Big Photo Lenses on a Little IPhone

A new gadget allows iPhone photographers to use Canon and Nikon lenses, for photo aficionados who want more than the camera's 5-megapixel camera alone can provide.

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Photo accessories company Photojojo offers an iPhone SLR Mount that attaches to the smartphone, allowing even the largest camera lenses to be mounted, much like they are on a more traditional camera body.

The kit costs $190 for the iPhone 3GSand $250 for the iPhone 4, and comes with an aluminum case, an SLR lens adapter, a UV filter and a tripod mount.

Many iPhone owners snap photos with their device, but the camera has limited focus and capabilities. While a traditional lens adds control over photography, an iPhone 4 only offes a 5-megapixel camera.

The lenses reflect the growing reality that for many people, smartphone cameras are replacing separate digital cameras. The iPhone is already the top camera used by Flickr members, who appreciate the ease of uploading mobile photographs.

Smartphone sales are skyrocketing, while traditional digital camera sales are declining. Experts believe 130 million digital cameras will be sold this year, but sales of cell phones with 5-megapixel or higher may climb to 361 million this year.

The charm of the iPhone's camera is in its size. Many people who just want to snap a quick photograph to show their friends or share on Facebook don't want the inconvenience of lugging around several pounds of camera equipment when an iPhone is small enough to keep in a shirt pocket.

Users also want to share photos immediately on social media sites or to e-mail them to friends. The success of the Photojojo mount may be limited to photography enthusiasts or professionals who increasingly use the iPhone and other smartphone cameras as part of their work.

As the megapixel levels climb in other smartphone cameras, traditional lenses may well become more attractive. However, for the general photographer, the bulk and size of those lenses may outweigh the improvement in photography, and for the average person the improved quality of photos may not matter as much as convenience.

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Rogers kicks off 4G in Canada with LTE launch in Ottawa

Yesterday, 4G went live for the first time in Canada, right here in my hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. The first Rogers LTE network was announced earlier last month, and though there aren’t any smartphones available to make use of the (up to) 75 Mbps data speeds, Rogers does have an internet stick to get the ball rolling. Rogers has hinted that Samsung and HTC LTE handsets will be available in Canada before the end of the year. Maybe they’re alluding to Droid Charge andThunderbolt?

I’m really looking forward to the LTE rollout if only to put a dent into carriers that are marketing HSPA+ as 4G. While the handsets will come in time, it’s hard to get too excited about the network launch without them. At the time of Rogers’ launch event, I was in Toronto looking at the Telus fall lineup, and though they’re planning an LTE rollout eventually, they were more of the mindset “not first, but best”. I only really half-agree there; if you’re first with the network, then you’re also first with the handsets, and you’re the first locking people into 3-year contracts. However, folks that aren’t obsessed with being on the bleeding edge like we are might be more impressed if Telus can launch their network in more markets and with more handsets from the get-go. We can’t forget the little guys, either. Wind Mobile has been testing LTE for awhile, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get something out before the end of the year.

It’s good to see that we aren’t that far behind the big American push for 4G, I just hope that we can keep up on handset launches too. Other major centres in Canada are due to get Rogers LTE this fall, including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Anyone interested in picking up the new Rogers internet stick can find it over here. Here’s a look at the initial coverage map.

Verizon officially welcomes tiered data plans

You might have heard that Verizon is moving from unlimited to tiered data plans and today the plans went live on Big Red. The new monthly caps and prices apply for all phones, but some 4G LTE devices won't be able to make use of the cheapest one:

Monthly cap..............Price

75MB.........................$10

2GB............................$30

5GB............................$50

10GB..........................$80

The overage rates stand at $10 for 1GB of exceeded data on any plan. Those of you on an unlimited data plan remain unaffected by the changes, but new users will have to pick one of the tiered plans. To check data usage, users can just dial #data to get a free text message with information about used data.

Additionally, new pricing for using mobile hotspot on your cell phone kicks in on top of your data plan at an additional $20 for 2GB worth of tethering traffic. What are your thoughts about the new data plans? Feel free to share in the comments below.

U.S. version of the Samsung Galaxy S II may keep the Exynos chipset after all

Those of you who have been patiently waiting for the highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S II to launch across the U.S. might be disappointed to hear this, but at least one of the North American versions of the smartphone, the AT&T-bound Samsung Attain in particular, will most likely drop the 1.2GHz Exynos chipset in favor of NVIDIA's Tegra 2 silicon. That is what became apparent after a Galaxy S II variant listed by its GT-I9103 model name was spotted at the FCC with support for AT&T's frequencies.

The FCC filing itself does not reveal much in terms of the smartphone's internal specs, but a quick check in GLBenchmark's database shows a Samsung-made device with the same GT-I9103 model name sporting a Tegra 2 chipset. This, of course, is not the first time when we hear about a Tegra 2-powered Samsung Galaxy S II being under development,

but now we have enough evidence to believe that the said smartphone will be marketed in the U.S.

Well, the Tegra 2 chip still packs more than enough processing power to handle almost anything that you would throw at it, but our benchmarks showed that Samsung's Exynos silicon has the upper hand. Nevertheless, would this make you have second thoughts and go with a different superphone instead of the U.S.-tailored Samsung Galaxy S II? Feel free to let us know by dropping a comment below.

source: FCC, GLBenchmark via Android Authority

UPDATE: It turns out that the Samsung GT-I9103 that we mentioned above is the Samsung Galaxy Z - a smartphone similar, yet different from the Samsung Galaxy S II. The Galaxy Z is only a downgraded version of the Galaxy S II, which means that the latter may launch in the U.S. with a Exynos chipset after all.

Thanks to everyone, who pointed this out!

Motorola DROID 3 is here on Verizon!

It seems the day has come for those of you looking to grab the Motorola DROID 3. Moto’s QWERTY smartphone is now live on Verizon Wireless’ website though we still can’t get to the product page. I assume this will change later in the day when the official press release will be sent out to the media. In the meantime, you can hop over to the new products page  and see this baby in its full glory.

We’ve already said all there is to say about the DROID 3. It comes with a 4-inch qHD touchscreen, dual-core 1GHz processor, 8-megapixel camera and that awesome 5-row keyboard along with other “standard for a high-end smartphone” bells and whistles like sensors, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and so on.

If you’re not in a rush, I suggest waiting for the first reviews (including our very own) to come and then decide whether that keyboard really makes sense for you. I think it does, though I know I have pretty specific needs. What do you say?

UPDATE: It’s here! You can grab the DROID 3 from Verizon’s website for $199.99 on a two-year contract or for $459.99 and go from month to month.

Verizon: No More Unlimited Data Plans

Verizon on Thursday is ending its unlimited wireless data plans, joining rivals AT&T and T-Mobile in rolling out tiered data plans to curb data-hungry customers and address network congestion.

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After July 7, Verizon subscribers will no longer be able to buy contracts with unlimited plans. The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier said customers who already have unlimited contracts will be able to keep them, but new subscribers must sign up for tiered plans, meaning they will pay a set cost for a certain level of data use.

Verizon's current unlimited data plans start at $30 a month for 2-gigabytes of data. Each additional gigabyte will cost $10 a month for users that go over their allotted plan. Although Verizon won't have any more unlimited plans, it will also offer plans with higher data usage.

Carriers previously offered unlimited plans to attract more customers. However, as more people use sophisticated smartphones to stream videos, play games and browse the Internet, providers are having to deal with surging network congestion and increasing demand for data.

And the usage is uneven. Verizon reports 95 percent of its customers use 2-gigabytes or less a month, meaning a tiered service may not affect their bills. Heavier users, however, will pay more as their usage climbs.

The change from unlimited to tiered service may potentially confuse some users. While customers generally understand bills about calling minutes, data usage bills vary depending on how people use a device.

Customers who use their cell phones to upload videos to Facebook or to watch movies may be stunned when they receive much larger bills than expected and may look for alternatives.

Only Sprint still offers unlimited data plans, but its coverage is not as extensive as those offered by the other rivals. Some prepaid carriers also offer unlimited plans without a contract. Virgin Mobile, for example, offers plans with unlimited data, but limits talk time as a trade-off.

Verizon customers with unlimited data should enjoy it while they can, because when their contract is up, they should prepare for additional bills.

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Nokia Shuts Down Vertu in Japan

Nokia is shutting down its luxury mobile phone stores in Japan, as the company continues its strategy of offering offer low-end devices to regain market share from Apple and Google.

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Nokia's Japanese stores, like Vertu, which specialized in luxury phones that sold for as much as $250,000, will be closed by the end of July. Nokia says it will still do business with Japanese craftsmen on products that will be sold in other markets.

While Nokia once controlled nearly half of the global handset market, the Finnish phone maker has never had a strong presence in the Japan. The company's phones have struggled in Asian markets to keep up with the immense popularity of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices.

This latest move comes just a few weeks after the company announced its plans to flood emerging markets in Asia with low-end offerings. Experts believe Asia's mobile market will grow by 40 percent in the next five years, paving the way for billions of devices.

Nokia's phones could appeal to the millions in those markets who do not have the money to spend on an iPhone or a top-of-the-line Android device.

Nokia, the number-one phone manufacturer in the world since 1996, has been slipping lately against its rivals. Both Samsung and Apple are expected to surpass Nokia's global smartphone shipments later this year, prompting the company to make adjustments to stay in the race. To get itself out of the hole, the Finnish manufacturer is teaming up with Microsoft to put the Windows Phone 7 operating system on all of its future smartphone devices.

Nokia is hoping the move will help it return to relevance in a smartphone market that has become dominated by Apple and Google's Android-based devices.

As part of its strategy as Nokia waits for its Windows-based phones to hit the market, the company will slash the prices of its current smartphones in Europe to try and stir up sales.

Unlike in the U.S. and Europe, where the mobile phone market is already established, emerging Asian markets may provide Nokia with a growth opportunity. The complete closing of the Vertu stores in Japan will help Nokia focus its business on this wider, potential customer base.

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Apple Ramps Up IPhone 5 Production

Apple reportedly placed an order for 15 million iPhones 5s, as the rumor mill heats up leading up to the phone's actual release.

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Taiwan-based Pegatron Technology received the order from the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, according to DigiTimes. Sources also say the phone is not much different than the iPhone 4, and Pegatron is already prepping the device for arumored September release.

Pegatron, which worked on the CDMA version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon, appears to be continuing its relationship with Apple. The report doesn't reveal many details on the specifications of the device.

Historically, iPhone launches have been so popular that Apple struggled to meet demand. Just last year, the company sold 1.4 million iPhone 4s in the first four days of its release, at a time when the phone was only available on AT&T.

This is the first year Apple delayed the phone in order to ramp up production and avoid shortages.

DigiTimes' report refers to the new device as the iPhone 4S, a term that suggests the new phone will have lighter changes, like the ones made from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS. An unchanged body type would mean the phone is keeping the same exterior look, with only the insides of the phone changing.

Other reports indicated the device may contain the iPad 2's A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera, a larger display and near-field communications capability, but Apple refuses to tip its hand.

In June, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the World Wide Developers Conference where the new iPhone has traditionally been revealed. Instead of announcing new hardware, Jobs took the opportunity to introduce the iOS 5, a new version of the software that powers iPods, iPads and iPhones, including the iPhone 5.

Until he takes the stage again, that's most likely all anyone will know for certain about Apple's next phone.

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The browser wars have a new winner after major updates to platforms

Just a couple of months ago, Microsoft bragged with the performance of its IE9 browser after it blew competition out of the water in a browser benchmark fight plotted by Redmond itself. But two months later, iOS 5 is official, and we have a whole new ball game. Running Mobile Safari on an iPhone 4 updated to a beta of iOS 5 shows that there's a new winner in the browser battle.

Safari scored a whopping 31fps despite the fact that it runs on a handset with a higher resolution, dwarfing the 26fps result on the WP7 handset and the 15fps on Android. The iPhone 4 sports a screen rendering 640x960 pixels in comparison to the respective Windows Phone device which only had to support 480x800 pixels. Initially, Microsoft's browser claimed to succeed due to its hardware accelerated HTML5, but while Redmond's new platform is about to use new hardware, the iPhone 4 manages to outscore with its year-old silicon.

Judging by the beta, it appears that Apple has managed to beat Microsoft at its own benchmark and while both the Mango and iOS 5 updates are expected this fall, we can't help but wonder how will the next generation of handsets coming with them look like.

HTC Sensation 4G lands at Bell – $149.95 on contract

The HTC Sensation has been out in the U.S. for a couple of weeks, earning accolades across the board, and now Canadians will have a shot at enjoying it. Bell just launched it today, complete with the dubious “4G” tacked on to the name. It’s going for $149.95 on a three-year contract, or $549.95 without.

The HTC Sensation is a force to be reckoned with among Android smartphones, packing a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, running 2.3 Gingerbread, and a buxom 8 megapixel camera on the back (plus secondary front-facing camera). All of the usual Sense goodies are there, like hot-swappable home screen configurations, cloud sync and backup, and downloadable ringtones and wallpapers. Find our full review over here.

Until the SamsungGalaxy S II 4G comes to Bell, the Sensation will be the top Android phone Bell has to offer. The last big name they had was the Motorola Atrix, which offered similar wireless speeds, screen quality, and software (minus the HTC Sense customizations). To be honest, barring fine distinctions, the top-tier touchscreen slate Android phones are starting to blend together, and it’s hard for me to find a good reason why someone would want to pick up the Sensation 4G versus the Atrix or Galaxy S II. Regardless, Canadians can find the HTC Sensation 4G in Bell’s online store over here.

On http://www.m2cmobile.com, HTC sensation costs $599.98, NO TAX!!!

Apple Wants to Block Samsung Products in U.S.

Apple filed an injunction against Samsung, asking the company to halt production of four of its devices, as the two companies escalate their ongoing courtroom battle.

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The Cupertino, Calif.-based company claims Samsung violates four of its patents in the design of Samsung'sGalaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge andGalaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. With the injunction, Apple aims to prevent the South Korean handset maker from importing these devices in the U.S.

Apple, which Samsung designed its devices to mimic the iPhone and iPad, alleges Samsung did this purposely to confuse consumers into purchasing their devices.

"The message that Samsung conveys to consumers with its imitative smartphone design is simple: 'It's just like an iPhone,'" Apple's claim read. "Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 tablet sends a similar message: 'It's just like an iPad.'"

Samsung denied claims it copied Apple designs and said it will continue to sell its devices unless legally prevented from doing so.

"Samsung believes there is no legal basis for this motion," said the company in a statement. "We will continue to serve our customers, and sales of Samsung products will proceed as usual. Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communication business."

Apple's claim could have widespread implications for both companies, depending on how the court rules.

If Apple is able to win the injunction, Samsung would have to cease production on its four most popular devices on the market. Samsung may choose to completely re-design the smartphones and tablet, an expensive process that may potentially hurt Samsung's reputation.

If the court denies the claim, it may create the impression Apple is making unreasonable demands, potentially weakening similar claims against other companies in the future.

Apple may also be using the injunction to force Samsung into settling outside of court. Though Samsung may want to fight Apple's claim, the possibility that a court could ban several of its premiere devices is a risk the company doesn't want to take.

Samsung and Apple have been trading legal blows since April, when Apple originally claimed Samsung's devices copied Apple's. Samsung retaliated with the same lawsuit in the U.S. and in other countries around the world.

Samsung made similar moves against Apple, attempting to ban the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. because it believes Apple copied its designs. Both companies have also attempted to deny early access for the other company to see its rival devices as part of the legal process; Apple's legal team was granted a preview of Samsung's devices, but Samsung was denied similar access.

The injunction decision could greatly affect the mobile landscape. If Apple wins its injunction, one of its largest competitors will take a big hit in sales and be forced to completely redesign its devices. If Apple loses, it may indicate a potential weakness of Apple's suit. But the legal saga will likely continue between the two companies as the stakes of the increasingly competitive mobile market grow higher.

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Windows Phone 7 version of the Samsung Galaxy S II could be on the way

We just reported that the Samsung Galaxy S II has been selling at a rate of 1 every 1.5 seconds and the Korean based manufacturer recently celebrated the 3 millionth unit sold (even without a U.S. launch)-a feat that took all of 55 days. So you can imagine what the conversation was like in the Samsung boardroom when someone came up with the idea of making a version of the device that runs on Windows Phone 7 instead of Android.

The Samsung SGH i-937 has been appearing on the Bluetooth SIG which has started speculation that this is the Samsung Galaxy S II the hottest smartphone currently known to man-but with Microsoft's mobile OS on board. Because it has the same exact profile as a Mango flavored Windows Phone 7 stack and has appeared on a list of Windows Phone 7 devices playing games from Occasional Gamers, it can be deduced that the SGH i-937 is a Windows Phone 7 powered handset. Add to this the fact that the model number is just 10 above the Samsung Galaxy S II, and you might have enough circumstantial evidence to start a decent rumor.

With the response that the Android powered Samsung Galaxy S II has received in the marketplace, it would be a good business decision to see if that success could be repeated with an OS that is looking for a jump start anyway. Of course, we wouldn't expect to see anything resembling a Galaxy S II with Windows Phone 7 running the show until after the Mango update takes the OS to the next level promised by the gang at Redmond.