Gadget Venue

We’ve heard quite a bit over the last week about the iPhone 4 and antenna problems that it has. We have seen a few problems ourselves although overall the experience is better than the 3GS in terms of signal. We only find it drops where signal is bordering on being dead but in those situations the iPhone 4 is still able to keep a call running.

Anandtech decided rather than writing about general observations and trying to summarise it in words, like we have and many other places have done, is in fact, use technical data to see how it actually performs. Using the iPhone 4 and writing based on observation just doesn’t get the same message across as facts do.

The tests were conducted by holding the iPhone 4 in various ways such as a strong grip over the antenna joint, flat on the palm and a more casual hold. Signal strength was then recorded for the iPhone 4, 3GS and the Google Nexus One. [Read more…]

The iPhone 4 bumper case is simply a bit or plastic or rubber that stretches around the outer edges of the phone and protects the glass from touching surfaces as well as protecting the edges of the phone.

The Vapor4 is exactly the same in that it covers the edges of the iPhone 4 and protects it… but the difference here is that the Vapor4 actually looks amazingly nice.

As well as looking good, it will also fix the antenna issues with the iPhone 4 when in bad signal areas. It achieves this by lining the insides of the aluminium casing with a material that prevents the antenna from touching the casing, thus your hand cant break the signal. In tests the company found no interference. [Read more…]

Google [GOOG] is already working on the next version of Android believed to be version 3.0 and codenamed Gingerbread. Some details have started to appear about the new Android indicating what kind of hardware specs a smartphone will need to have to run it.

Phones will require at least 512MB of RAM and a 3.5 inch or larger screen. Processor wise, at least 1GHz will be needed. By detailing the specifications Google allows people to know before hand if their device will be eligible for the upgrade or not. [Read more…]

Some users reported to Apple [AAPL] that their iPhone running iOS 4 was struggling to connect to Exchange servers. This isn’t something we have noticed ourselves here and we use Exchange server for email, contacts, calendar and tasks (separate app). However, Apple has provided a quick update that essentially just changes the idle timeout. Users are reporting that this does indeed fix the problem.

Immediately after updating to iOS 4, some users may notice that Exchange ActiveSync Mail, Contacts, or Calendars do not sync, or sync very slowly. In addition, some Exchange Server administrators may notice their servers running slowly.

Products Affected

iPod touch, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS

Resolution

To work around this issue, users should install a configuration profile from Apple that increases the amount of time the iOS 4 device will wait for the Exchange Server to respond to its sync requests. For best results, the profile should be installed on as many iOS 4 devices at your company as possible.

The update is simple to install and can be found here. Download it or view this page on your iPhone and click the link within the article. Alternatively you can just email the file to yourself and install from the mail app.

You then need to install it and ignore the “profile is not signed” message. Once installed which takes less than a second, just restart your iPhone and you should be good to go.

Back in May, Mozilla previewed the Firefox Home app saying it was soon going to be sent to Apple [AAPL] for approval to hit the app store. The application has now been submitted and the company is just waiting for Apple to give the go ahead.

Firefox Home is an application that lets you sync your bookmarks and open tabs up from your desktop or laptop computer with your iPhone so that when you are on the move you can easily pick up from where you left off at home. The data about tabs and bookmarks on your computer is automatically synced to the cloud which allows the iPhone to then grab that data when the free application is loaded up. [Read more…]

Facebook has finally updated their iPhone app to be iOS 4 compatible as well as iPhone 4 compatible. By iOS 4 compatible we mean that Fast App Switching is now available which works on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. By iPhone 4 compatible we mean that the icons have received an update and have been made higher resolution to look better on the retina display.

Other features include Russian and Korean localizations as well as a few minor bug fixes for the app. [Read more…]

Sergio Mcfly has managed to get Android 2.2 Froyo, the Google [GOOG] operating system, to run on his iPhone 3G. The version installed is unlocked and allows Sergio to make calls over the T-Mobile network as well as use 3G data services.

The iPhone 3G runs ultrasn0w that allows Android Froyo to be installed as detailed below…

‘Wohooooo!! For the first time I’ve got my 3G ultrasn0w running Android Froyo UNLOCKED!. Many thanks to bluerise to make this possible. He just ported the ultasn0w into the new OpeniBoot. It took a long time to me to figure out and embed into the IPHODROID. Now, its time to make labs with 2G phone but Im in a rush to put this new release in the air and feel the people so happy to making calls everywhere

[Read more…]

Microsoft [MSFT] has killed off the Microsoft Kin just a few weeks after it’s launch. From what Engadget reports, it appears that Microsoft is rolling the Kin in to the Windows Phone 7 team. Product launches for Europe are not going ahead now although Microsoft will support Verizon [VZ] with the device in the US.

“We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones.”

[Read more…]