As reported here on Cell Phones Etc. and across the Web, here’s your daily brief on what happened in the world of mobile phones this Tuesday, May 10th, 2011.
White iPhone 4 now shipping between 1-2 business days
Here’s good news for those of you who prefer to get the white iPhone 4 direct from Apple. From a 3-4 day waiting period, the white iPhone 4 shipping period, when ordering it online, is now down to just 1-2 days. Of course, it would have been better if it were already readily available just like its black counterpart, but hey, we’ll take what we can get, right?
Mobilesryup
Done Deal! Big Deal. Smart Deal? Microsoft Buys Skype For $8.5 Billion In Cash
Well, it’s not exactly a done deal yet. This is still subject to regulatory scrutiny, but it’s pretty much a done deal. So, what’s this mean for Skype? Not much really, but for Microsoft, a whole lot. With Skype now part of the Microsoft empire, they now have an ace up their sleeves to make Windows Phone a serious mobile platform to contend with. That is, of course, if they make the right decisions, but we’re optimistic they will after spending the better part of the last few years trying to figure out how to lodge a comeback in the mobile scene.
TechCrunch
Google Ice Cream Sandwich coming in Q4 2011 to smartphones and tablets alike
Yes, Google’s Android mobile phone and tablet platform will soon be unified, and it will come via Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s a versatile OS that will adapt to the form factor of each device, which will feature a resizable status bar, face-tracking, and voice-based camera focus shifting. Those are just some teasers as to what we can expect in this newest Android version, but the specific technical details are still under wraps. Anyway, what we’re sure of is that it’ll be out later this year so we’ll know soon enough what various treats this Ice Cream Sandwhich has to offer.
Engadget
Coming Soon: Charge Your Cell Phone By Screaming At It
The title maybe a little bit exaggerated, but the concept is there – sound used to charge your cell phone. A team of researchers headed by Dr. Sang-woo Kim of the Institute of Nanotechnology at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul have discovered a way to convert sound into electricity. It’s probably still a long way wait before we see this kind of technology becomes available to the consumers, but it is indeed promising, and something definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
Business Insider: SAI
Koodo, Videotron and SaskTel all win in the J.D. Power 2011 Canadian Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study
Of the three, Videotron is actually the best as they scored a perfect “Overall Satisfaction” rating. But unlike the two, they’re just a regional carrier. Koodo Mobile led the pack in the Ontario region, while SaskTel was the best in the West. How about the big 3, you ask? Well, they weren’t serious title contenders here, but among them, Telus had the best customer satisfaction rating followed by Rogers then Bell.
Mobilesyrup
