After freezing the Droid X pre-sales, Best Buy has opened up the order queue once again. Best Buy had to shut down the pre-orders June 30th due to the overwhelming volume of sales.

Droid X Pre-Sales Open at Best Buy

The Droid X sports a huge crisp 4.3” screen. It has an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash capable of taking high definition video, and many cool new features. It’s launch was announced before the announcement of Apple’s iPhone4, and is an obvious competitor in the Smartphone market.

Am I rushing down to Best Buy to pre-order one? Nope. I will wait until they actually come out and play with it at the Verizon store first.

Tawkon’s app that measures cell phone radiation is still being banned by Apple. Just last week the app for the BlackBerry was released, but Apple is still rejecting the cell phone app. As more and more manufacturers embrace this new technology, you have to wonder why Apple isn’t. What is Apple afraid of?

Tell Apple to Stop Banning Tawkon’s App

Tawkon’s new patent-pending technology takes 3 factors into consideration for their measurements of cell phone radiation. (Quoted from Tawkon’s blog “tawkon: How We Help Avoid Mobile Radiation” )

• Hardware: The way a mobile device is engineered, the model of the phone, factors such as the location of the device’s antenna, the materials out of which it was constructed, materials that physically shield the device from the cellular network (covers, sticker, etc) as well as the shape and size of the phone are all components that affect your levels of exposure to radiation.
• Environment: The location of the mobile phone is a crucial point. The terrain (whether the user is shielded from the cellular network e.g. in a basement, elevator or behind a concrete wall), mobility (due to frequent handover between cell towers) as well as weather conditions are all characteristics that are factored into this equation.
• Usage: While the above two factors are not in the hands of the user (besides of course selecting a device and changing location when possible), the way we use our phones very much depends on us. Many people are unaware that even the smallest adjustment in the way we operate our mobile devices can drastically reduce our exposure to mobile phone radiation. Holding the phone vertically and not horizontally, distancing the device from ones body & head via peripherals such as headsets (wired or Bluetooth) or by using the phone’s speaker, we can actively take part in lowering our exposure to radiation.

Isn’t that simple to understand? Perhaps not, but do we need to know how electricity works in order to enjoy its benefits? The important things is that you can measure the radiation and make informed decisions based on that information.

Tawkon is actively seeking Apple’s approval for the iPhone app. They have an online petition you can sign (Tell Apple). The more people who sign the petition, the faster iPhone users can talk more with lower radiation. More information to consumers is always a good thing.

I urge you to go sign the petition.

Microsoft may need to buy a cell phone maker in order to compete in the highly volatile market. Although Microsoft has announced the new platform, Windows Phone Series 7 (WinPho 7), it may need to buy RIM BlackBerry or possibly Nokia to stay in the game. (Experts think it would be cheaper to buy HTC, however, with more marketability.)

Windows Phone Series 7 may not save Microsoft

Unless most of its competitors, Microsoft doesn’t make its own devices. RIM, Palm, Apple, Nokia and Google all make their own Smartphones, but Microsoft relies on others to market the Windows operating system on cell phones.

Microsoft doesn’t need to buy a cell phone manufacturing company. It doesn’t actually make the Zune or XBox 360 either. In addition, Microsoft is keeping the Mobile 6.5xx around for a while, possibly renaming it Windows Mobile Classic. The “Classic” may appeal to the Enterprise crowd more than WinPho 7, which uses more of an iPhone style form factor.

Is Microsoft in a sinking ship? Not likely. With their vast resources, they just need to refocus their attention. Perhaps a new partnership would be better than going into the cell phone manufacturing business.

Apple, Google, BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm are all fighting for the number one spot. With more and more demand for content rich apps on Smartphones, the very competitive market is the driving force for these companies. So how is the Smartphone war going?

The Smartphone War

Apple has held the number one spot for the past 3 years. But the mighty Apple iPhone is losing ground. Apple’ stock prices have flattened. The iPad isn’t the fix all that was predicted by Apple. Verizon won’t be carrying the iPhone this year, which would have boosted the iPhone sales. Is Apple in trouble?

The new Android trend is catching on quickly. With new devices, new apps and new service providers, the Droid is gaining momentum. Google’s willingness to upgrade the Android when new features come out is part of the draw. HTC has several Droids with more being released. Motorola has a Droid with Verizon and Google even has an HTC Droid of its own, an unlocked Smartphone available through Google’s website.

BlackBerry, once the leader for email syncing, is losing ground. Perhaps with Google Mail being available on the Droid, the BlackBerry needs to upgrade. With all the features being offered on other Smartphones, BlackBerry needs to get on the bandwagon and offer more.

Nokia, the Finnish manufacturer, is seriously in trouble in the Smartphone market. Nokia had no new device to show off at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. With the trend moving towards feature rich Smartphones, Nokia better “smarten up.”

Palm is struggling to keep up. They released the new Pixi hoping to compete in the market, but sales have been weak and the lack of cash flow is crippling Palm. Palm has moved to a partnership with AT&T, which will hopefully bring in more phone sales. The analysts predict Palm is going to continue to be pulverized.

Where are you headed with your next phone? With the unlimited talk, text and web browsing options being reduced in price from the service providers, the new Smartphones are much more attractive to me. How about you?

Nokia just rolled out its new Maemo phone, after 5 years in development. It combines their Linux Maemo software platform with Intel’s Linux based Moblin to create the new platform, MeeGo.

Intel and Nokia plan a merger on new cell phone

The MeeGo announcement came last week at the Mobile World Congress fair in Barcelona, Spain. The MeeGo is direct competition to the Apple iPhone and other Smartphones. Nokia understands that getting out a phone that will appeal to the consumers is the key to the race. But will anything really replace the popular iPhone? When AT&T loses it exclusivity this year, other providers will be able to sell the iPhone. I predict it will triple in popularity, replacing the new trendy Droids as well as the BlackBerry phones.

For those Linux fans, this is another way to slap at King Kong (Microsoft). Will Microsoft even feel the blow? It’s doubtful. Still it’s nice to see that free enterprise competition out there.

Motorola is shipping Motoblur pre-loaded on the Cliq, Backflip and several other coming Smartphones. It is noticeably missing from the Droid phones however. Hmmm… wonder why? Is there a problem we aren’t aware you yet?

Motoblur enhances social networking and more

Motorola has said that Motoblur will evolve over time, and is not necessarily just social networking. Motoblur also backs up your data to a Motorola-hosted cloud (virtualized data centers), allows you to track a lost phone using GPS and even allows you to remotely wipe the device should it be stolen.

Remember there is no such thing as privacy in this Big Brother World. Some are concerned that while you’re aggregating data from elsewhere, Motorola is aggregating data from you. This is not new for people used to social networking. FaceBook is notorious for this.

Motorola has targeted the business user with the Motoblur. The phones come preloaded with free QuickOffice, an application usually sold separately that allows for viewing and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the go. The downside to Motoblur is that until there is a new release, it won’t be compatible with upgrades for Google apps until Motorola develops the fix.

Do you want one? Are you willing to take a chance it will be compatible down the road? Are you worried about data gathering software?

Verizon had 13,000 lay offs last year and is expected to do the same this year. With their land line business shrinking and stiff competition in the wireless market, Verizon faces a tough road ahead. The economy hasn’t helped, but Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg feels 2011 will be the turn around year. Most of these lay offs are in their land line side of the business, but some lay offs should be expected in the wireless side as well.

Verizon posts 4th Quarter Loss

In light of the price war going on between the big 3 service providers, Verizon dropped its unlimited talk time rate to $70/month last week. (See my blog Cell Phone Service Provider Price War.) It seems Verizon is scrambling to stay afloat. Their main focus is attracting high paying customers away from AT&T and the iPhone, although another big push is for the fiber optics video service and Internet connection.

AT&T loses its exclusive hold on the iPhone sometime this year. In the meantime, Verizon is pushing the Android phone using Google’s platform. Will having the iPhone available help Verizon’s profit this year? I think so. Dropping the monthly service prices will help as well.

How will the new gadgets like the MagicJack for cell phones affect the wireless service providers? It’s a tough market out there with all the competition. Consumers are facing the same scary economy as the big companies and are being more cautious with how they spend their money. I say, the more competition, the better! What about you? Are you feeling the crunch?

Apple put Google’s Voice app into perpetual review, essentially blocking the app from the iPhone. Just when Apple and Google seemed to be making friends again, Apple turned into a proprietary bully. Apple claims that the Google voice app duplicates several iPhone features like the dialer and text messaging.

Google works around Apple’s iPhone

Google responded by developing a free Web app, rather than an Apple-approved native app. The free web app works on HTML5. Google has used HTML5 to develop a mobile Web interface to Google Voice (at m.google.com/voice, for iPhone OS 3.0 and higher and Palm Web OS devices) that works much like a native app. It integrates easily with the new Droids as well, (Good for you, Google!!)

Google Voice offers you free texting, cheap international calls and transcribed voice mail. It gives you a different phone number you can direct to any of your phones. The down side is that it doesn’t interface with the iPhone contact list, but you can get around this by exporting that list into Google Mail and then uploading it back to the Google Voice list.

Why can’t the big guys play nice? There is always a work-around, so why not just work together in the first place? Do you have an iPhone? Are you tired of Apple’s proprietary behavior?

Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke challenged a reporter at the CES 2010 to try to break the new Sonim XP1 cell phone. Much to his dismay the reporter, captured on YouTube (see below), broke the phone’s screen on the third strike against the side corner of an aquarium used to demonstrate the waterproof abilities of the phone.

Unbreakable Cell Phone dies on third strike

Egg on face? How embarrassing! The challenge issued by Bob Plaschke was that he would give the reporter a free phone if he could break it. Is he giving him the broken phone? LOL. The phone seems to have other beneficial qualities other than being unbreakable (thank goodness.) The idea of a waterproof phone is cool, but not necessarily new. (See my blog “Seal-a-Meal Cell Phones?“). And let’s face it, the phone is probably more rugged than most. The CEO claims it can be dropped from the top of a 10 story building without breaking. (Obviously, it just doesn’t like a direct hit or two on its screen.)

The video is pretty funny. Take a look.
Click here to view the embedded video.

I give Sonim a thumbs up for trying, and for being entertaining. You?

Daizi Xheng, a Chinese developer has modified a Nokia cell phone to use Coca Cola as a fuel source. The fuel source could be any sugary solution, but Coke is widely available.

Coca Cola, not just a soft drink

The bio battery phone uses an open fuel cell battery that you refill with Coke. If you aren’t careful pouring in the Coke, your phone could get quite sticky! The developer claims one full battery last four times as long as the standard Li-Ion battery it replaces.

This battery/phone may not be as eco-friendly as you might think. Consider the packaging of the Coke, the transportation, etc., as all part of the cost. Of course if you use canned Coke you can recycle the cans.

This biofuel battery is a cool idea but perhaps not very practical. Still, I give the developer a thumbs up for being inventive.