Media Junkie NYC

Hit By the Dreaded Mobile Spam!

I've had my cell service with T-mobile (formerly VoiceStream....formerly OmniPoint) since the late 90s. Since then I can't remember not one unwanted text message..until last Thursday. Not only did one message infiltrate my SMS list but at least 10 were delivered within 2 hours. The messages did not originate from other cell phone numbers, but from e-mail addresses informing me about DHL delivery problems, penis enlargement and a redirected order.

My first response was "AAAARRRRGGGHHH! Not me!" By the second day (Friday), with no slow-down in the pestilence, I called T-mo to tell them that something needs to be done. I was informed that there was a method to filter e-mails to your phone; blocking specific addresses or preventing all from being delivered. I was directed to my.tmobile.com -> Connect & Share -> E-mail Filters. Unfortunately, after trying to filter, I was informed that this was a global nework issue and I was also unable to even access the e-mail filter screen.

I'm not sure if the global issue is resolved at this point but I'm glad I now have this information on E-mail Filtering. I hope to use it one day...when the network issue gets resolved.

If you are plagued with spam messages being sent to your cell phone here is an article from CNET on what you can do via your specific carrier.

CNET News: How To Vanquish Mobile Spam

UPDATE: Here's another link on How to Block Mobile Phone Spam [via wikihow]

Nokia Wants a Bite Out of Apple

Nokia is upset. As the largest maker of smartphones in the world, they are pretty uncomfortable that they haven't had a product on the market that can measure up to Apple's iPhone. So they now pledge to step up their game in developing a new operating system coupled with new devices.

I'm not sure how this will work out for Nokia, if they aren't already in the race amongst Apple, Blackberry and Google. Good luck playing catch-up.

Read more here >>>

You Want One....I Know You Do.

How would you like this diamond framed iPod 3G? Be one of the first 10 people to order and it can be yours for only $10,000. Only 50 will be made worldwide so hurry.

[Read More]

Can't Live Without My DVR!!

Have you recently come home set to watch that TV show you like only to discover that your DVR did not record it because it was full and did not have any space left to record? Or do you frequently have TV watching marathons to clear off the programs that are currently saved on your DVR, so you can record another show that is coming on in a few hours? Well, no more. No more missed episodes of Lost or 24....for now at least.

Iomega has released a DVR Expander, that adds an additional 500 GB of storage. Read more>>

Source: Crunch Gear

An iPhone 3G for Every Man!!

If you've been under a rock, shielded from the big tech news of today, you may have missed the news from Apple's 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Fran. The big buzz being about the new 3G iPhone that will be available July 11.

What's the difference? Why the buzz? Well the iPhone 3G hosts some major improvements. New case design features a flush headphone jack, solid metal buttons, and a full plastic back (taking the place of the previous chrome back) and its thinner at the edges (but unnoticeably thicker overall). Also, it will be offered in both white and black.

So what's this 3G all about?

3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology whose networks can incorporate high-speed internet access. Web pages on the new iPhone will load a whopping 2.8 times faster than the previous model! So surf faster. Download faster.

Previously Apple released the first generation iPhones in different countries at sporadic intervals throughout the year. The announcement for the world is that in close to a year, Apple should have the iPhone 3G available in almost 70 countries.

The iPhone will also now come with GPS. The GPS will enable locations service hoteness which means that various applications written for the iPhone will now be able to utilize the user's location for traffic updates, turn-by-turn directions, and providing other location-specific information to the iPhone 3G user. Good stuff.

The big news of the day was what these spiffy doo-dads will go to market for. The 8GB model will sell for...

...Wait for it.....

$199. That's right!!

The 16GB model will be sold for $299 with the option of black or white.

So -- you must be thinking -- anyone who is in possession of a first-gen iPhone must have paid anywhere from $399 - $599. That's gotta suck that they will now be sold for as little as $199, WITH a list of remarkable improvements. But wait! Not for everyone. It has been confirmed that people who bought a first-gen iPhone after May 27th will get a 3G iPhone for FREE! They just need to swap it out.

Now if you're feeling froggy enough to jump into a new iPhone 3G, be also prepared to jump into a new 2-year contract with, your friend, AT&T. Word is that it will require in-store activation only; at AT&T or an Apple Store. Good luck with the lines!!

There are other things to note but...I just don't feel like pointing them out right now. Its been a good day for Apple and the iPhone. "Cheers" I say! iPhones for everyone!!

ADDED: Everything You Need to Know about the iPhone 3G

iPod Goes Adult

From the release of the iPod Video there has been talk of companies offering adult video to be played on these personal units. Now one company - OhMiBod - has taken this concept of "pornifying" the iPod a step further. They want you to get off on with your iPod...ladies, that is. Who thinks this stuff up?

The company's premiere product, the OhMiBod, is termed the iPod vibrator. I know. You're probably scratching your head right now. So let me tell you what it is supposed to do. The unit is an attachment for iPods and according to the product website, "The audio enabled integrated microchip allows the OhMiBod to vibrate to the beat and rhythm of your music while you listen." Now what you do with that vibrating OhMiBod is the kicker. Just figure, it comes with a 3-ft "freedom cord" and the comapny site exclaims that the OhMiBod "transports you to a place where music, mind and body truly "come" together." Enough said.

I want one of these!!!!!!

Modular chair
Uploaded by grrrrreg

Yet Another Treo

If you live in the US and have been to Europe, London specifically, you may remember the first time you gazed upon their street vehicles that had identical names to the cars here in America, but had a different look - a more stylish twist to our lax lines.

With the release of the Palm Treo 750v on the UKs Vodaphone network, the "design difference" is again apparent. The Treo 750v released last month introduces a style all unique to the previous form factor of all Treo smartphones before it. This windows mobile device nixxes the antenna and smooths out the corners - a really beautiful sight. Its also operates on GSM frequency (European standard) that the US has not offered since the Treo 650.

Ahh...but Palm has decided to give us yanks a flag of our own to raise. At tomorrow's Digital Life Expo at New York City's Jacob Javitz Convention Center, "a new Treo Product" will be introduced, according to a press release from Palm. The new Treo 680 product, according to the treonauts.com website, "is anticipated to be the first 'low-cost' entry level smartphone" - at an approximate cost of $250. It also resembles the 750v.

As a low-entry device, I'm pretty sure that there will be some deductions in features and/or specs but we will find out for sure tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST. Hopefully I'll take some pics to show you.

New Toys! Blackberry & Treo

The new Treo 700wx was released last week (September 5) exclusively on the Sprint wireless network. With Sprint describing the 700wx as a "new powerful PDA phone," Treo 700w owners on the Verizon network are left holding their "units" in their hands.

New features include EVDO (blazing fast connections), Windows Mobile 5 (more stable OS), and ability to use your phone as a modem via bluetooth. As mytreo.net mentions, the 700wx becomes even more attractive than the 700w when you compare the data plans of Verizon and Sprint. Read more...

On the GSM side of smartphones, tomorrow, September 12, the BlackBerry Pearl gets released on the  my favorite network - T-Mobile USA.  This Blackberry is one to talk about.

This BlackBerry Pearl 8100 comes with Bluetooth 2.0, a 65K color screen, quad-band (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz) and a media player. That's not all! This is the first  BlackBerry to offer a 1.3 megapixel camera W/FLASH and a new trackball for navigation (nixxing the scroll wheel of its predecessors). All of this and weighing in at 3.1 ounces. I've never been a fan of the BlackBerry as I always compared it to the King of the Smart Phones - the Palm Treo - however I can see that Blackberry is doing their thug thizzle with this new toy.
More from engadget...
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Joy in the Palm of Your Hands

I wanted to get in from the ground floor, but didn't have the money. When Handspring announced its Treo 180, I knew I had to have it.  I had the Treo Visor Deluxe in tangerine that I purchased for a whopping $249. It was basically a PDA that ran on the Palm OS.  I loved it though because of the possibilities. There was the option to add a camera, modem, GPS and other nifty "useful" peripherals. I never bought one of them.

So when the Treo 180 was announced, my mouth began to water. A PDA + cell phone to produce one of the first smartphones on the market. Time passed as I eyed it. For so long, that an enhanced color version was released in the Treo 270 / 300 (Sprint PCS).  OK....I had to get that!  I began scheming on how to get the money to buy it.  I kept checking the Palm site for any promotions. Even free shipping would give me a little hope. The price began to drop (which should have indicated to me that a new model was in the works) and I began trolling EBay for used 270's and even 180s!!!!  It didn't happen. But my brother saw my anguish and bought me a Treo 90 (Treo 270 sans cell phone) for Christmas.

So then comes the takeover. Palm yanks out its wallet to acquire Handspring. That didn't sit well with me because I liked having the "different" gadget. Also, Handspring was known to cater to mac enthusiasts like myself, so I began to worry. Then came the 600.

What a wonder! Sleek. Smooth. Compact. No flip top. Color. Memory. I HAD TO HAVE THIS!! It was released first with uhhh...Cingular, if I'm correct, and I waited fro T-Mobile to carry it.  I waited. Waited some more. And some more. Pretty much over one year or more after its initial release it became available for T-Mobile network customers. I GOT IT!

BUT....VERY SOON after I bought it, came the announcement that a new version was being released in 650. It had a few enhancements but I said I was happy with my Treo 600.  Deep down....you guessed it, I had to have it! I called T-Mobile routinely and chatted-up reps and sales associates for info on the units release with that carrier. I kept hearing about release dates that kept getting pushed back. Finally I spoke to a sales manager who told me that T-Mobile was not satisfied with the Treos software and would not be carrying the Treo 650!  Ohhh the humanity!!

I had no choice but to be content with the my 600 as everyone flaunted there 650s. But I wasn't new to this so I chuckled at the newbies who felt like they "discovered" something. I patted myself on the back.

Rumors brought about the Treo 700w with Verizon wireless (the only carrier to date I know selling  this device). The first Palm running windows OS. This lifelong mac user was not interested and did NOT have to have it.

I did some follow-up and some research to find out that the successor to the 700w would be the 700p, running the popular palm OS.  I got my hopes up.  I began to wonder if the information on these various message boards was accurate or just mere speculation. The day has come and Palm has officially announced the Palm Treo 700p this morning.  I REALLY HAVE TO HAVE IT!