The original story’s been pulled, but pocketinfo.nl had an interesting rumor about a possible Windows Mobile 6.1 coming next February at 3GSM. The supposed new features are a “carousel” UI where you scroll left and right for features, as well as other small fixes. There shouldn’t be anything spectacular in a point release, and any mindblowing changes to Windows Mobile will be coming in Windows Mobile 7 sometime possibly late next year. In any case, file this under interesting rumor.

gizmodo.com

Opera Software released the new version of Opera Mobile 8.65 for Windows Mobile, available from www.opera.com/mobile with a free 30-day trial. Opera Mobile 8.65 for Windows Mobile, is the culmination of user feedback and beta testing results to further enhance the Web-browsing experience on Windows Mobile devices with Opera’s winning small-screen performance.

Opera Mobile 8.65 for Windows Mobile provides Flash support, allows users to send links by e-mail, SMS or MMS, and adds several menu and user interface enhancements such as an integrated search field in the address bar.

New Features for Opera Mobile 8.65

• Support for Macromedia Flash Player 7 for Pocket PC
• FlashLite 2.1
• Text Wrap in Desktop Mode
• Grab and Scroll (only applicable to Pocket PC)
• Web search in address bar
• Save image
• Copy text
• Send link as e-mail, SMS, and MMS
• Import bookmarks from Pocket Internet Explorer
• Desktop Mode as default viewing mode

To view the full changelog for Opera Mobile 8.65 for Windows Mobile, please visit www.opera.com/docs/changelogs/winmobile/865/

A system that lets you get the right look without the hassle of a make-up counter queue is currently sweeping Japan. At the moment it works in terminals placed in 30 department stores across the country, but us girls here at are pretty excited that it could be heading straight to mobile phones! The terminals use simulator software to asses the shape of a person’s eyes, lips and even eyebrows.

They then advise on make up ranges using a simulated facial image, giving an immediate view of how the make-up will look – saving time, money and embarrassment at the bar.

Cosmetics brand Shiseido is developing the technology to reach mobiles in the not too distant future.

So girls, it could soon be time to stop badgering mates for advice, and being prey to those jealous girls, and unleash the professional mobile style advisor from your handbag.

For those struggling to communicate with the deaf could benefit from Sisi (Say it, Sign it), a system developed as part of IBM’s Extreme Blue initiative. The Inquirer reports.

“Sisi takes input from text and then converts it into BSL (British Sign Language).

The really clever bit is that the Extreme Blue team which developed Sisi has married the conversion process to existing avatar technology.

At present the technique relies on communications with a server. It then returns the results as a video clip of the avatar signing the desired message.

Sisi would enable handset users to key a message into their mobile phones and then display the results as a video clip with the avatar signing.

At present the team see the technology as being initially taken up for voicemails and instant messaging.

In future they also hope to support other languages besides English.”

textually.org

The first free iPhone unlock software has been sold and successfully installed today by Mr Paul Taylor, from the UK. Giz was there as an exclusive witness, but when things went very wrong —and the process failed repeatedly giving a “baseband communication error”— I jumped in to help. After some troubleshooting we identified the problem —and I am afraid that it could mean that the software unlock may not work with all SIM configurations. [Updated Sept. 11, 02:52AM EST: iPod Sim Free has issued an application update to fix the problem we discovered during unlocking. Jump to see their statement.]

Nobody has told you this yet, but as I discovered, not everyone would be able to apply the iPhone Sim Free patch to unlock the iPhone. The key seems to be in the SIM card’s PIN. If you can disable it, everything seems ok to go. But if you can’t, it looks like you should have to forget about the iPhone Sim Free software for now.

As I was able to see today, the customer experience to unlock an iPhone is not pretty. In fact, it could be absolutely awful because most final users don’t know anything about SSH, SFTP or the Terminal. If you already have your iPhone jailbreaked using a software like iFuntastic for Mac (current version doesn’t work with iTunes 7.4) or iBrickr for Windows, installing the application will be a breeze: just drag and drop it inside the Applications folder inside your iPhone.

However, starting at 3:25PM EST I watched as Sasha Vatoff, from the australian iPhone Sim Free reseller, tried to guide customers Paul Taylor and Philipp Meier through the whole installation process. They were going to be the first final customers ever to unlock the iPhone. No journalists, just normal consumers. So early in the game, I had to jump in to help them install the software because iFuntastic wouldn’t work with Phil’s iTunes 7.4 and Paul’s iFuntastic didn’t work at all. That required going through installing SSH and moving the iPhone Sim Free app using Secure FTP.

All looked ok, but when the application was finally in the iPhone, both Paul and Phil tried the unlock and it failed. Baseband communication error, the iPhone spat everytime. They restored their iPhones a couple of times because it simply didn’t work and the thin iPhone Sim Free “documentation” recommended a full iTunes restore after a baseband communication error.

Around 7PM EST the situation was absolutely desperate. Sasha, the reseller, was lost at this point. The poor guy didn’t know what to do next and the iPhone Sim Free people told him they “weren’t going to publish further information.” Basically, they said they released the software but the “support” was the reseller responsibility, which makes sense. However, Sasha was expecting more support from them. Instead, all he got was a call from a VoIP line with terrible sound, every two words being lost in cyberspace.

Without knowing what to do, he kept asking me for opinions. What to do? Should I send the program to my customers right away and let them figure it out? People were getting nervous. My only answer was to try it: “Send it to your clients and see if anyone has more luck that these two.”

Still, I was refusing to believe that it didn’t work so I asked him if he wanted me to try it.

It worked.

After a few minutes, I had my iPhone unlocked. I couldn’t understand why. Jason didn’t have any problems, just like me. There had to be something else. And then, like if The Steve appeared from the heavens to illuminate me: boom! There it was, a revelation: I asked Jason if he had a pin when he tried the unlock. “No, I don’t think I had” he said.

It was a good shot:

MSN conversation with Paul and Sasha [Timestamps are in Madrid GMT+1 time, so this starts at 7:40:22 PM EST]Jesus says: (1:40:22 AM)
dude
Jesus says: (1:40:28 AM)
does your sim card have a pin? (at the same time, I was asking Phil the same and he said “yes”)
Paul (r) says: (1:40:32 AM)
yes
Jesus says: (1:40:36 AM)
take it off
Paul (r) says: (1:41:12 AM)
anything is worth a try
Jesus says: (1:41:21 AM)
Phil has a pin lock too
Jesus says: (1:41:24 AM)
I don’t
Jesus says: (1:41:26 AM)
maybe that’s the trick
Paul (r) says: (1:42:45 AM)
here goes nothing
Jesus says: (1:44:06 AM)
have you deactivated the pin?
Paul (r) says: (1:44:13 AM)
yep
Paul (r) says: (1:44:31 AM)
ran IPSF
Paul (r) says: (1:44:39 AM)
it said already unlocked (no error this time)
Paul (r) says: (1:44:45 AM)
now back at front screen
Paul (r) says: (1:45:06 AM)
“incorrect SIM connect to iTunes to activate”
Paul (r) says: (1:45:09 AM)
and no service
Paul (r) says: (1:45:35 AM)
Hold on a second…
Paul (r) says: (1:45:41 AM)
When I press the phone button
Paul (r) says: (1:45:43 AM)
and go to my contacts
Paul (r) says: (1:45:49 AM)
My number shows up at the top
Jesus says: (1:45:55 AM)
dude
Jesus says: (1:45:57 AM)
stop it
Jesus says: (1:46:10 AM)
you have to finish the process
Jesus says: (1:46:14 AM)
go to independence
Jesus says: (1:46:20 AM)
and activate again
Paul (r) says: (1:46:20 AM)
what process
Jesus says: (1:46:28 AM)
you have to activate
Jesus says: (1:46:33 AM)
like if it was AT&T
Jesus says: (1:46:38 AM)
but with the new sim
Sasha says: (1:47:14 AM)
so
Paul (r) says: (1:47:17 AM)
ok
Sasha says: (1:47:19 AM)
it works
Paul (r) says: (1:47:39 AM)
not yet
Paul (r) says: (1:47:45 AM)
have gone into independence
Paul (r) says: (1:47:52 AM)
activation suceeded
Paul (r) says: (1:47:57 AM)
rebooting
Paul (r) says: (1:48:20 AM)
incorrect sim please connect to itunes to reactivate phone
Jesus says: (1:48:29 AM)
activate with independence
Jesus says: (1:48:53 AM)
put pem file
Paul (r) says: (1:50:19 AM)
we’re back to failed activation
Jesus says: (1:50:29 AM)
quit independence
Jesus says: (1:50:33 AM)
then put PEM file
Jesus says: (1:50:39 AM)
then activate
Paul (r) says: (1:51:09 AM)
IT FUCKING WORKED
Jesus says: (1:51:14 AM)
yep

After a few “Jesus I love you! Jesus I love you! You are a genius!” from Paul and Sasha —the first ecstatic about his newly-unlocked iPhone and the later obviously breathing again after almost collapsing from a heart attack— Paul did a test call and everything was fine. The photo above is his phone, working on the Virgin network in the UK.

So as you can see, the secret is pretty easy: before unlocking the iPhone, you must disable the PIN in the SIM card using another phone.

The problem now is that some SIM cards don’t have the option to disable the PIN security. This was the case of Phil, whose German SIM’s security can’t be disabled. Now he was to wait for an update that may come sooner or later. Or may not come at all. There may be another solutions, but at the time of this writing, we couldn’t work out what these may be.

Right now we still don’t know what are the technical problems that this may pose for the iPhone Sim Free people (at the moment of this writing, we still haven’t heard from them but we expect to have official word soon.)

Until that fix comes, the iPhone Sim Free software solution works, but only it seems to work for certain people. Those whose SIM cards can have a “disabled PIN.” In other words: for now, the only universal solution are still the TurboSIM solution, which doesn’t break your warranty. or the hardware unlock.

So either those users wait for a solution or, hopefully, the iPhone Dev Team will be able to work it out in the free unlock. I know for a fact that the “Rebel Alliance” is frantically working on it and they now need your moral and economical support more than ever.

[UPDATE: If you were thinking about participating in our iPhone Sim Free license give-away contest, make sure to check your SIM card doesn't have obligatory PIN security.]

[Updated Sept. 11, 02:52AM EST: iPod Sim Free has issued an application update to fix the problem we discovered during unlocking. Good to see they react so quickly.]

iPhone Sim Free Statement It has been brought to our attention mainly through this article [the article you are reading now] that there was a small bug in our code. This bug has now been resolved we will be forwarding the new simfree.app to all our currently registered resellers. All new resellers will automatically receive the updated version. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Jesus Diaz for discovering this bug and reporting it through his site. As well as apologize to the select few who encountered this problem.The bug has been confirmed to be related to whether or not the SIM card is pin locked or not, it has now been resolved. AND OUR SOLUTION IS UNIVERSAL.

Further to this, we will be updating our simple tutorial, to include the following:

IMPORTANT !

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR PHONE IS FULLY CHARGED AND YOUR “Auto-Lock” SETTING (in Settings/General) is set to NEVER for the duration of the unlock process. You may change it back once the application is finished.

gizmodo.com

After a summer of waiting for ringtones for the iPhone, they’re finally here. And Apple delivers with a package that’s easy and convenient to use. iTunes lets you know which tracks you can turn into a ringtone by displaying a bell next to them.

If you click the bell it brings up a graphic editor which is quick and responsive. You can adjust the length of the ringtone anywhere between 3 and 30 seconds. There are also Fade In and Fade Out options to give your ringtone a smoother sound, as well as gaps that you can insert in between repeating loops. From there, you can slide your time segment anywhere along the length of the song and decide what portion of the ringtone you want. When you decide, you hit the purchase button and it cuts and sends the segment to your ringtone folder to be loaded onto your iPhone next time you sync. Multiple ringtones can be made from the same song, but they still cost $.99 apiece. Very quick, very easy.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/itunes-ringtone-editor-hands+on-296761.php

Wait, hasn’t this already been done before? Indeed it has. SMS text message-based payment system have been in use for quite some time now, and it seems that Google has been keen to the new trend for about a year and a half. The search giant has just published their patent application (filed Feb. 28, 2006) for an SMS text message-payment system, ostensibly called “GPay,” that would facilitate private transactions between a merchant and a customer for goos and services. Pay the milkman with your mobile phone (does anyone still get milk from a milkman?). Tip the neighborhood paperboy with an SMS text message - the possibilities are exciting, to say the least.

The GPay user (”payor”) sends a text message to Google’s GPay servers that details the merchant (”payee”) and payment amount. Once received and processed, GPay will debit the payor’s account and credit the payment amount to the payee. The system would require that the payor keep a balance with GPay but does not require the payee to hold an account with GPay - payments are made externally to GPay’s system.

A computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic on-line payment includes receiving at a computer server system a text message from a payor containing a payment request representing a payment amount sent by a payor device operating independently of the computer server system, determining a payment amount associated with the text message and debiting a payor account for an amount corresponding to the amount of the payment request, and crediting an account of a payee that is independent of the computer server system.

The question is, how much will Google be charging to use its GPay service? Will it use a commission model or subscription model? Either way, we can’t wait to see GPay launch. “How much do I owe you?…Okay, lemme get my phone” - yea, that would be sweet!

USPTO source

http://www.intomobile.com/2007/09/02/google-puts-in-patent-application-for-sms-text-message-payment-system-say-what.html

Yowgo is an image search engine that allows you to send pictures to your cell phone for free.

mopocket tried it out:

Say, for example, I wanted to put Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the wallpaper on my phone. But the campaign does not provide this service. Well as simple search for Romney on YOWGO provided me with a plethora of material to use… now how do I get it on my phone. Underneath its picture is a little link that says ‘Send To Phone.’ This opens up a Mixxer site that allows you to enter your phone model and number and send away (it even lets you edit the picture). In no time you receive a WAP Push SMS with a link to a mobile website where your phone will then prompt you to download the picture. Thats it, your done.

textually.org

According to Gadgetell, Mozilla is planning on releasing a mobile version of Firefox.

“CEO Mitchell Baker said that it is a long term goal and not something that we should expect to see soon.”

textually

mobiode is useful for mobile site owners, when they want to get feedback from their visitors. They can create a survey, link it with their portal and collect responses and see them on line.It’s a simple and flexible solution for mobile surveys and polls, which can be used to collect data from users via their mobile phones.You create survey in your web browser and participants to the survey respond using their mobile phones. All results are visible through our web interface in real time or in the Excel.”

textually.org