Clickfree aims at the suits with Traveler for BlackBerry auto backup card

Clickfree already showcased a trio of new automatic backup devices, but it managed to save just one for dexterous crowd: the Traveler for BlackBerry. Similar in design to the Traveler SD, this 16GB microSD card is tailor made to slip inside of your BlackBerry and then backup critical information from your PC or Mac. This one’s aimed primarily at business travelers, who are entirely more likely to have their BlackBerry on them than some random hard drive. If 16GB just won’t cut it, the company is expected to reveal larger versions a little later in the year. The process works as such: slap the card within your phone, connect it to your PC via USB and watch as the software syncs new files and creates a backup of anything that has changed. It’ll start shipping by April for a lofty $89.99 (16GB) / $149.99 (32GB), so make sure you can plop this thing on that corporate card before mashing “go.”

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iPhone Takes Third Place in Smartphone Race

Though Windows Mobile is effectively dead (Windows Phone set to be the chosen moniker when the flashy-looking Series 7 OS launches later this year), that won’t stop those at Apple celebrating the news that iPhone sales sailed past those of Microsoft’s mobile division last year, moving iPhone into third place in the global smartphone race in the process.

That’s according to a batch of statistics released by research firm Gartner. The company’s latest findings suggest more iPhone handsets were sold across the globe throughout 2009 then WinMo smartphones.

It’s an impressive stat when you consider that iPhone is just one handset compared to the leagues that run WinMo software, but Apple still has some way to go if it wants to be top dog.

Gartner claims iPhone sales made up 14 percent of the smartphone market last year to WinMo’s 9 percent, but that still puts Apple behind the two leaders of the pack: BlackBerry manufacturer RIM in third place with 20 percent, Finnish firm Nokia still dominant with a mighty 47 percent.

Nokia’s share is falling, however, and Gartner believes this is largely down to Apple and RIM, the two already credited with eating into Nokia’s sales throughout the course of last year.

What’s more, the next two years should see some major shake-ups in the smartphone market, giving Apple the opportunity to make further inroads into their competitors’ respective shares. Current OS leader, Symbian, is likely to be fazed out as we head towards 2012. Instead, owner Nokia is set to focus on its recently announced MeeGo platform in conjunction with Intel.

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Answering life’s big questions

What is the meaning of life? According to a recent article in The Guardian, mobile phones are well on their way to answer life’s big questions. Maybe they’re not quite up to the philosophical stuff just yet, but they’ve certainly come a long way to making life all the easier for the multitude of mobile users around the globe.

The introduction of improved tracking facilities on mobile phones is set to provide an answer to the question: who am I? With the ability to remember the places we frequent, and record this data, a profile of the “type” of person we are is able to be built.

2010 is the year for such a breakthrough thanks to the increased accuracy of in-built tracking devices and their ability to glean location signals from satellites, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile transmitters. The information generated about the places we visit – cafés, restaurants, theatres or cinemas – goes a long way to create a fairly accurate personal profile. An advertiser’s dream or a privacy nightmare? Only time will tell, but in the meantime it certainly means fantastic opportunities for discovering appealing restaurants in your immediate vicinity. Localised weather services are also a boon for commuters or the curious. Need to chart the latest weather? The most up-to-date data can give you precise details on any rainy spells, heat transfers or cold snaps to help pick out the best route to work or an outfit for the day. The answers are all available via your mobile. The acquisition of satnav technologies in mobile phones is additionally a big plus.

Location-based services are plentiful, and there are new ones appearing all the time, including Google’s Near Me Now, Foursquare.com and blockchalk.com, although the latter is predominantly catered for the US market at the moment. A nifty gimmick is the chance to leave location-based messages in a café or at the end of your street, which gives users the opportunity to leave behind their cyber tag or virtual graffiti without actually despoiling the streets. Stay tuned as Twitter intends to pursue these technologies in the near future.

There’s even talk that mobile phones will be able to assist us with choices in our clothing labels with regards to shopping location data. From café locations to fashion fabric labels, the sky is the limit!

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Android-powered Motorola Backflip headed to AT&T on March 7 for $100 on contract

AT&T just got its first Android-powered smartphone (four more coming this year) in the HSPA 7.2-capable Motorola Backflip. The Motoblur device with reverse flip design and 3.1-inch touchscreen packs GPS, WiFi, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash and camcorder function that neatly integrates with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter or photo sharing sites like Picasa. It lands March 7th for $100 after $100 rebate and two-year contract with smartphone data plan. AT&T promo video after the break.

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Vehicle Tracking Systems

If the car is stolen, the vehicle tracking system will send out a signal that only the police can trace. There are some sophisticated systems that are able to detect unauthorized movement of your car. Such systems alert the owner of the car that it is in the process of being stolen.

Vehicles fitted with a satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) can pinpoint the exact location of the vehicle and send information to the police. Police departments also have equipment in place to track vehicles with GPS systems fitted. Software is used to plot the actual position of the vehicle on maps.

The basic components used in GPS vehicle tracking are a mobile GPS unit, a communications network and geographic maps. GPS vehicle tracking systems are simple to install. The GPS receiver and cellular modem are fitted to the vehicle, a magnet is placed on the underside of the bumper cover, and a magnetic cellular antenna fits onto the vehicle’s frame.

Power for the GPS is supplied directly from the vehicle’s battery or by a replaceable battery pack. Fleet tracking systems are more affordable and more popular than ever before and monitoring system can be accessed via a personal home computer using specialized software. The location of the vehicle is displayed on a map showing movement as it happens. Information can include the vehicle’s current location, its route history, the date, and the speed and time of direction.

There is also a vehicle tracking system available called Passive GPS. Passive GPS is used by individuals or organizations that wish to track a person’s whereabouts during a specified amount of time. The locations a vehicle has been to can be downloaded after the vehicle has returned home. Passive GPS is particularly useful for delivery and courier companies. Vehicle tracking systems may seem expensive at the time of purchase, but they may well pay for themselves not too long after they are fitted.

And we should not forget the Plant Tracking,  this one gives you the ability to view all your plant at all times via a computer. Tracking enables the manager to see all deliveries and collections made at the touch of a button. It also assists with billing and invoicing so checking these areas is simple, quick and easy to do.

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Apple to sell 99 cent TV shows at iPad launch?

Today’s “people familiar with the discussions” prattle carried by both the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times has Apple reducing the price of some of its US television shows to 99 cents in time for the iPad launch. A quick search through the iTunes store makes it apparent that Apple has already been experimenting with the 99 cent rate (and a few freebies) on select iTunes episodes; shows that previously ran $1.99 for standard definition quality or $2.99 in HD. Of course, this could all change by the time the iPad launches since the talks are ongoing. Unfortunately, discussions between Apple and content providers to provide a monthly TV subscriptions have stalled according to sources at the Wall Street Journal, although Apple remains open to the idea.

It’s worth remembering that prior to adding video support to its iPods, Steve Jobs regularly lambasted the idea of watching video on a tiny, handheld display. The iPad, with its big 9.7-inch 1,024 x 768 pixel IPS panel, is certainly better positioned for video consumption so it’s no surprise to hear rumors that Apple’s trying to jump start its video business by getting back to the magical 99 cent price point it so loves.

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RealSSD C300 tested, offers sublime speed at superlative prices

It’s been a few months since Micron became the second to introduce the world’s first SATA 6Gbps hard drive (Seagate was the other), and regardless about who was earliest we now know which is currently the fastest. TweakTown put a Crucial-branded C300 through its paces and came to a rather simple conclusion: “At this point in time there is no other drive, platter or solid state that is in the same league as the Crucial RealSSD C300.” It blitzed through all their tests and at the end, when others would be a smoking ruin of high access times, it still performed as good as new. There was one catch, though: Windows Media Player performance was abnormally low, something that testers believe is a glitch to be addressed in firmware. Other than that, if you want the best this is it. But can you afford it? A 128GB model will set you back $499, and the 256GB one is $799. Yeah, ouch.

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Ikonoskop teases A-cam3D to shoot 1080p RAW video in stereo

We don’t know much about this thing, Ikonoskop is only teasing the bare minimum of specs, but while we don’t expect to be able to afford it, the upcoming A-cam3D is certainly an object of lust. The company has cut its teeth on a $10k 1080p RAW camera, the A-cam dII, and now it’s taking that same tech into the realm of 3D. The new 6 pound unit (including battery and memory) will be able record to 25 or 30 fps in individual RAW sequences, has a TBD pricetag, and will be built on order.

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