Just a couple of days ago, we got treated to seeing some of the most promising developer tools –from a consumer’s perspective. With particular focus on the XNA Game Studio and the Visual Studio for gaming apps, it seems like we will get to see some pretty inventive new gameplay mechanics using the motion sensitive smart phone and the Microsoft Xbox game console.

Now, further demonstrations on the new features for WP7 have revealed that aside from the first set of phone functions shown at the Mobile World Congress, new features are still being added in. The most prominent of all the new additions is the inclusion of an Application page –missing in the original demo.

New Apps for the OS are based either on Silverlight which delivers impressive web based displays and the XNA studio which is geared more towards games. Speaking of Silverlight, there is a new Media Diary function that looks utterly impressive –it is reported to be created from the ground up using Silverlight.

The Microsoft Location Service will provide geo-sensitive news feeds and other similar data. Users can also hunt down specific feeds to be used for this. Combined with the Microsoft Notification Service, this creates a steady stream of real time news updates. In addition to these new features, WP7 will retain all of the original functions announced with the device.

The new OS was first unveiled last month and is due to be release late this year. The LG Panther and a yet to be named Samsung super AMOLED touch screen smart phone are already confirmed devices that will be using the new mobile platform. It is also reported that HTC is working on its own Windows Phone 7 device.

For more details about the new WP7 features and applications go to GSM Arena.

A baby monitor in an infant’s room is one of the most accepted and basic forms of surveillance, the ability to keep track of audio to know if a baby is asleep, awake or even crying.
Many parents feel the need to monitor the growth of their children on a very direct basis. With the advent of technology and devices such as smart phones, computers and the internet, the number of activities children have access are almost uncountable. Going online presents a constant threat of exposure to many of the things that parents would rather not discuss with their children at such early ages.

Providing parents with software and other digital tools to monitor the activities of their children may seem like a solution (it certainly makes money at least) the problem is that this practice actually cultivates a concept that parenting should not evolve. Many people fail to realize that with the world constantly changing, even rudimentary things such as parenting also have to adapt.

The things we once thought were meant for teenagers to handle are now just as easy for a pre-teen kid to find online. This is why parents have to start the education and guidance of children at an earlier age. Sheltering children is an old tradition that has to adjust. While this may seem cruel, it prepares children better, making them more disciplined and well adjusted.

As for cyberguards, there is an innate danger to using such programs. Key logging and other similar hidden software are originally used by hackers in order to get information from people –if these software are taken control of by attackers in your network, they could steal valuable information from your account.

To find out more about assistive software for parents and the features they provide, go to Times Online UK.

Stanford University’s Materials Science division Assistant Professor Yi Cui had a breakthrough in the development of electrical energy storage. The assistant professor and his team have discovered some means to extend the total capacity of current Lithium Ion batteries by a whopping ten times.

The new development promises to extend a mobile phone’s battery life from a standard talk time of 4 hours to an incredible amount of 40 hours.  The team has already filed the battery’s patent application and is hoping for big mobile phone battery manufacturers to go ahead and adopt the new technology.

Or possibly get a tie-up with leading mobile phone developers to launch their invention to the public packed with a mobile phone. According to Cui, it is no small feat:

“It’s not a small improvement, it’s a revolutionary development.”

And it really is. Usually, lithium ion battery power is limited by the number of ions in the battery’s carbon-based anode. Instead of being made of a solid chunk of silicon and carbon however, Professor Yi Cui has replaced it with a bundle of silicon nanowire tubes to extend the capacity.

The standard lithium ion battery was limited by the swelling and shrinking of the silicon base as it absorbs lithium ions while charging.  This causes the anode to crack over time and that limits the battery’s allowance to store energy.

It is not that companies have not tried to revise the process before. Altairnano and A123 have both tried developing a bigger capacity battery by using substitute nano-sized elements but only Cui has been able to successfully expand the lithium ion battery capacity by a tenfold.

It looks to be an interesting development. Even though the team claims it is a safer alternative to existing batteries, making way for the new technology will most likely mean new waste created in disposing the old ones. Hopefully the battery does not only have a larger capacity but a larger lifespan as well. At this day and age, scientists should really focus on responsible, economical solutions to minimize our technology’s ill effects to the environment.

Jump to Engadget for more details about this breakthrough.

Microsoft is launching a new mobile operating system later this year and while there is plenty of buzz about this new platform, let us take the time to run through some of the core facts that we have already confirmed about this new device.

WP7 is a new platform and not a sequel to WinMo. No doubts about it, the new user interface, features and style of the mobile platform is quite promising. Compared to the older Windows Mobile operating system, the new platform combines many of the best features of touch screen capabilities.

The user interface is fully customizable with the Tiles system. Tiles are like widgets, controllable contents and user defined positioning. While the anchoring of tiles are limited to OS defined locations, the overall feel of the phone can be set with images and colors of the user’s choosing.

Xbox Live is coming to mobile. As you may have already seen in screenshots, the new WP7 OS will support XBL connectivity. Mobile phone game achievements are already reported to be implemented so expect mobile players to start comparing gamer scores.

Speaking of games, the Visual Studio and the XNA Games Studio will be bringing some impressive new changes to the way we look at mobile games. On the graphics side, the XNA Games Studio will be enabling full 3D graphics on games. No full demos have been seen, but the initial tests with basic two-character 3D games are already graphically impressive.

We can expect to see some new 3D games from developers being announced once the OS comes out. Developers will certainly love the new Visual Studio as it allows for game progress to be carried over between smart phones, the Xbox game console to a PC.

Read more about the new WP7 OS at GSM Arena.

If you do not really mind having to order anything online, then you might have already ordered, shipped and gotten a Google Nexus One smart phone.

On the other hand, most people are not too keen on getting the alleged iPhone killer (well, it failed to live up to the hype so it isn’t) are already planning to put their money aside for the launch of the HTC Desire which is apparently the smart phone which the Nexus was based from (HTC manufactured the Nexus One for Google). Since the two devices are quite similar in terms of specifications, it really makes the decision to settle so much easier.

The Desire and the Nexus One are both using 1GHz Snapdragon CPUs and 5 mega pixel cameras. The screens on both devices are 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen displays with multi touch capabilities.

Anyway, even if Vodafone is offering the device to their customers, the closest they will get you to a Nexus One is by redirecting you online to Google’s store. They will however, provide you with a SIM card for your chosen plan.

Aside from the Nexus One, Vodafone is pretty much up to the brim with big name devices from high end manufacturers. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, HTC Desire and HTC Legend are also coming early in April while the Apple iPad is expected to arrive by late April.

In other Vodafone related news, it turns out that the operator has recently undergone a cost cutting process which saw the closure of 6 stores and the removal of 375 employees due to redundancies. Despite this sad news, the operator is still pushing through with its busiest launches for the year.

Get to know more about Vodafone offering the HTC Nexus One on their official website at Softpedia.

It looks like Vodafone’s operations analysts and financial advisers have agreed that the overall loss of productivity brought about by lowered employee morale would still be smaller than the amount of money they would lose if they do not push through with the cost cutting solutions they have made.

In an effort to save money and resources, mobile network operator Vodafone UK has just announced that it let go of 375 employees that held redundant positions in the company. The move also saw the closing down of six Vodafone stores (employees of which are among the 375).

While this is made to save money for the company, plenty of eyebrows are being raised internally as the operator’s own people are starting to feel the blunt end of the cuts. Many have been witness to the cold and harsh manner in which many of their colleagues were escorted out of the building in tears as they were told to leave on the same day that they were told that they would be losing their jobs.

While union groups such as CWU and Prospect have taken a stand in helping out former Vodafone employees affected by the cut, the atmosphere in Vodafone’s offices are all but cheery.

Adding on more despair is Vodafone’s decision to remove the 30% bonus being received by 150 of its employees in Warrington. The sudden announcement of the ‘pay cut’ has left many current employees unhappy with the situation despite Vodafone’s claims that the step was taken to ensure a fair rewards system for the entire company.

The 30% monthly sales bonus is a powerful incentive that Warrington employees have enjoyed for quite some time. With this suddenly removed, the office is currently “not a happy place”.

Get to know more about the Vodafone redundancies and the removal of the monthly sales bonus at Mobile Today UK.

A female employee from Panda Research Blogs found a malware on her newly purchased HTC Magic smart phone. The malware was identified as a program that steals Lineage passwords.

For those not familiar, Lineage is a Korean made MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). It is an old title and has a slowly dwindling player population –mostly thanks to the newer Lineage II game sequel that has come out several years back.

Anyway, the malware has not caused any major damages and this is the first report of such an occurrence so there is the possibility that this report may be an isolated case. But in the event that it is not, the malware itself is not incredibly destructive (unless you actually play Lineage). The only real worry here is that Vodafone actually failed to protect its customer.

As a mobile network operator that provides handsets to their clients, it is also their responsibility to ensure that the product gets to the hands of the clients without any problems. Despite the fact that the problem can be rooted to many other reasons (internal employee mischief, supplier problems and others); the accountability of Vodafone in this instance is undeniable.

In any case, Vodafone is still in the middle of doing some serious cost cutting that has forced the company to close down 6 stores. About 375 job positions have been relieved of work due to redundancy. Some have raised concerns that Vodafone’s decision to just suddenly fire employees instead of giving them prior notice.

It would not be surprising that this malware incident may have been caused by a distraught employee. It is reported that union groups CWU and Prospect have already taken steps in helping out the 375 employees and are in talks with Vodafone regarding support and compensation.

Get to know more about the malware found on the HTC Magic at Know your Mobile.

Despite the fact that Vodafone will be launching several impressive smart phones and the Apple iPad this April, it has not stopped the mobile phone manufacturing from cutting down over 300 positions from the company due to redundancy. Details on the exact number of employees affected as still unconfirmed, but some reports are saying that 375 workers have lost their jobs from the network.

The sad news comes with comments from other Vodafone employees who have seen the whole affair unfold. It turns out that not a single one of the 375 workers were informed about the decision until the day itself. Employees were seen bursting into tears as they were escorted out of the company building in a most awful manner. Other colleagues in the company could not believe that their co-workers who have worked loyally for the company for years would be treated in such a cold and cruel manner.

The telecom union, Prospect has raised their own stand regarding the sudden job cut; national officer Steve Thomas states that:

“This is a disgraceful way to treat employees, particularly some very long serving and loyal members of staff who have been with Vodafone from the early days and have made the company a success.”

“We are also extremely disappointed to have learned about these cuts from the media and not from the company. We will be representing members throughout this process and we are advising all Prospect members to contact the union urgently before accepting the terms of any proposed individual agreement”

While it has been confirmed that both Prospect and CWU are helping out the employees, no details regarding compensation for the employees from Vodafone have been announced. In fact, it was just recently reported that bonus payments have been “slashed” for current employees as part of the cost cutting program.

Get to know more about the details on Vodafone’s internal problems at Mobile Today UK.

That demo at Tech Ed 2010 totally blew us away.

Yes, Steve Ballmer put up a breathtaking show at the Mobile World Congress that showcased what we now consider to be the most revolutionary mobile platform ever made. But while we were too busy in MWC coming to grips with the reality that Microsoft actually made a great operating system for the mobile phone, by the time Tech Ed arrived we thought we knew what to expect.

We are so happily wrong. Eric Rudder and company once again showed us that they are truly living up to the concept that the “phone is not a PC”. The user interface is as impressive as ever, moving impressively smooth (though a couple of momentary visual hiccups were noticeable) and featuring plenty of active, real time updating tiles whose content are fully customizable.

You can literally turn anything in your phone into a tile, from Facebook updates on a single specific contact to web pages, you can set your phone’s home screen to show exactly what you need (though you will need to wait for the internet download time in order for the tiles to refresh –so expect to see some sluggishness if you are on a slow network).

The new games feature is also impressive. Again, these are not hardcore game titles. Despite the fact that Microsoft’s XBL service is available there is still a limit to the number of actual hardcore gaming titles that can be played on a mobile device. Anyway, the demo showed how one can play the same game on the PC, the Xbox 360 console and the Windows Phone 7 device. For a developer, this is major advantage as the programming for all versions are pretty similar and you can even share code across all platforms.

Read more about the WP7 at Softpedia.