A leading mobile phone blog has reported that Facebook usage on mobile phones are growing in popularity at a huge rate; you might be shocked when you hear that there are now 200 active users on Facebook mobile.  Yes, you heard that right: 200 million active users.  That is 65 million more active mobile Facebook members than last year’s total.  It’s crazy if you think about how fast Facebook has taken off.  It has become such an addiction that people need to be on even when they are away from their computers.  That is not all necessarily bad though, because Facebook can definitely come in handy.  For example, if you are on the road and in need to get in contact with someone that you have no idea what their number is, then you can just contact them through Facebook.

Some of the features of the iphone4 unlocked iOS Facebook application will have the new “groups” implementation along with making it easier to tag the location of people.  The features will also make it extremely easy to upload photos to a “place.”  I am sure the 200 million active users will be more than happy to hear that news.  However, the Android application seems to be a little behind the rest.  CEO Mark Zuckerberg did say that he will be getting the “places” and “groups” functionality soon.  Not only that, but he promised “true parity” between the two separate applications in the future.  CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not give a timeframe for when the new features will be up to date, but he did say that they will be out sooner than later.  This should be great news for all Facebook mobile users that are looking forward to using these new features.  They will be here before you know it!

PureMobile carries a wide range of unlocked cell phones and Android phones such as HTC Desire, Unlocked LG Eve, Xperia X10  etc…

The beginning of this week also marked the release of Apple’s iOS 4.0.2, an eagerly anticipated update that dealt with a security vulnerability in the previous versions that allowed third parties to meddle with the settings on any Apple iPad or iPhone particularly the antics of the infamous JailbreakMe.com. The security update was a major step towards fixing a problem that would have given workers at Apple nightmares however for some strange reason Apple did not even think about including the series of original iPhones or for that matter even the first generation of iPod Touch as a part of this update.

The omission is not as trivial as it may look like for the iOS 4 shortcoming allows an execution of an arbitrary code when user opens any PDF file unsuspectingly or even visits any malicious website. Now that the flaw in the security code has been fully exposed, it may well eventually spread to several malignant entities beyond the severely benign website JailbreakMe.com. Thus users of Apple’s earliest mobile technology, which is presumably still used by fairly large number of people, remain continually vulnerable to any threat and a strongly growing risk of attack.

The good news is that the iPhone4 community has its own development team who have managed to push out a separate patch that deals with this problem. The PDF Patch fixes this security loophole in all the iPod and iPhone models. The added adavantage to this patch is that it will work with all the current iPods and iPhones. If you own a current generation device from Apple and haven’t applied for the newly released update, you may ignore it and simply apply the ingenious patch instead. In the end Apple’s refusal to including the older generation devices in this update has been a blessing in disguise for those who did not wish to update their OS to deal with the security hole.

Jerry Shen, CEO Asustek Computers recently said that the company intends to release a high end tablet which will run on the Android platform. The tentative release date is around March 2011. The tablet, will be the latest addition to Asustek’s Eee Pad range of devices, and is expected to cost less than $400.

A dedicated team of 800 engineers have been assigned to work on Android compatibility by Asus. However before the imminent release of the Android tablet we may well end up seeing Asus release what is believed to be a tablet powered by Windows 7, costing around $1000. To what extent will powering the tablet on Windows 7 be a good idea is open to debate and most opinions call it a disaster waiting to happen, still you can never really know!

The buzz in the market is that the Asus tablets may well be the much awaited products that can battle the growing dominance of Apple’s iPad in the market. However that is a long way away to say the least. Yet the delay may actually be a good thing if Asus is indeed trying to make the tablet more user friendly during this time as the CEO claims. Mr. Shen believes that if the iPad has to be tackled in the present market situation then a lesser price alone will take them nowhere, the need will be to offer more features at their intended price. If Mr. Shen is to be believed then the 800 engineers involved are looking to do just that with the tablet from Asus.

Beating Apple at its own game in its own playground will be no mean feat, yet there is much hope that Asus will take Apple iPhone4 on with their feature laden project. If all goes well then the release for Asus’s tablet and the Android Gingerbread will coincide. If that happens, Apple may be in for a very busy summer indeed!

Looking for that one smartphone that deserves the name and adjective “smart” all at once? Well if you believe then you need not look any further than the brand new Unlocked BlackBerry Torch 9800. The new ad campaign goes in very simplistic terms “Business Meets Pleasure”. The question to be asked is, Is that really the case? A brief insight into the phones features will effectively reveal as to whether the claims can be backed by substance or the promises are in fact hollow. In that case let us delve into this much awaited device and its much hyped features.

Disappointing is one word you would use to describe the camera. Five Megapixels of clarity and it still refuses to bring up the quality of photos that a Sony phone would. We don’t hold this against the Unlocked BlackBerry Torch but a phone that promises pleasure despite the business like attitude could do better. The BlackBerry OS 6 is not a touch screen dedicated OS or at least by the looks of it. The battery life is magnificent and no other word can describe the feeling of using the phone for a day and half and still have a good amount of battery life left. The 3.2” display is good as expected. However the business aspect disappoints in at least one sphere, the processor which is a mere 624 Mhz processor when clearly a GHz processor was needed to overcome the excessive hanging.

The music functions are good except for the storage capacity where the iPhone4 wins hands down. The Webkit enabled part of this phone is wonderful as the Universal Search feature on this phone sets us drooling from the utility point of view. The reception quality is decent though a visit to the subway might cause you some distress.  In short this is one good phone! Business and pleasure? Not more than the iPhone, not yet at least!

It is really breaking news in the context of mobile applications that now million of members who are designated as high mark users have got access to the information regarding how well and how healthy one can be in his/ her life style through the all new and entirely free of cost application from Unlocked iPhone4 called Health@hands. It can be shown as an example, that all the nearby medical facilities that are participating are now available and the providers of health care such as different hospitals, facilities of urgent care, clinics of retail services and pharmacies etc. Interactive information regarding your health is also provided by the App about illnesses, other symptoms and various medical conditions. Added to this, another section of this app regarding wellness and health offers coaching tips regarding health and other information about those programs which are available to the members who are High mark.

If you fortunately are a member of their High mark value, the application called Health@Hand app of high mark can entirely be enjoyed by you if you follow some steps as described. To get in touch with the new invented application you firstly will have to log in to the specific website for High mark members, for that you should visit the tab called “Choose Providers”, and then go and obtain the code of registration and then Apple iTunes are to be linked to for download. This app is directly available in any App Store, still you will be asked to go to the website of High mark in order to receive the code of registration.

At the final stage, another striking yet desirable offer from this app is you are also able to have an access to continuously increasing number of attractive discounts on wellness and health only through swift and successful access to the High mark application on iPhone4 called Health@Hand.

Research In Motion dominated this week’s headlines but Hall was not good in the news. The first slider, BlackBerry Torch was unveiled by the company. However, RIM is under the threat of banishment from some rewarding markets and hence can lose major part of its potential income. A very simple website is all that it takes to jailbreak the Apple iPhone 4 while Android is steadily growing strong in the market as Froyo has been spreading its wings wide to reach out to the customers. This week RIM launched for AT&T the Unlocked BlackBerry Torch which is a landmark in the BlackBerry series. The first slide-open form of BlackBerry is the BlackBerry Torch and also the first of its kind that is equipped with the brand new operating system of BlackBerry 6.

The BlackBerry Torch is a touch screen phone; the screen measuring about 3.2-inch and it has a QWERTY keyboard that is slide-open. The keyboard is an impressive feature of the phone but, many RIM fans are not satisfied with the screen which is a mere 480×360 pixels.

The processor might be underestimated to some extent if other 1 GHz Snapdragon devices e.g. EVO 4G are considered but, it must be kept in mind that RIM has the capacity to squeeze out power from the machines. It includes GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth; a camera with has 5 megapixels and software that can sync tunes over Wi-Fi.

The more interesting thing might be the BlackBerry 6 which is equipped with the latest Webkit-based browser and also a renovated interface for input by touch. The device is believed to be solidly-constructed and well-built by the people who have placed their hands on it. The screen falls short of the beauty of the Galaxy or the Unlocked iPhone 4 but, it responds to touch well enough. The latest OS is quite lively though it has not been put through the paces yet.

A little close to an a year back, Gameloft released its new offering Gangstar: West Coast Hustle, an obvious inspiration being the Grand Theft Auto game series from Rockstar Games. It appears that Gameloft has again been inspired from the Grand Theft series as they announced a sequel to West Coast Hustle that is called, Miami Vindication for mobilephones.

Miami Vindication carries off from a place immensely similar to Vice City from the GTA series but in general is referred to as Miami. The game itself is full of several open-ended situations where you’ll be asked to take on different missions that will inevitably involve a lot of driving, so it’s better if you are prepared. As was the case in West Coast Hustle, you’ll be expected to shoot, fight steal cars, and shoot some more, In short you must commit a number of crimes to progress from stage to stage as you go through this game. Gameloft promises to observe new levels in 3-Dimensional graphics as Miami Vindication is fully optimized so as to take full advantage of Unlocked iPhone 4’s popular Retina Display.

Further still Gameloft released a complete trailer for Miami Vindication. It does what we would call a good job when it comes to showing what is to be expected from this game. Some obvious glitches in the game which act like an eyesore are the attention to detail on some vehicle models which is found lacking to say the least. The same can be said of the character models. Regardless, Gangstar: West Coast Hustle is enjoyable and Miami Vindication is a release to look forward to even if it seems that the market will be full of games with better graphics, game play and what is much sought after attention to detail as compared to this Gameloft release.

As a pleasant surprise for all the Unlocked iPhone4 and other iOS users visiting the iPhone Appstore, Apple has introduced the new ‘Try Before You Buy” section. As the name suggests, the Apple is competing against the returning application policy of Android that offers the user to use an application and return it within 24-hours for a full refund this period might soon be extended to 48-hours. This is not a secretive announcement of a return policy; rather it is to act as a container for applications that are available in a “lite” version. The AppStores are teeming with these free version software that offers limited functionality and are available free of cost and by the look of things it can be concluded that Apple is trying hard to highlight those apps.

Apparently, Apple’s launch of this new segment is in order to contest Android’s 24-hour return policy by making the iOS user aware that they have the option of trying an application at a lower or without cost without buying it at full price. The reason behind developing these applications were to reimburse for Apples lack of a return policy and are given to the AppStore by developers accompanying a paid version, it seems that Apple is trying to take the limelight off Android’s innovative “return policy” and also take away their apparent advantage in the growing mobile phone application market.

It is not surprising that Apple is attempting to start a war as the rivalry between them is deadly. Though Apple is leading the race with the Unlocked iPhone 4 as the most popular smartphone in USA, with downloads over five billion and an active application catalogue of over 200,000, Android is not far behind with a current applications list with 70,000 applications which is supposed to increase to 100,000 by the end of the current year and estimates show that their download tally should top one billion

The question is…with a hefty amount at stake, will this initiative taken by Apple be successful to stun Android’s growth? We are certainly eager to find out!

Now speaking with your friends on Facebook will be easier through what Vonage is doing with its new exciting application on the Apple iPhone and Android device which will enable you to speak using VoIP service to call up your contacts that are there on your profile on Facebook, currently the world’s biggest social networking web page.

Mobile VoIP applications are nothing new but Vonage is coming out with their new application which is directed towards Facebook users where you can link it with the portal and connect with your friends who are there on your profile. We tried this application out on the new Unlocked Motorola Droid and it has worked pretty well.

As said earlier you can use this phone also on the iPhone and the Google Android and with it you will be able to get instant messages to your device from all the friends on your list as well as make phone calls directly with the use of 3G or Wi-Fi for that matter depending on what application the user has on his phone.

We had tested the voice quality and reception on this application and we were not disappointed. However one needs to be really careful if they are using the Unlocked iPhone4 version of this one as the 3G calls on needs to make will mean that the data charges will run up to quite a high amount. In a recent statement given to the press, Vonage have said that they will be bringing the next step of integrated voice and messaging service to the world with their new application. It is definitely pretty interesting that any VoIP company will come up with an application with such a focus on Facebook. It only shows how important social networking has become in today’s world.

Today iPhone, iPod and iPad touch users hope for one common feature- iTunes on the cloud. Most Audiophiles have an enormous music collection which cannot be accommodated in any of Apples iDevices due to its insufficient capacity and so one of their desires is to able to stream their music collection anytime, anywhere. In the latest update of iDisk by Apple traces of a similar feature has been found which had not been publicised. Apparently Apple enables background music streaming from the iDisk application. However this piece of information was embedded amongst the release notes.

At first, to use the iDisk, one will have to subscribe to MobileMe. Apple’s online data storage services have always allowed you to play music if you once load your songs in it. Only shortcoming was that the application would shut down if you closed it. Surprisingly now the application streams tunes to your ears while it is present in the background. At present Apple also allows public sharing of the files without any restrictions. These two features combined will surely set off alarms amongst the record labels that need a license for music streaming. However one will be listening to their own music for which they paid and stored it will be stored on an online storage service.

Even though many might consider this to be great feature and an easy way of getting to play additional tunes through your iPad or Unlocked iPhone4 if it’s already overloaded with all the music it can handle it does not fulfil ones hopes related to cloud-based iTunes. To get music into your iDisk, one will have to pick out and manually add them to their iDisk whereas it can be easily synched in case of iTunes. Thus we see Apple flourishing it yet again with the iDisk.