature also could disrupt usage of wireless Bluetooth technology that, for example, helps users of the Apple iPhone play games with each other outside a wireless network. In the future, some consumers may use Wi-Fi Direct instead. Though Wi-Fi connectivity tends to drain battery life faster than Bluetooth, it's also faster and allows for transfer of richer multimedia content like video."

Intel seem to be serious about the success of this project and are, according to Business Week, already briefing retailers as to the finer details of the plans. This is part of a plan by the Wi-Fi alliance to back the plans with a major marketing scheme. Intel will also heavily promote the capability in the first quarter of 2010 as it unveils its next-generation Wi-Fi chip package for computers.

Search giant Google is now the largest source of global Internet traffic, taking up six percent of it, according to an article by Information Week. Ov

Search giant Google is now the largest source of global Internettraffic, taking up six percent of it, according to an article byInformation Week. Over 256 exabytes of Internet traffic data were studied over two years in order to produce the report, which was created by Arbor Networks.

The report points out that whilst five years ago, Internet traffic was spread out between thousands of sites, today 60 percent of all Internet traffic is made up of just 100 networks. The report produced by Arbor Networks, but with contributions from the University of Michigan and Merit Networks, shows that peer-to-peer traffic has dropped by 22 percent to a smaller 18 percent, partly due to the rise in popularity of video streaming sites such as Youtube.

HTTP traffic, on the other hand, has seen an almost ten percent boost since 2007, at 52 percent, twenty percent of which is estimated to be video traffic, according to an article by Appfrica.

The report predicts that the cost of data transit will continue to decrease, going from $120/Mbps in 2003 to a predicted $1.20/Mbps in 2014.

Craig Labovitz from Arbor Networks said, "Ten to fifteen years ago it was all about contacting websites, and one of the biggest findings in this report was that there has been a consolidation of websites. Over the past two years larger organisations have been buying up the smaller websites and by July 2009, 30 per cent of the internet was owned by a few large sites."

"This is down to two reasons, the bigger domains on the internet and smaller domains moving into the cloud. This has implications for the user as we are seeing more and more content online while it is getting faster and with better quality."

Finland makes broadband a legal right

Many people consider having broadband access a privilege but if you live inFinland, it has become a legal right. Starting in July 2010 it will be a legal right for every person to have a broadband connection of at least 1Mb and by 2015 everyone will have access to a 100Mb connection.

While not the first country to make broadband a legal right -- that title goes to the Swiss-- it does show a growing trend of how integrated broadband technologies are into our lives.

Not much else is known about the new law that will make broadband a legal right. Such that, is it a crime to prohibit someone from accessing broadband or can you ban certain persons from broadband?

Regardless of what the legal right actually entails, it is notable that the government is actively trying to give every one of its citizens an equal opportunity to have broadband access in their homes. For reference the population of Finland is 5.24 million people while New York, New York was 8.3 million as of July 2007.

4 Awesome Windows Mobile Phones

You might have heard about the Microsoft Pink Phone.

According to TechCrunch.com, the Microsoft Pink phone might be canceled. Many people didn’t like the fact that Microsoft’s Pink Phone was too similiar to the “Sidekick”.

Luckily, there are many other great phones that run Windows Mobile. Here are some of the best Windows Mobile Phones.

The IcePhone
The first phone I want to present was originally designed for the military. It stands out from the crowd, because it can be unfolded three times: It has a touchscreen, a QWERTY keyboard, and a secondary keypad for games.

Samsung Omnia 2

The next phone has a very minimalistic design and a QWERTY keyboard. With up to 48GB storage it’s definitely a phone for people who need to store a lot of data.

Sony Xperia X2

I personally own a mobile phone from Sony (K750i). I love their intuitive navigation and awesome product design.

T-Mobile HTC TouchPro 2

The HTC Touch Pro2 has some nice specs: It has a 528MHz processor, dual cameras, GPS, WiFi plus a built-in speakerphone. What else do you need? Of course it also has a QWERTY keyboard.

If I had a choice to get one for free, I’d probably get the first one. It’s simply a great idea to make a 3-foldable-phone, even it’s a bit more bulky. What about you? Are you more of a gamer, do you need a lot of space for your files or would you prefer the great design of a Sony X2?

I would grab the ...

IcePhoneSamsung Omnia 2Sony Xperia X2T-Mobile HTC TouchPro 2

VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.comYou might have heard about the Microsoft Pink Phone.

According to TechCrunch.com, the Microsoft Pink phone might be canceled. Many people didn’t like the fact that Microsoft’s Pink Phone was too similiar to the “Sidekick”.

Luckily, there are many other great phones that run Windows Mobile. Here are some of the best Windows Mobile Phones.

The IcePhone
The first phone I want to present was originally designed for the military. It stands out from the crowd, because it can be unfolded three times: It has a touchscreen, a QWERTY keyboard, and a secondary keypad for games.

Samsung Omnia 2

The next phone has a very minimalistic design and a QWERTY keyboard. With up to 48GB storage it’s definitely a phone for people who need to store a lot of data.

Sony Xperia X2

I personally own a mobile phone from Sony (K750i). I love their intuitive navigation and awesome product design.

T-Mobile HTC TouchPro 2

The HTC Touch Pro2 has some nice specs: It has a 528MHz processor, dual cameras, GPS, WiFi plus a built-in speakerphone. What else do you need? Of course it also has a QWERTY keyboard.

If I had a choice to get one for free, I’d probably get the first one. It’s simply a great idea to make a 3-foldable-phone, even it’s a bit more bulky. What about you? Are you more of a gamer, do you need a lot of space for your files or would you prefer the great design of a Sony X2?

I would grab the ...

IcePhoneSamsung Omnia 2Sony Xperia X2T-Mobile HTC TouchPro 2

VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com