Sony Ericsson now gives you directions on how to unlock the bootloader on their Android phones. In the past, Sony has been known to unfriendly to developers and modifiers. However, now the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog has announced that the Xperia Arc, Neo, Play, and Pro will have a feature that enables an easy bootloader unlock method. Of course along with the directions, they warn you that you could majorly screw up your phone and not be able to recover from the screw-up.

Unlock the Bootloader on Your Sony Droid Phone

Bootloader? What’s that? A bootloader is part of the Android operating system that enables users to get into recovery mode. This is required in order to load custom ROM’s on Android phones. According to Andrew Kameka, Androinica, “Motorola originally had an anti-hack policy that the company has since begun to backtrack on, and HTC, which has traditionally been hands-off with hacking community, has begun shipping some phones with locked bootloaders. Android developers eventually discover workarounds for these roadblocks, but Sony Ericsson is surprisingly reversing its course on appealing to advanced consumers.”

Sony’s blogger site gives dire warnings about unlocking the bootloader. On the Sony Ericsson Developer Blog they state, “If you unlock the boot loader and then flash a custom unsigned ROM to your phone, the custom unsigned ROM will not have gone through the thorough tests that we run for each phone and software version that we release. Because of that, the custom unsigned ROM might not work properly on your phone. Certain functions may cease to work, and the performance of the device might not be ideal. You might damage your phone permanently. In worst case, it will cause physical injuries or material damage, for example, due to the phone overheating. Therefore, you should only unlock the boot loader of your phone if you are an advanced developer with good knowledge of the technology and risks involved. We strongly recommend that standard users NOT unlock the boot loader, as it is not needed. We are proud to deliver great phone experiences through our rigorously tested and official software releases.”

The bottom line? Just don’t do it unless you are a very experienced developer. This is not something you should experiment with unless you really know what you are doing.

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With the popularity of tablets rising, mobile television is fast becoming a favorite pastime. Last week’s trade show in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) shows that the technology is making progress. According to an article written by Maisie Ramsay, WirelessWeek, “The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), the main proponent of mobile broadcast television in the United States, announced that 76 television stations in 32 markets are now doing mobile television broadcasts.” Using a WiFi hotspot or at home, you can download TV episodes and store them to watch later. If you are using a Smartphone, it gets stored on the MicroSD card, so make sure you have at least 2 GB free per show.

Mobile Television is Gaining Ground

Streaming TV and Movies over 3G or Wi-Fi to your phone is so cool. There are a slew of apps available to enable you to watch shows. I have downloaded and used both Android TV and TV.com apps for my Droid X. I wasn’t sure I would like watching a show on the tiny screen, but it really is good quality. See my blog TV Apps for your Smartphone on technewscorner.com for a list of apps for both the Droid phones and the iPhone/iPad.

Droid TV is a good free app. The paid version of Droid TV is really just a subscription so you have more shows on the menu. All in all, I like the app. The only real downside to the app is that the shows are older. Still if you have missed an episode of one of your favorite shows, it’s a good app. Streaming live TV would be better, but being able to watch favorite shows is great.

Mobile TV apps will become more prevalent soon. With all the attention mobile television is getting at the trade shows, you can see the trend. As more stations become available, app developers will focus more on providing apps. It is the law of supply and demand. With iTunes and Pandora apps for music, and YouTube for short videos, mobile TV apps will fill in the gap.

Have you tried watching mobile TV on your phone or tablet yet? I think with the tablets getting more popular, it will be the device of choice for mobile TV. Which are your favorite apps for mobile TV? Had any trouble with the functionality of the apps? Let us know.

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AT&T is the last of the cell phone service providers to offer a Droid Smartphone in their pre-paid lineup. Beginning April 17th, AT&T is offering the LG Thrive for $180. The Thrive is a mid-range Droid, running on the Android OS 2.2 (Froyo). It only has a 3.2 megapixel camera and 160 MB of memory, although it can be expanded to 32 GB with a MicroSD card. The customers will have to pay pretty dearly for using this phone however. Customers can choose the “Smartphone 10 cents per minute” plan or “Smartphone $2 USD per day for unlimited talk and text” plan. Their choices for data plans range from $5 for 10 MB to $25 for 500 MB. There is no contract, which is probably a good thing since customers may dump AT&T once they find out how poor the service coverage areas are.

AT&T Finally Gets On Board

Verizon has a whole bevy of Droid pre-paid Smartphones available. They include the Motorola Original Droid, Motorola DEVOUR, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, HTC Droid Eris, HTC Droid Incredible, LG Ally, BlackBerry Curve 8330, BlackBerry Curve 8530, BlackBerry Storm 9530, BlackBerry Storm 9550, BlackBerry Tour 9630, BlackBerry Bold 9650, Palm Pre Plys, and Palm Pixi. Rumor has it that Verizon’s unlimited talk, text AND data plan will run about $80 per month. And Verizon certainly has better service coverage than AT&T. Of course this is just a rumor so far.

US Cellular is also in the game with the LG Optimus U and the LG Apex as their prepaid Android phones. The Optimus U features a 3.2mp camera, Android OS 2.2, 3.2″ display, and 140 MB of storage. The LG Apex runs on Android 2.1, features a 3mp camera, 3.2″ screen, and has 256 MB or Storage. The Prepaid Plans include: $70-Unlimited Talk & Text with 2GB of data, $60-450 minutes, unlimited text, and 2GB of data, $50-Unlimited Talk & Text, $50-2GB of data.

Sprint’s BoostMobile offers Droid and BlackBerry Smartphones. With the best deal in town, they offer a plan with unlimited talk, text and data for as little as $45 per month once you have paid your bill on time for 6 months. With $18 months of payments on time, your plan drops to $35 per month.

AT&T’s announcement of offering Droid Smartphones on a pre-paid plan just isn’t all that exciting. But they have to do something to stay in the game. They are losing customers and not signing up new ones. If they are able to buy T-Mobile, it may breathe some life into the company, but for now, they come in last on my list.

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Do you hate fighting traffic? There’s an app for that, especially if you are a BlackBerry user. Just released this week, BlackBerry Traffic version 2.0.0.1749 adds new features and a completely revised UI. It has new icons, a new color scheme, the ability to select from multiple routes, and the addition of pre-set destinations directly from BlackBerry’s native contacts app. It is compatible with any GPS enabled BlackBerry Smartphone operating on OS 4.6 and up in North America.

New BlackBerry Traffic App with Route Choices

BlackBerry Traffic predicts the future traffic. It can be accessed by selecting an ETA on the route selection screen or by flipping through the different views when a route is selected. One of the best feature is that it gives you the best time to leave for a destination based upon real time traffic data. Considering that traffic data is constantly being updated, this is a huge deal for commuters. The app has turn by turn directions in LARGE font size. There’s nothing worse than not being able to see your directions. But best of all is that it’s FREE.

In a nutshell, here are the improvements listed on the BlackBerry App site:
•A new route selection screen displays two route choices to a destination.
•A new future traffic view can be accessed by selecting an ETA on the route selection screen.
•A revised simple drive view displays the next maneuver with corresponding icon in a large font.
•Frequent search terms are now available on the search screen.
•Updated keyboard shortcuts are listed under the help menu.

Are you running a bit behind schedule? BlackBerry Traffic 2.0 gives users the option to share estimated arrival times via SMS, email, or PIN (BBM). Now you can be considerate and let people know when you’re running late. (Of course you can’t text and drive…. Very dangerous!)

Are you a BlackBerry user? Do you spend a lot of time on the road? This BlackBerry Traffic App may be just the thing for you then. It sounds like the improvements really are improvements. So many times the upgrades are just blasé. This new version seems to be pretty neat. If I were a BlackBerry user I would definitely download it and use it. As it is, being a Droid X user, my Google Navigation is pretty cool as well.

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Mobile data usage grows almost exponentially. With more and more Smartphone usage, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile technology in general, how to handle growing mobile data usage is the focus of wireless companies. Wireless companies are spending billions each year to maximize capacity. As their research and development costs grow, so do our cell phones bills. Costly cell phone towers being built at alarming numbers not only push our wireless bills up, but are unsightly as well. A tiny little device the size of a Rubik’s cube is being developed by Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) that may be the answer to both cost and more cell phone towers.

Tiny lightRadio Cube Could Be a Cell Tower that Fits in Your Hands

lightRadio cube technology was introduced in February 2011. It takes all the parts of a cell tower and reduces it down to a 2.3 inch cube. It is easy to maintain, holds a lot of data and takes a small portion of energy unlike cell phone towers which are expensive to maintain, large and ugly, and inefficient in their use of energy. According to an article written by David Goldman, CNNMoney.com, the global wireless industry is spending over $210 billion per year to operate their networks and over $50 billion per year to keep upgrading these systems to keep up with the growing demands of mobile data usage. Mobile data usage is expected to grow 30 times in the next four to five years and 500 times in the next ten years, according to Alcatel-Lucent. The lightRadio cube could be effective in reducing costs and providing more data capacity.

With a combination of miniaturization and cloud technology, lightRadio cubes are more efficient. According to Goldman’s article, “Alcatel-Lucent’s engineers stripped out all the heavy power equipment that controls modern cell towers, and moved them to centralized stations.” This allows the lightRadio cubes to be placed just about anywhere. The can be attached to the top of bus station awnings, the sides of buildings or even on lamp posts. They are small and inconspicuous. Instead of those unsightly cell towers, these little cubes contain multi-generational antennas that can relay 2G, 3G and 4G network signals all from the same cube. It also reduces signal interference, as well as doubles the number of bits able to be sent. But probably the best news is that it will help cut the cost of service in half.

“We need to think differently about this, because no one wants limits,” said Tod Sizer, head of wireless research at Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Laboratories. “We hope to solve this problem so that the AT&Ts, Verizons and Sprints of the world will be able to provide the data capacity that is needed by the customer.”

lightRadio cubes are set to begin trial usage in September 2011. ALU expects to be mass producing them by 2012. Sprint Nextel is plans to start using the technology later this year.

“Sprint is talking to Alcatel Lucent about this technology and we will be working with them to test and evaluate it,” a Sprint spokeswoman said. “We have been aggressive in smaller factor cell sites to help us support the growth in data traffic.”

Size does matter. The wireless companies are finding that not only are cell phone towers expensive to build and maintain, but they are exhausting room to build these monstrosities as well. According to Goldman’s article, “Each 1.5-Watt lightRadio cube powers about a two-block radius, so in urban areas, they can be deployed throughout the city and stacked like Lego blocks in stadiums or other areas that need extra capacity. In rural areas, they can be deployed atop existing cell towers in arrays.”

Are you as excited as I am about this innovation? It would be nice to actually tear down a lot of the obsolete towers. They are unsightly and not all that efficient. I remember when Nextel created cell phone tower sheaths, coverings that disguised the tower to look like a native grown tree. It was some improvement in aesthetics, but not by much. They were actually pretty funny looking trees. Having little cubes instead is much better.

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Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $93.5 Million to the US government. According to an article written by Brad Reed, ITWorldCanada, the original complaint was filed against Verizon in 2007. MCI (starting in 1999) began overcharging the government by “submitting invoices for payment to the United States for certain surcharges … that it is prohibited from charging the United States under Federal Acquisition Regulations … and the FTS 2001 contract.” Since Verizon and MCI merged in 2006, the courts found Verizon liable for MCI’s actions.

Verizon Loses Case to US Government

“Verizon was not only charging the government for the costs associated with communication services, but it also was pumping up its revenues by charging the government for Verizon’s own property taxes and other costs of doing business,” said attorney Colette Matzzie of the law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP, which filed the original complaint against Verizon. “Under federal law, Verizon was responsible for paying those costs, not the government.”

This is the 2nd time in less than a year that Verizon has agreed to pay millions for overcharging. Last fall, Verizon had to pay the Federal Communications Commission $25 million for charging its customers with unexpected “mystery fees.” Apparently Verizon was charging customers fees for data plans when they didn’t have data plans. Verizon had to pay $52.8 million to consumers for overcharging them.

Nearly 1 in 5 US cell phone subscribers had their cell phone bill rise unexpectedly. According to a survey done last year by the FCC, conducted by research firms Abt/SRBI and Princeton Survey Research Associates, 17% of US cell phone users had an unexplained rise in their bills even though they hadn’t changed service plans. The survey didn’t single out any particular cell phone service provider.

Do you watch your cell phone bill closely or just pay it automatically? Apparently Verizon was counting on your inattention. I for one, will be watching very closely now. Verizon is already one of the most expensive carriers out there. Unfortunately for me, Verizon has the best coverage in my area. AT&T and Sprint really fall short in my rural area. But I will be watching the bills for any sudden increase.

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Federal prosecutors in New Jersey are investigating mobile app companies. The Wall Street Journal reported that popular applications on the iPhone and Android mobile phones, including Pandora, transmit information about the phones, their users and their locations to outsiders, including advertising networks. Have you ever wondered how the ads on your mobile apps seem to know exactly what to target? Here’s the clue. The app companies are sharing your information.

Pandora’s Box—Mobile Apps Under Investigation

Pandora’s Box is opened. According to an article written by the Daily Mail Reporter, dailymail.co.uk, “Pandora along with other major Smartphone application developers are under federal investigation for illegally obtaining and transmitting user information without consent.” Pandora Media, Inc. said it received a subpoena that involved a federal grand jury investigation of information sharing practices of Smartphone application developers. The investigation comes after federal investigators in New Jersey found violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a law passed in 1986 intended to reduce cracking of computers and to address computer-related offenses. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Makers of apps could also face complaints of unfair and deceptive trade practices from the Federal Trade Commission. Such complaints can be aimed at companies that fail to tell customers how they are collecting information. “Anthony Campiti, creator of the Pumpkin Maker iPhone application, told the Wall Street Journal that he also received a subpoena.

“They’re just doing information-gathering to get a better understanding”, Campiti said. “We’re not doing anything wrong and neither is anyone else doing anything wrong.”

Apple and Google have been asked to provide information. Both Apple and Google are supposed to be monitoring the application developers who list their apps in the Apple and Google app stores. Both companies have refused to comment about the investigation. In a study conducted by the Wall Street Journal on 101 Smartphone applications, 56 transmitted the phone’s unique device identifier to outside companies and firms. Apparently these 56 companies did so without the consent of the users. Uh oh!

Are you concerned about your privacy? Do you feel mobile app companies have the right to share your information? What about the information shared on your computer? Have you ever noticed that when you are shopping online that ads appear on web pages that seem specifically targeted to you? This is also done by sharing your information. If you shop for a new pair of running shoes, ads will pop up suggesting those same shoes, or perhaps running gear or sports clothes. Target marketing is not new. Mobile apps have just joined the fray.

Let’s keep an eye on the federal investigation.

Solar powered cell phones are not new. UMEOX Mobile, a Chinese manufacturer, featured their solar charged “Apollo” Smartphone at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona earlier this year. Samsung has 3 models of solar-powered cell phones. There are a variety of solar-powered cell phone chargers on the market. But the newest innovation is the thin, transparent film that turns your phone’s screen into a solar charger.

Turn Your Cell Phone Screen into a Solar Charger

Wysips, a small, French technology company, has developed a new thin film that charges your cell phones using solar power. The photovoltaic film is placed on the screen of the cell phone, creating a continuous trickle charge from the UV rays. The photovoltaic cells capture energy from the sun to power your phone. The company claims that by using direct sunlight, you can fully charge your cell phone in about 6 hours, taking a bit longer in indoor light. Of course this film only works with light, so it isn’t charging while it’s in your pocket or purse, and not at night. But this new innovation could mean the end of the traditional chargers.

Wysips claims the film won’t interfere with 3D screens. It also isn’t supposed to affect the touch screens on Smartphones. And the film isn’t limited to just cell phones. Wysips says the film can be tailored for other devices, such as mp3 players, GPS devices, tablets, and e-readers. By simply placing the device in direct sunlight on your window sill, you can be charging your device. The company demonstrated the film at CTIA 2011 this month, with plans for it to be on the market within 12 months. According to an article by Amanda Hinksi, InventorSpot.com, “the company is currently working on a second generation model which would allow 30 to 60 minutes of talk time from just one hour of solar charging.” There was no mention of the pricing on this film, but it may just be worth it, whatever the cost.

What will this mean to the cell phone industry? Well for one thing, it means that cell phone manufacturers can stop concentrating on putting bigger capacity batteries in phones. (Those Smartphones really use up battery juice.) This means that the phones will become thinner and lighter. You won’t need to have an extended battery because you will constantly be charging your phone. Right now I have a Droid X and it is certainly a power sucker! I have a Droid X Extended Battery in it from batteries4less, which is really nice, but it does make the phone thicker and heavier. It would be awesome to be able to have a thin battery and use this film to keep it charged.

Don’t you just love inventors? With these amazing minds working towards such great innovations, things are looking up for the planet as well. If there are thinner batteries, and fewer chargers, we will have less e-waste as well. Do you have a favorite new invention that you’d like to share? Let us know and we’ll share it too.

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In late January, FoxNews.com/Gadgets reported there would be a new HTC Facebook phone launched this month. FoxNews obviously didn’t do their homework. Not only did they announce that the new Facebook phone would be launched this month in Barcelona, but the photo they shared was a mock-up of an iPhone rather than the HTC phone they reported would be launched. (See photo.) After doing some more thorough research, FoxNews posted another story the very next day stating the Facebook phone rumors were false. (Guess they had a bit of egg on their face…)

Rumors of Facebook Phone are False

FoxNews needs to be more responsible in their reporting. If this article is any indication of the quality of their news department, it doesn’t bode well for their credibility. That being said, their second article was much better researched, and of course more informative. In the second article, FoxNews reported that Facebook has no plans to launch official branded phones with HTC or any other specific manufacturer.

“This is really just another example of a manufacturer who has taken our public APIs (application programming interfaces) and integrated them into their device in an interesting way,” said Dan Rose, head of business development at Facebook.

There won’t be a Facebook phone, but there will be more Facebook integration on Smartphones. According to the second FoxNews article, “mobile” is an increasingly important driver of traffic to Facebook, which says 250 million users per month access the social network on mobile devices. With statistics like that, there will definitely be more and more phones with a Facebook interface.

Will there be an HTC branded Facebook phone? While HTC refused to comment on the Facebook phone rumors, Facebook itself denied the rumors.

“The rumors around there being something more to this HTC device are overblown,” Rose told journalists at a company event in London. Asked whether the device would be Facebook-branded, he answered: “No.”

Facebook phone rumors have been flying about the Internet since last September. But even back then, Facebook denied it was going with one specific manufacturer. So folks, it looks like you will have to make do with your regular Smartphones. I ask myself what the big deal is about having a Facebook branded phone. My Droid X integrates fine with Facebook, in fact, a little too fine. I actually turned off the Facebook app because it was too intrusive. I can’t imagine a phone based on Facebook. What about you? Do you want to see more Facebook on your cell phone? Would you like a cell phone based on Facebook? Let us know…