Google rivalling Skype®

Google has released a new feature enabling users to make calls to landlines and mobiles. It is called Google voice and it lets people with a Gmail account to call phones for very low rates. it costs nothing to set up and gives you 10¢ US call credit to start. For 2010 only, people can call US and Canadian phones for free, even if they are in another country. The call rates are extremely low, much better than leading telecom services. Skype already has this feature, but doesn't have the low rates which makes Google a rival for Skype. The google voice feature requires the plugin which it gives you a link to download. At the moment you can only make outgoing calls, you can get an online number, but only in the US, they are bringing out full features for other countries later in the year. Google already has Google talk which is basically Skype in a web browser, it supports video as well.


Google Voice requires the Google Voice and Video plug-in.


Link (It can also be accessed from Gmail.)

Inside an iPad

Here are some photos of the inside of Apple's iPad. Apple also tries to conceal the names of the hardware manufacturers. 

Bluetooth and WiFi module

The screen taken out

The main chip housing the Processor 

Apple tries to conceal the hardware manufacturers

All the pieces

Main units

Transform an iPod Touch into an iPhone

A new add-on has made it possible to turn an iPod touch into an iPhone. A Chinese firm has created a device that gives some iPhone capabilities to an iPod Touch. The case, known as the Apple Peel 520 has a dock connector which connects to the ipod, a SIM card slot and an extended battery. It gives calling and messaging capabilities as well as extra battery life. The case costs $64  but don't get too excited, there are some things that you can't get such as ring tones. The case will be available online in the next few weeks. I would recommend just buying an iPhone 3GS instead of the case.


More info at SMH.com

iPod Touch 4th Generation

The new iPod touch 4th Gen will be coming out soon. It will feature a camera, microphone and a retina display. Some suspect that it will support FaceTime, one of the main features of iPhone 4. It might have a retina screen and flash. People are hoping that it will have a 128GB memory and most of the features of the iPhone 4. There has been rumour about a front facing camera for FaceTime (only over WiFi). I will keep updating this post as more info rolls in.

Jailbreak available for iOS 4.0 and iPhone 4

A new jailbreak is available for the lates apple update, 4.0 and can also be installed on the iPhone 4. The jailbreak is available from jailbreakme.com and can be installed on-device, no need for a computer. The software has support for the 4.0 software which wasn't available before. However it's not all gravy, because the jailbreak is so new, there are still a few bugs in the software and can cause some problems. I would recommend waiting a few revisions before jailbreaking.

More info at SMH.com

iPhone 4 Cracked

Users have reported the iPhone 4 as "fragile" and "weak" because of it's strength. If the phone is dropped, the glass can break easily, rendering the phone useless.

Apple claims that the glass is chemically hardened to be 30 times stronger than plastic and the same type used in helicopters.

One person by the name of Steven (who didn't want his last name revealed) has complained about his broken iPhone 4 and identified Apple's description as "a load of crap". He didn't put the cover on his iPhone when he first got it because he thought it would not get broken.

It has glass on both the front and the back of the phone, which makes the phone vulnerable to getting broken.

The phone has already been put down with its antenna problems.

More info at SMH.com

Smartphones Unsecure

Smartphones are becoming less secure and vulnerable to attacks from hackers. There are apps out there that secretly steal your contact info, text messages and web history. A company by the name of lookout did a search on nearly 300,000 apps and about half of them turned out to be data collecting apps. The main problem is mobile devices because they do not have a firewall, especially apple devices, they do not currently support any firewall software unlike computers. When an app is published it is supposed to be checked by apple and sometimes apple just let's it through. The developer may not even know that there is spy coding inside an app which they have created which can be dangerous.


More info at SMH.com