All The Phones

TXTBlocker is a software and online service combo which locks off a registered mobile phone from making or receiving text messages or calls while in a car. It uses cell and GPS data to determine location and speed and decide whether the phone is actually in a car, and once it thinks it is, boom, the service is automatically limited.

TXTBlocker allows parents, employers and others to safely end the dangerous habit of texting while driving. Cell phone owners simply log in to this site and customize settings to control when, where and how their cell phones can be used.


You can use TXTBlocker's GPS technology to disable or limit cell phone functions in your own "safe zones" like schools or workplaces.

TXTBlocker works automatically, so you never have to remember to turn it on, and it allows for safety features so that phones can always make calls to 911 and send or receive calls with preset "safe list" numbers.

It doesn’t jam the phone in the traditional sense, so the subscriber can use the online dashboard to set up a whitelist of emergency numbers to keep open, which is reassuring. There’s also a passenger mode, for when the phone carrier is not driving, but again it’s subscriber allowable, so if the parents don’t trust you, you’re SMS toast in any vehicle. Which leads to one possible problem. What happens if you’re on a train or bus?

It’s currently compatible with Blackberry and Windows mobile phone platforms, with more on the way. Priced from $9.99 a month plus a $24.99 set up fee.

You might ask: What happens to my text messages, e-mails and phone calls when TXTBlocker is active? Text messages and e-mails are kept in the phone’s database until the phone is in a ‘safe’ state. An automatic TXT message is sent as a reply to senders to let them know that TXTBlocker is active and that you will receive their message once you are clear to communicate safely. Phone calls are sent to voicemail. TXTBlocker services suggest updating your voicemail to let callers know that you have TXTBlocker, which doesn’t allow phone calls while driving or at certain locations. When a call is missed and TXTBlocker is active, an automatic TXT message is sent to the caller’s phone number caller to let them know that TXT Blocker is active.

The release of a new iPhone App is sure to please graphic designers, decorators and artists who work with Pantone colors. Pantone has been the industry standard in color for many years, but carrying around a Pantone book full of color palettes hasn’t always been practical. And they’re expensive books to lose, too. Pantone LLC has launched myPANTONE, a digital app for iPhones that gives designers more flexibility when choosing and working with Pantone palettes.

“myPANTONE marries the power of the iPhone with the inspiration of Pantone Color Palettes, enabling designers to be creative whenever inspiration strikes them,” said Andy Hatkoff, vice president of technology licensing for Pantone. “Providing a digital, portable design studio and essential color tools at their fingertips, myPANTONE gives designers the freedom to access Pantone Colors anywhere, without the need to be in their office or carry around cumbersome guides.”

Hatkoff said with myPANTONE’s Portable Color Memory, designers no longer need to struggle to recall an exact color.

myPANTONE gives designers access to all the Pantone Color Libraries, including the Pantone Matching System (PMS) for coated, uncoated and matte stock; the Pantone Goe System for coated and uncoated stock; Pantone Pastels for coated and uncoated stock; and the Pantone Fashion + Home Smart Color System. The application lets designers create harmonious color palettes by finding complementary, analogous and triadic combinations for selected colors.

Hatkoff said myPANTONE uses the iPhone’s built-in camera to allow designers to capture whatever inspires them – from architecture and street scenes to fashion and nature. Colors can be extracted from any photo on the iPhone and then matched to the closest Pantone colors.

The beauty of a digital version of the Pantone palettes is that once they’re created, users can share their color choices and combinations with other iPhone users and automatically post notification of new palettes to Facebook and Twitter, attaching text notes and voice annotations to palettes when posting.

Designers with impatient clients can email their color choices to clients as color patches, or as application-ready swatch files for use in design applications including Adobe Creative Suite, CorelDraw and QuarkXPress.

Sharing with other designers is easy using the Pantone-hosted Website.

Each color swatch in myPANTONE includes sRGB, HTML and L*a*b* values. Additionally, myPANTONE makes cross-referencing color capabilities simple for users to find similar colors among the various Pantone Color Libraries.

myPANTONE is available for download at the Apple iPhone App Store for USD$9.99. myPANTONE is compatible with iPhone OS 3.0 or higher, and can be used on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Source: Gizmag

Nokia’s latest offering for Verizon Wireless, the 7205 Intrigue we first heard mumblings of back in November, is now available online. The surprisingly sexy 7205 shapes up like so:

The Intrigue is available with a pink keypad or silver keypad and will run you $129 after a $50 rebate with a 2-year contract, $199 after a $50 rebate with a 1-year contract or $299 at full retail. Hit the jump for a few more images of this sleek new flip phone.

Online iPhone unlocking solutions provider UnlockAnyiPhone.net (www.unlockanyiphone.net) is staying one step ahead of manufacturers Apple, allowing handset owners to unlock and choose their own network operator.

With the latest iPhone firmware and baseband updates, many of the commonly exploited software loopholes that allowed 3G unlocking are closing up, thus rendering most commercial unlocking solutions completely useless for the latest handsets.

However, the update has not affected the UnlockAnyiPhone.net (www.unlockanyiphone.net) solution, a safe, physical SIM insert designed to work with any model iPhone without cutting or causing any loss of service.

Peter Smit of UnlockAnyiPhone.net believes their solution is one of the most robust, safe unlocking products on the market, which will continue to unlock future generations of iPhone handset.

“Our solution is one of the most reliable unlocking products on the market, and we’re proud to offer our customers an easy route to unlocking their iPhone. Unlike many of our competitors, our SIM unlock solution is completely unaffected by the latest updates from Apple, and as a result, UnlockAnyiPhone.net customers can still enjoy safe, legal and easy unlocking thanks to our product.”

“Those that provided software unlocking solutions have been closed off in later models, with Apple successfully closing down the security loopholes that made software unlocking possible. However, our physical unlock will continue to function regardless of modifications made to the 3G handset’s programming, allowing the user to bypass the automatic network configuration to choose their own preferred operator.”

UnlockAnyiPhone.net provides iPhone unlocking solutions for both 2G and 3G iPhone handsets from $29.95, with free shipping and handling where applicable.

Not quite as eye-catching as the recently-announced Tocco Ultra Edition, the Samsung Lucido offers many of the features, but with a more traditional look. And quite probably for less of an outlay.

Lucido means 'sleek' in Italian and in terms of a traditional candybar phone, it's no bad looker, with some 'premium metal' detailing thrown into that slimline body for a slight touch of bling. Indeed it is slim, just 11.8 mm thick says Samsung.

But those looks means nothing if the Lucido doesn't cut it with the features. Thankfully it does with a 2.2-inch AMOLED screen, a-GPS (using Google Maps), high-speed HSDPA connectivity for speedy browsing, media player, FM radio, up to 8GB of storage and a more than decent 5 megapixel camera with anti-blur, face detection and smile capture.

Look out for it in April on various networks, price depending on that contract.

Time to change your image is coming! Open your mind to the intelligent communication. The choice of SIM is up to you now… Family/Business or Business/3G Internet or your provider/prepaid SIM for abroad. There are so many combinations, so enjoy business on two phone numbers simultaneously.

Prestigious business mobile phone in an elegant novel design, design with 3G DUAL SIM technology, which is provided by a revolutionary chip made by the Qualcomm company with a possibility to use both SIM cards ONLINE independently of each other. Finally two really independent mobile phones in one, without any restrictions! Be excited about our intuitive Czech 3D graphic menu and the high workmanship. High-quality Flexaret camera with a video function takes all your snapshots perfectly. Even more, you can take photographs of your self or record videos using the second front camera. We integrated into the phone our top MP3/video player with an external slot for the microSD card up to 4GB. It enables you to listen to your favorite music in high quality through branded hi-fi headphones supplied in the basic packing. Back up and reload contacts with the computer is another obvious feature. SIM Toolkit is independent and works with both SIM cards. You can have independent and individual settings of ringing profiles! Predictive T9 dictionary. Ultrafast internet via 3G modem. Bluetooth of newest generation.

Both SIM cards work ONLINE simultaneously and completely independently of each other. You do not have the problem of switching between phone lines or changing SIM cards. It is possible to deactivate either SIM card or both of them, but you will still have access to the Phone Book and SMS. Common Phone Book is for both SIM cards and there is the possibility to choose contacts from the first or second card. By pressing keys on the phone, you select the card which you want to use for a call.

Specs the Emgeton Enzo offers:

Lenovo (OTCPK: LNVGY) is out with two new phones, i60 and i60s, both sporting large touchscreens, dual-band (900/1800 MHz) GSM radio, media player, FM radio, and a microSD expansion slot that can work with memory cards of up to 16GB.

At 3-inch diagonal, the first of the two comes with a larger display, but also with a larger capacity battery (1250 mAh). On the other hand, the i60s (pictured on the right) adds few more buttons that take bit more space, hence the screen is little smaller, measuring “only” 2.8-inches. Its battery is also lower capacity - 1000 mAh.

No other details are known, but it seems neither one of the two devices will come with a smartphone OS, which is kinda sad. On the good side though, those large screens are WQVGA (240×400 pixels), leaving tons of space for, let’s say, decent web browsing experience.

Finally, it’s fair to add that most of us probably won’t be able to try out neither the Lenovo i60 nor i60s. At the moment, they seem slated for China, and we’ve no clue whether they’ll ever reach the western hemisphere.

Applied Nanodetectors Ltd (AND) of the UK prototyped a mobile phone that can detect various diseases from user's breath and exhibited it at the International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference (nano tech 2009).

The handset was manufactured by Nokia Corp of Finland. AND is aiming to do businesses with Japanese mobile carriers, the company said.


The mobile phone is embedded with AND's chip that integrates sensors to detect various gases such as CO2, NOx and ammonia (NH3).

This chip determines the composition of the user's breath and tabulates the density of each gas. By matching the results with characteristics of various diseases, it can detect diseases. The matching process is similar to fingerprint matching, said Victor Higgs, managing director of AND.

AND claims that the handset can detect asthma, diabetes, lung cancer, a kind of food poisoning called "gastro" in Europe, oral odor level and breath alcohol concentration, etc.


There are some devices on the market that can measure oral odor level, but this is the first chip that is capable of detecting so many factors and embedded in a mobile phone. If the handset detects one or more of these diseases or abnormalities, it will automatically inform the user or his/her doctor for early detection of diseases, the company said.

However, the marketing schedule of this handset is yet to be determined even in Europe.

"We contacted Nokia first because mobile phone manufacturers have more influence than carriers in Europe," Higgs said. "But we are intending to discuss business with carriers in Japan because they are more influential in this country. If the handset is commercialized in Japan, it will be just a matter of time before the handset spreads all over Asia."

Vertu, Pioneer and world's leading manufacturer of handcrafted luxury mobile phones, presented by Pure Collection Vertu Constellation, the first of three new collections with exceptional materials. Through the use of colored ceramic Vertu has created a mobile phone, which again scales in materials innovation. The Limited Edition Pure Collection is a classic original design of the Vertu Constellation series faithful, however, combines a smooth aesthetic high-tech ceramics colored with the warm, natural texture of the finest leather. The result is modern, extremely elegant and stylish mobile phones.

Frank Nuovo, chief designer of Vertu, comments: "The collection was inspired by a design that is based on the simplification of form is based. These stylish phones are convincing due to their simplicity and are characterized by the innovative use of ceramics. You are pure."



More than two years, Vertu on perfecting the dyeing process worked and put this technology is now the first company in mobile phone. All ceramic parts in the models of the Pure Collection are manufactured individually, each with a specially for this purpose-built tool. This ensures that the parts have the perfect size and perfectly into the structure of the mobile suit. In a careful design and selection process, the leather on the precise colors, and the haptic processing of ceramics vote.

The backs of the individual keys have a special coating coated to prevent light penetration, and the holes were painted graphic to the perfect light dispersion over the entire lifetime of the phone sure. Each phone line is equipped with ceramic buttons and earpiece to provide a high gloss finish.

The Vertu Pure Collection is available in four different colors: Pure White, Pure Black and Pure Silver in polished stainless steel - each in a limited edition of 2500 pieces. The Pure Chocolate with 18-carat yellow gold, it is only 250 times around the world give. Each phone comes with its own leather case made of fine Italian calfskin delivered, color matched to the particular phone. The cases of the models Pure White and Pure Silver is also present with a shiny outer shell of leather or silver metallic finish.



Each Vertu phone is the result of high-quality engineering and manufacturing is in Vertus in England by highly qualified experts assembled by hand. The perfectly processed, minimalist design of the enclosure is easy to handle the added functionality as well as by a wide variety of simple, practical features and the exclusive Vertu concierge service, which at the push of a button is available.

The Vertu Constellation Pure Limited Edition Collection is available in versions Pure White and Pure Black from 1 March 2009 commercially available. Pure Silver and Pure Chocolate will appear in September 2009.

Prices: from 6.800, - Euro.

A trend is spreading through small towns across Germany. Tight budgets have forced hard decisions, including turning the lights out at night. No one is on the streets at night anyway, so why pay for the electricity to run the street lights? But residents have revolted. They fear an uptick in crime, or simply for their safety while stumbling through the dark streets to walk the dog or return from a late night out. Proving necessity is the mother of invention, a handful of clever solutions are being implemented; some with interesting consequences.


The solution seems to have started in the small town of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz in the Erzegebirge. Over one and a half years ago, the 900 citizens of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz were plunged into darkness each night, but given the option to turn the lights on by mobile telephone. Older citizens were concerned about their ability to master this new technology, but practice makes perfect. The first two weeks of the program, the lights remained on almost all night long as residents remained awake late for an opportunity to test the new system! But now the lights stay off except when needed. The town saves 4000 euros ($5300) per year. According to the Berliner Morgenpost daily newspaper, Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz is the inspiration for 4300 person community of Groß Pankow, the most recent community to consider on-call streetlight.

The town of Döblitz has used a similar system for about a year. In Döblitz, the invention is attributed to local resident Heinrich Frühauf. After tripping and falling in the darkness, Frühauf got permission from the town to install a modified mobile telephone in the electrical box controlling the street lamps. All of the citizens can call that number, and the lights come on. A timer shuts the lights off again in 15 minutes.

Things take a turn for the complicated in Dörentrup. A BBC interview identifies Dörentrup resident Dieter Grote as the inventor of the dial-in system installed there. Although residents appear happy with the system in this BBC clip, the Dörentrup system requires users to register, and to enter a 6-digit number to identify the area which they want lit. Users must know the number of the area where they want light--either by looking the numbers up in an on-line database, or finding the numbers posted on the nearby streetlamp, probably a difficult task given that the streetlamps are not yet lit.

An application to patent the idea has been submitted, under the business model of Dial4Light. The communities of Lemgo and Rahden have joined Dörentrup in the Dial4Light system. In a further twist, some communities are requiring users to pay for the lighting. All of the areas in Dörentrup and Lemgo can be lit up for the cost of the phone call. But in Rahden, 60 minutes of light will cost the caller €3.50 ($4.65). Dial4Light suggests that expensive lighting systems, such as stadium lights, can also use the dial-up database to charge users for lighting on demand. A pay-to-use system does align the costs with the user benefits, but leaves open the question of whether residents will take unneccesary risks with their safety for the benefit of the city budget.