iHeart Radio coming to a Droid near you just in time for the holidays!

Pandora, Last.fm, and Spotify are cool and all, but sometimes you want a more online radio type of service. For that, iHeart Radio is your app. Already available on iPhone and BlackBerry, iHeart Radio is simple to use web radio app that allows you to find the exact type of radio station or stations you want be navigating by genre. With over 350+ of america’s favorite radio stations, those looking to tune into the infamous radio stations that we so often hear about on TV, movies, and the media can now be within reach. Personal playlists and per-artist streaming music is cool, but at the end of the day, sometimes we just want to hear a real radio station from lands far away. Know what I mean?

With that said, Android users have been waiting for an iHeart Radio app to hit the Android Market for what seems like an eternity now. Thankfully that wait is coming to an end as a 2009 Holiday launch is quickly approaching according to a ClearChannel press release. The wait may have been long folks, but the end is in site. iHeart Radio and Android will be best friends by the end of the month. Who’s stoked?

**I’ve sent an email to iHeart Radio asking about the devices supported specifically as a quick jaunt over to iHeart Radio’s mobile app page only mentions the Droid. I can’t imaging why they’d leave out the vast numbers of Android users on 1.5/1.6 though so don’t get too bummed. We’ll see how it plays out folks.

[Press Release]

Droid Forums

NTT DoCoMo begins 4G network upgrade.

It’s that time again. Time to look across the deep blue see to lands far away wishing upon a star that we were in that place. The place to wish ourselves to is Japan – the tech hub of the world. It is here where local carrier NTT DoCoMo has begun upgrading their current 3G network to an LTE based 4G network with plans to flip the switch by the end of 2010. Their goal is might speedy mind you as U.S. carriers aren’t set to begin such upgrades until that same time. DoCoMo’s approach is a smart one at that with two plans of attacks. Roughly half of their current 3G towers and stations will simply be upgraded to support the new 4G network while the remaining stations will have a piggy back “remote station” that allows simultaneous 3G/4G support as to allow seamless transition between said services.

The frequency being recruited to carry all of the 4G goodness will take place on the current 2GHz band used by DoCoMo’s 3G network. Though the 4G upgrade will take over half of their available 3G spectrum with future goals of course being a complete transition to 4G technology. Further down the line, the goal is to reach download speeds of 300Mbps and 75Mbps up for all 4G users — *drool*. Overall it’s a rather ingenious plan that will help reduce upgrade costs and maintenance. 4G couldn’t come soon enough.

Electronista

T-Mo 3G rollout update: More cities!

3G data is a big thing these days. Even if T-Mo is years late to the game, the term “better late than never” seems appropriate here. Of course, some would argue that at some point an appearance isn’t even warranted. Aaaaanyway, residents of Wilmington, North Carolina | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Cary, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma can now light up those freshly tweaked towers near your house, work, and frolic area with all of the mobile data and voice calls you can think of. Just don’t venture too far from home base quite yet. Hit us up below and let us know about how your mobile upgrade is doing.

IntoMobile > T-Mo Forums

PastryKit to usher in more “app-like” web apps. Allow devs to bypass App Store restrictions all together?

The App Store is for mobile devices what iTunes was for mp3 players. Apple’s 180 on native applications after first announcing web apps were the way to do back in 2007 was a shock to many and welcomed by most. Since the App Store’s launch however, numerous complaints have been made and even websites created to highlight Apple’s draconian and sometimes senseless decisions concerning the App Store and polices within. It is that negative image and bad press that has re-energized the view of many iPhone devs into the world of web apps.

Wait a second. Weren’t web apps poo-pooed because they were inferior to native apps back in ’07? Why yes, yes they were. Don’t forget however that the mobile market has undergone some vast changes over the last year and a half. Not only has the mobile app world changed in regard to the limits mobile apps could obtain but also in the technologies used for said apps. Like their native cousins, web apps and the supporting technology have equally improved.

We are now at a point where tools such as “PastryKit” allow web developers to code and create webapps that feature some of the most desktop/native-like style and features yet, blurring the line between what is native and what is web. Right about now you’re probably asking yourself what the heck PastryKit is. Allow me to indulge…

PastryKit

• PastryKit is an innovative and constantly improving set of tools allowing web apps. A blend of multiple technologies and languages including JavaScript, CSS, and some supporting graphics resources ensures the new generation of web apps is more robust, functional, and visually appealing. Need an example? If you own an iPhone, simply navigate to support.apple.com/manuals/iphone/ and notice the iPhone optimized manual that loads. Said manual relies on — you guessed it — PastryKit.

For now, consumers will have to wait it out or figure out the workings of PastryKit themselves as Apple hasn’t released the necessary information and source material to include PastryKit in any non-Apple/3rd party solutions. Such an approach has to at least have to do in some part with preventing App Store devs an easy out from App Store restrictions by way of open and free web apps powered by PastryKit. Still, those with the know-how will figure it out soon enough and spread the knowledge to others.

I’m not a developer so I couldn’t begin to explain the pros and cons to each method being used, but if any developer — native or web — want’s to speak up and give some insight into this hotly debated topic, feel free to jump in.

Ars Technica

Ericsson reaches 42Mbps with commercial equipment earning “world’s first” badge.

You know, it’s funny that here in the U.S. of A. we get all hot and bothered about the talk ot 5-10Mbps speeds that will come along with a 4G upgrade in the coming years. Sounds fast and in reality is much faster than what we currently have. But our puny networks are nothing compared to those in Stockholm, Sweden. It is here where a network run by TeliaSonera and tested with Ericsson hardware has pushed the current HSPA boundary from 28Mbps up to 42Mbps. Simply put: It’s faster folks — much faster.

The two best things to highlight are (1) that these new speeds are being achieved on commercial hardware and (2) current 28Mbps networks looking to upgrade need only install a software upgrade. Awesome! When current/older hardware can benefit from new technology via a simply hardware upgrade at that point in time, the world is at peace. Any Swedish readers care to chime in?

PhoneScoop > Ericsson

[Image Source]

Since 2007: AT&T Wireless network upgrade expenditures decreased each quarter yet wireless data revenue up 80%. WTF?!

You know, every day that I’m not on AT&T I pat myself on the back. How many times have we heard AT&T PR fluff (most recently from CEO Ralph de la Vega himself) stating that AT&T simply can’t keep up with the massive data usage increases since the iPhone’s launch? Charts circulated several weeks back showing the 5,000% increase in AT&T data traffic clearly. A small shred of mercy may have been doled out but a select few. However, a new report published today by the AP in conjunction with a blog post by Fake Steve calls attention to two glaring facts proving AT&T is (1) lying about network problems and (2) out to nickel and dime every single customer they can.

• AT&T has spent less on wireless network upgrades and new construction each quarter since the the 1st gen iPhone’s launch.
  How many times per day do we here AT&T — and more recently CEO Ralph de la Vega — bitching about being cash strapped, unable to keep up with data demand, and ultimately burning their candle at both ends?

• Wireless data revenue is up 80% since the 1st gen iPhone’s ’07 launch.
  AT&T is complaining they can’t keep up with demand and that the network is in such dire shape, unlimited plans will have to be dropped in order to make way for tiered (read: overpriced) pricing and data plans yet data revenue is up 80%. So what are they doing with all of the profit?!

Doesn’t anyone see what’s going on? They’re riding this iPhone wave into an entirely different dimension. Their network sucks. This is a known scientific fact proven by countless reports, tests, and studies. But the network doesn’t suck because they can’t keep up with network upgrades and expansions. It sucks because they are falsely limiting network upgrades and expansions.

Each year since the iPhone has launched they’ve spent less on building the network up and out since ’07. It’s a crowbar to the face of every AT&T customer as well as every American. Seriously. I know there will always be greedy corporate entities taking advantage of the american public at large. But the way AT&T is going about it is disgusting, deceiving, and downright bullshit. If I woke up tomorrow to hear AT&T’s network imploded or every tower was vandalized to the point of no return — words would not begin to explain my joy and excitement.

At this point in the game, any positive public image AT&T had is now gone, burnt to the ground, and ashes pissed on. It’s not a molehill that I’m making a mountain out of. It is a despicable, dishonest, and unethical attempt to stick it to the public. FCC: Where the hell are you at?

Remember that “Operation Chokehold” that’s been going around the web the last couple of days? It’s in your best interest to join in. Those bogus attempt to play off the whole Chokehold operation as juvenile and a threat to emergency services were the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. There network in it’s normal state is an abomination to emergency services and life itself.

Fuck You AT&T!

Gizmodo

Square, the innovative new payment solution for iPhone faces patent problems

Patent and IP problems oh my. For a quick refresher, “Square” is an innovative new piece of hardware that attaches itself to any iPhone/iPod Touch and instantly transforms it into a mobile POS station. Cool, right? Definitely. But the startup is far from the finish line. A patent problem is looming that could derail Square’s launch and ultimately cost them big time.

The founders of Square consisted of Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. The two coined the whole idea and plan you see in front of you. The brains behind the engineering side of things however was the work of Jim McKelvey’s friend Bob Morley. So we have the 3 amigos working to make an evolutionary new mobile payment system. Keep following…

From the beginning to what we have now, the Square hardware has undergone several changes though the underlying software behind it has remained unchanged. The software in particular is where it gets dicey. Apparently the 3 amigos had a minor disagreement that led to Morely filing a patent for the Square’s technology — in his own name. The disagreement allegedly centers around the fact that in return for ownership of the Square patent and IP, Morely wanted shares of the company. So far negotiations haven’t gone well. Complicating matters, chances of the patent being turned down are slight as Morely was in fact the man who did the software engineering work.

So now you see the problem. Square relies on this software developed by Bob Morely to function. If reports of a falling out are true, it leaves Square and it’s founders in an interesting mental limbo. Do they risk it and push ahead with the technology, at first ignoring any payments or licensing fees towards Morely. Or, do they buy/license the technology. The latter could end up costing quite a pretty penny, especially so because the three are all familiar with each other as well as the companies bank accounts.

On the flip side, pushing onward only to later face one or many lawsuits can quickly rack up costs as well. It’s again a problematic circumstance. If the patent is granted to Morely, how will he play his card? If it’s not, well then we have nothing to talk about. Business as usual, oh happy day. For the sake of Square’s members and the technology sector as a whole, I sure hope any looming problems can be settled peacefully and outside of court. Agreed?

Electric Pig > Fast Company