Hop-On just released in USA this new ultra-simple GSM phone. At a $10 price point in the US retail and convenient stores, the HOP1800 could be considered disposable, but the company offers a $5 rebate for returning the phone to encourage recycling the phone to “Keep it Green”.

Here is the specs:

• Size: 96.6mm(D)x41.6mm(W)x14mm(H)
• Weight: 77g
• Bands: Dual-band 850/1900MHz or 900/1800MHz
• Battery: Standard Li-Ion 600mAh
• Battery Life: Talk time 4 hours; Standby time 150 hours
• Ringer: Polyphonic (16 Midi)
• Embedded Vibration: Yes
• SIM Lock: Yes
• Keypad Lock: Yes

Source: http://hop-on.com

TryPhone gives you the ability to try before you buy. Use the fully interactive online virtual handsets to test-drive mobile devices, applications, content and services, as well as watch demos - right from the comfort and convenience of your own computer. No pressure, no salespeople, no product uncertainty and no features you don’t understand.

8:13AM Friday November 23, 2007
By Louis Charbonneau

WIESBADEN - German police are unable to decipher the encryption used in the internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists, Germany’s top police officer said.

Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the internet from their computer to other Skype users free of charge.

Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have used wiretaps since the telephone was invented, but implementing them is much more complex in the modern telecommunications market where the providers are often foreign companies.

More on The New Zealand Herald

Posted by MobileTech

Google Phone The Next Hacker Romance?
By: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com

Rumors have been circulating all year about the 2008 debut of “The Google Phone” but Google has been calculated in sharing only bits of insight with every developing story. In a recent Cnet.com posting by Elinor Mills we learned “In addition to the ad-supported phone services bundling Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail, the operating system would be open to developers to build additional features.” The catch phrase in this news as a mobile security expert is “open to developers” which should strike up some level of anxiety.

Since October 1, 2007 mobile manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, Apple, and yes now even Google have announced intentions to open their handsets to third-party developers. As the founder of MyMobiSafe.com, I am actually all for the move to “unlock mobile” but it doesn’t take someone in my position to see the underlying threat that this is bringing to cell phone owners. As a result of the speed of technology rampant throughout the mobile manufacturing industry coupled with network level only security by service providers, cell phone security has been left in the hands of the handset owner.

While many of the emerging third-party developments will be pure and safe in nature, the poor state of security throughout the mobile industry will literally put millions at risk. There are already spyware and tracking programs available throughout the mobile industry, so opening to third-party will only further open the door for these programs and threats. As the iPhone became the overnight romance of the hacker community, the Google Phone is sure to attract attention of its own. Additionally, as mobile banking is emerging throughout the world financial markets, vulnerabilities in mobile security are also being targeted. As cell phone security has become the responsibility of the handset owner, Mobile Security Providers will play a pivotal role in providing a line of cellular defense.

I encourage your comments as cell phone owners; who should take the greatest level of responsibility to improve the state of mobile security? Are you fine with the current standard of buying your own mobile security solution, or should the manufacturers or service providers take a more proactive approach towards handset level security?

Your friend and mobile security guru,
Eric Everson, Founder
MyMobiSafe.com

from Mashable! by Kristen Nicole

3Guppies now has a Facebook application that lets you add photos from Facebook to your mobile phone, for free. As photo-sharing on Facebook is pretty darn popular, I don’t blame 3Guppies for making an application of this nature. It makes your Facebook photo albums more mobile.

This is done by enabling Facebook albums to be sent to any mobile phone, and the recipient of the album doesn’t need to be a Facebook user. Photos can then be downloaded. In other news, 3Guppies recently launched its mobile blogging widget.

With MobiTV your phone becomes a portable TV. Watch your favorite channels right in the palm of your hand. See channels you watch at home, made for mobile programming, and the latest primetime shows from NBC, like Friday Night Lights. The Emmy® Award winning service is available through your wireless carrier and offers over 100 TV channels worldwide, such as MSNBC, ABC News Now, FOX News Channel, Fox Sports, ESPN 3GTV, NBC Mobile, Bravo To Go, Sci Fi Pulse Mobile, Discovery Channel, TLC, The Weather Channel and others that deliver the latest music videos, cartoons, comedy, and more.

 http://www.mobitv.com

from Gizmodo: Wireless by Matt Buchanan

Pre-4G WiMax is now officially certified as 3G by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union, making it the sixth 3G standard. To cut through the alphabet soup (sort of), the ITU stamp means WiMax can use airwaves designated for 3G, which changes the game in terms of 3G/WiMax competition—to what extent remains to be seen, obviously. Moreover, it should bring a healthy dose of development and investment to the WiMax scene globally, so there’s a pretty big grin streaking the face of WiMax Forum members right now. For us, it means broader deployment and (hopefully) cheaper prices. [PC World, Yahoo!/AP]

News From The Swamp
Introducing The Most Impressive Cell Phone Bill Of The 110th Congress

Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) recently announced plans to introduce our wet dream of a cellphone bill. The bill realizes our wildest legislative fantasies: a world where cellphone companies stop inventing official-sounding fees and levying harsh ETFs, and instead allow their customers to take unlocked phones to the company with the best reception according to precise coverage maps provided free of charge.

The Cell Phone Empowerment Act of 2007 would improve the lives of cellphone users by attacking a smorgasbord of the industry’s most eggregious practices:
# Early Termination Fees: FCC regulations would require companies to prorate ETFs, with the penalty for escaping a 2-year contract cut in half at the end of the first year.
# Service Maps: Cellphone companies would be required to provide detailed maps showing call quality down to the street level. The maps would be augmented by data on dropped calls and coverage gaps collected and publicized by the FCC.
# Fee Disclosure: Overage charges would be displayed separately from taxes, and companies would be prohibited from levying any fees, apart from the basic service charge, not expressly authorized by federal, state, or local regulation.
# Contract Disclosure: Depriving us of a source of many posts, companies would be prohibited from extending contracts without “point-of-sale notification,” and customers would have 30 days to cancel any contract, new or extended. Any contract changes would need to be sent to consumers in writing, and could not take affect for 30 days.
# Unlocked Phones: The bill would give the FCC a homework assignment: a single-spaced report to Congress on the harmful and anti-competitive practice of locking handsets.
# Military Exemptions: Companies would be required to release military members awaiting deployment from their contracts.
This bill is amazing. Seriously, we like this bill so much, were it not for those pesky Capitol police irradiating everything, we would send the Senators a fruit basket.

Both Senators are members of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee. They have asked Chairman Inouye (D-HI) to schedule a hearing on the bill, which he should do without delay.

Klobuchar and Rockefeller Announce Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007 (Press Release) [Senator Amy Klobuchar]
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(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)