The Hippest Phones » bluetooth

Belkin Announces Keyboard Folio for iPad 2

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +0000

PLAYA VISTA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Belkin today unveiled the Keyboard Folio, an all-in-one Bluetooth® keyboard and protective folio solution for the iPad 2. The Keyboard Folio features TruType™ keys for a comfortable, computer-style...

Pioneer’s Elite A/V Receivers Give Home Theater a Brain Transplant

Bob King — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:28:07 +0000

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced its new line of six Elite A/V receivers that do the thinking for the home theater, by offering connectivity features to streamline entertainment and deliver top notch sound in the home. For the first time, Pioneer is adding two models, VSX-30 and VSX-31, to the line at more affordable $550 and $650 price points. Key new features include enhanced iPhone and iPod touch control and functionality, Bluetooth connectiv

Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds)

Richard Lai — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:53:00 +0000

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_4_bezel_antenna_actually_makes_it_DROP_calls'; What's more annoying than spending hours lining up for a shiny new gadget? Learning that your precious phone can't actually connect to the network. Well, depending on how you hold it -- word has it that the iPhone 4's bottom-left corner isn't playing nice with your skin. If you recall from the keynote, that's where the Bluetooth / WiFi / GPS antenna meets its GSM / UMTS counterpart. So we decided to test on two brand new iPhone 4 handsets purchased today in the UK.

One iPhone 4 demonstrated the issue everytime it was held in our left hand (as a right-handed person is apt to do) so that our palm was essentially bridging the two antennas. You can see that in the video after the break. Bridging the two with a finger tip, however, didn't cause any issues with the reported reception. If we had to guess, we'd say that our conductive skin was acting to detune the antenna -- in fact, we've already managed to slowly kill two calls that way so it's not just an issue with the software erroneously reporting an incorrect signal strength. That said, we had no issues when Apple's $29 rubber bumper accessory (given to us free for standing in line) was attached, creating a buffer between our palm and the antennas. Our second UK-purchased iPhone 4 was fine, showing none of these handling symptoms. See the video evidence after the break including Insanely Great Mac's version which got us to worrying in the first place.

P.S. Don't forget to take our poll and let us know if you're seeing both the yellow spots / stripes and reception issues. Unfortunately, we're suffering from both flaws which is not a good sign for quality control on this first batch of Apple handsets.

P.P.S. Since some of you are asking, our review unit showed none of these issues.

Update: Apple responds to the issue, and boy, it's a doozy.

Continue reading Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds)

Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (Update: Apple responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the Dell Streak’s US retail packaging (maybe)

Matt Burns — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:01:47 +0000

The Dell Streak is set to be released here in the states sometime soon -- we hear the end of July. The 5-inch tablet/phone/EVO-eater will no doubt launch to a ton of criticism about it's large stature and whatnot. Love it or hate it, this is what the retail packaging will likely look like. Think Jabra headset packaging, but with a very large touchscreen instead of a bluetooth headset suspended in a clear acrylic casing.

Samsung’s Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro slider join the bada OS party

Thomas Ricker — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:28:00 +0000

Samsung's bada, heard of it? Samsung sure hopes so as it's betting heavily on the OS in its battle with Nokia to make cheap smartphones globally accessible. Today Samsung is introducing the Wave 2 (S5250) and Wave 2 Pro (S5330) QWERTY slider at CommunicAsia 2010. Both handsets are quad-band GPRS/EDGE (yup, no 3G) with 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.2-inch TFT LCD, 3 megapixel camera with video recorder, A-GPS, and 80MB of memory with up to 16GB of microSD expansion. The all important user experience is handled by the TouchWiz 3.0 UI and bada's "social hub" that tightly knits together all your communications with contacts, be that over email, IM, or social networking sites. Both phones will be available in Russia and South East Asia starting in August.

Continue reading Samsung's Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro slider join the bada OS party

Samsung's Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro slider join the bada OS party originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LifeTouch: NEC preps Android-based tablet PC

Serkan Toto — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:40:54 +0000

A number of Japanese companies, for example NTT, have announced or hinted at tablet PCs in the past months, but NEC is the first to actually name, spec and date its first model. Dubbed LifeTouch [JP], the NEC tablet will feature a 7-inch TFT LCD screen (800x480 resolution), weigh 400 grams, and run on Android 2.1.

Nokia completes its N8 video tour with media player and HDMI demo

Vladislav Savov — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:20:00 +0000

You've seen parts uno and due already no doubt, so let's dive straight into the third and final installment of Nokia's N8 overview. Today we are treated to the Symbian^3 media player, which continues to closely resemble Apple's Cover Flow, but we're sure the companies will work it out between themselves. That cover-centric interface gets tugged around a few times to show the phone can handle it without lag, and we also get to see a repeat visit from our friend Mr. Long Press, which functions as a mobile version of a right-click by popping up a menu of contextual options. The video continues into a look at the HDMI connectivity and points out that the N8 will be compatible with Bluetooth keyboards -- you know, if you're in the mood for an Espoo-approved version of Google TV. See the whole thing after the break.

[Thanks, Hythem]

Continue reading Nokia completes its N8 video tour with media player and HDMI demo

Nokia completes its N8 video tour with media player and HDMI demo originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola announces EU-bound keyboardless Droid/Milestone: the XT720

Simon Chester — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:35:26 +0000

Motorola today announced their latest Android offering, the Milestone XT270, which is basically a Milestone/Droid with an updated camera, HDMI out, and no QWERTY keyboard. The removal of the keyboard makes the device a perfectly pocketable 10.9mm thick (down from 13.7mm on the original Milestone). Sound good? Follow the read link for more details and a hands-on video courtesy of SlashGear.

Innoversal Lattice Tablet gets its Pixel Qi touched

Kyle Thibaut — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:32:58 +0000

Pixel Qi. If you haven’t heard of them, you will. Everyone will want one of their screens. They offer both a full color LCD screen and an E-Ink screen in one. From what I have seen so far, the technology appears to be very promising. Other companies seem to think so as well, and are lining up to use Pixel Qi screens in their devices

LG kicks off T-Mobile relationship with Sentio, dLite, and GS170

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:40:00 +0000

Don't look for any crazy Android hardware here, but these three dumbphones are more notable than you might think: they mark the first time LG has hooked up with T-Mobile USA, believe it or not. The Sentio (pictured left) is the most interesting of the trio, featuring a 3-inch touchscreen, 3 megapixel cam with video capture, and support for visual voicemail. The dLite flip (middle) offers a nifty concealed LED array upfront -- a feature you see occasionally on Japanese and domestic Korean handsets, but rarely on American models -- along with a 2.8-inch display and a pair of color choices ("bubblegum" and "electric blue"). Both the Sentio and dLite also feature T-Mobile's Social Buzz app for aggregating social network status updates, a helpful feature that's quickly becoming the norm in this class of device. Finally, you've got the GS170 flip -- a phone so basic that LG apparently didn't deem it worthy of a proper name -- offering a VGA cam, Bluetooth 2.1, and "large visible keys." All three phones will be available this Summer for yet-to-be-disclosed prices. Follow the break for LG's press release.

Continue reading LG kicks off T-Mobile relationship with Sentio, dLite, and GS170

LG kicks off T-Mobile relationship with Sentio, dLite, and GS170 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iota Flex wants to be a MiFi for voice and text

Joanna Stern — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Would you believe us if we told you that that rubber bracelet-looking thing is actually going to have a built-in SIM card and bring voice / text capabilities to Android tablets, e-readers and netbooks via Bluetooth? Yeah, it sounds super crazy, but that's exactly what it'll eventually do. Convinced that 2G capabilities like talking and texting should be easier to add to MIDs, tablets and netbooks, Seattle-based startup Iota has come up with the Flex. It's definitely in the early stages of development, but in essence they see people clipping the bendable device to a bag, pairing it to an Android tablet, e-reader or MID, and then making calls from said devices.

We caught some time with Iota and the prototype at the Netbook Summit this week and were told that they plan to sell the Flex through retailers for under $100 -- and that would actually include unlimited calling and texting thanks to a partnership with Simple Mobile. Here's where we say we wouldn't hold your breath for this thing to hit the market -- though if they can pull it off, it'll certainty be an interesting solution for adding voice and text to those hoards of incoming Android tablets. After you're done wrapping your brain around this wearable voice and text accessory, check out the hands-on pics and hit the break for a hacked together demo of the dev kit they've been selling.

Continue reading Iota Flex wants to be a MiFi for voice and text

Iota Flex wants to be a MiFi for voice and text originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 20:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s Rugby II ready to put the smack down on AT&T for $130 on June 6

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:03:00 +0000

Another in AT&T's parade of June 6 launches, the Rugby II follows up -- yes, you guessed it -- the original Rugby, a rugged clamshell from Sammy that's been in the carrier's lineup for well over a year now. It's got push-to-talk compatibility, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, a 2 megapixel camera, Video Share support, voice processing tech from Audience (the same company that handled the Nexus One's noise reduction circuitry), Bluetooth, and microSD expansion -- standard fare to be sure, but probably just right for the outdoorsy-type workers that'll undoubtedly be carrying it. It'll be available the first Sunday in June for $129.99 after $50 mail-in rebate. Follow the break for Samsung's press release.

Gallery: Samsung's Rugby II ready to put the smack down on AT&T for $130 on June 6

Continue reading Samsung's Rugby II ready to put the smack down on AT&T for $130 on June 6

Samsung's Rugby II ready to put the smack down on AT&T for $130 on June 6 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 25 May 2010 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Confirmed: Dell Streak coming to O2 in the UK

John Biggs — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:19:36 +0000

You’ve been waiting for it! It’s the Dell Streak and it’s coming to a Carphone Warehouse near you! Wait, what? The Streak, Dell’s 5-inch Android tablet, will arrive in June with O2, price to be announced. The device will come with 3G connectivity and should be subsidized by the carrier. Want the Streak in the US? It [...]

Audi A8 super saloon getting factory-installed HSDPA hotspot

Matt Burns — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:30:19 +0000

The Audi A8 is already a nerd's wet dream with more gadgets and technology than any baby boomer can handle. But Audi wasn't done with the available option lists, though. Now buyers can order an HSDPA hotspot modem directly from the factory. Unlike other options -- like Autonet -- this system is polished and seemingly beautifully integrated into the vehicle. This is the future.

Samsung Wave now available in UK, France, and Germany

Simon Chester — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:27:00 +0000

To all those Samsung enthusiasts living in Europe: this one's for you. Samsung today announced that the Bada-powered Wave is now available in the UK and France (it has been available in Germany for about a week). UK Vodafone fans can grab the phone for free on a £25 per month plan, but no outright prices have yet been announced for the UK or France. However, eager Germans can pick it up for €429.

Samsung Champ is about as basic as a touchphone’s gonna get

Chris Ziegler — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Look, the Star was so 2009 -- if you're curious about Samsung's vision for high-function handsets in developing markets this year, look no further than this C3300K "Champ" that was announced this week. This 2.4-inch little guy takes us back to an era when 3G was just a twinkle in the GSMA's eye, featuring quadband GSM plus EDGE, a QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 2.1, and microSD expansion up to 8GB. You've also got an embedded stylus, dual loudspeakers, and a UI Samsung refers to as TouchWiz Lite -- which appears to lack full-on TouchWiz's infamous widget drawer, sadly. We wouldn't count on a North American release, but look for the Champ starting next month in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Follow the break for Samsung's release.

Gallery: Samsung Champ is about as basic as a touchphone's gonna get

Continue reading Samsung Champ is about as basic as a touchphone's gonna get

Samsung Champ is about as basic as a touchphone's gonna get originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 20 May 2010 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung i8920 Omnia HD2 leaking its way across the net as we speak

Simon Chester — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:46:21 +0000

Samsung's successor to the Symbian-powered i8910 (aka OmniaHD) has just bust its pipes, and is now leaking all over the internet (too soon?). The leaks thus far point to a 4" Super AMOLED screen, a 12MP camera with both Xenon and LED flash (why not?), 30fps 720p video recording (just like its older sibling), and 16 or 32 GB internal storage, all running atop Symbian^3. Oh, and it also includes the soon-to-be-standard-on-high-end-phones WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.

BlueAnt S4 Speakerphone: Speak to Me

Kyle Thibaut — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:15:15 +0000

BlueAnt Wireless just released its new hands-free speakerphone, the S4. It attaches to any car visor and connects wirelessly to most Bluetooth handsets. Simply turn it on and go. Reading the manual is not required; the S4 will vocally guide you through setup. Once paired with your handset, you can use the hands-free device without ever having to take your phone out of your pocket. The S4 offers a bunch of features although some seem gimmicky at best.

Nokia partners with Harman to ’standardize’ cellular infotainment

Sean Hollister — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:41:00 +0000

Though Microsoft, RIM and possibly Google are already vying to be the center of the automotive infotainment push, a certain Finnish phone manufacturer says it wants to take charge -- in what seems to be the latest phase of its Terminal Mode initiative, Nokia's tapped infotainment provider Harman to "standardize" the interface between phone and car. Like Harman's last in-dash venture, a touchscreen and physical controls will be the focus, while your handset (rather than an Intel Atom) does the heavy lifting. Connected via Bluetooth or USB, your Nokia will play music, deliver Ovi Maps, respond to voice control and more, with the entire phone display duplicated onto the car's larger touchscreen for easy access and a set of auto-specific apps planned for Nokia's Ovi Store. It all sounds pretty swell, but it's still not clear how the companies intend to standardize anything beyond their balance sheets; we're not sure how much Nokia will appreciate you connecting a Droid to their Ovi-powered car. PR after the break.

Update: It appears that this is part of Nokia's Terminal Mode initative, which -- as some have noted in comments -- we've actually told you about before. Whoops!

Continue reading Nokia partners with Harman to 'standardize' cellular infotainment

Nokia partners with Harman to 'standardize' cellular infotainment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 22:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android-powered entry-level HTC Wildfire says hello to the EU a day early (with video)

Simon Chester — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:11:17 +0000

HTC held a press conference in Germany today where they showed off their successor to the entry-level Tattoo, dubbed the Wildfire. As strange as it sounds, it appears that HTC weren't quite ready to announce it, but once the news was out, it spread like Wildfire across the web, so HTC went and confirmed it with a press release dated for tomorrow. So I guess we're a bit like time travellers now, no? The phone is destined for the European and Asian markets in Q3 of this year, and will be available in black, white, red, and (the often under-appreciated) brown.

Office Mobile 2010 released, free upgrade for WinMo 6.5 users (update)

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000

After having gone to public beta late last year, Office Mobile 2010 is now available in conjunction with the retail release of the full desktop version of Office 2010, bringing comprehensive Word, Excel, and PowerPoint editing capabilities to the pocket -- on Windows Mobile 6.5, that is. Yes, granted, Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's biggest mobile news this year, but there'll be a huge legacy base of 6.5 users out there for a long time to come, and they're pretty much the core audience for the sorts of features that Office Mobile 2010 is offering: SharePoint integration for grabbing documents from the office, a nifty Bluetooth controller mode for PowerPoint presentations, and so on... you know, suit-and-tie stuff. The download is available today from Windows Marketplace for users of 6.5 devices with an older version of Office Mobile installed -- so go on, Tiger, whip up the hottest quarterly reports the world has ever seen. We know you have it in you. Follow the break for Redmond's full Office 2010 press release.

Update: Curious what Office 2010 will look like on Windows Phone 7? Get a glimpse into the not-so-distant-future in Microsoft's video presentation, and fast forward to 52:45 for the good stuff. [Thanks, Kamara B.]

Continue reading Office Mobile 2010 released, free upgrade for WinMo 6.5 users (update)

Office Mobile 2010 released, free upgrade for WinMo 6.5 users (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson Aino’s new firmware update is all about the two S’s: stability and stamina

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:40:00 +0000

Alright, Aino owners, listen up: firstly, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Secondly, we thought you might like to know that Sony Ericsson has recently released a firmware update for your phone that should make it a bit more livable. Improved system stability and better battery life are both promised, but that's not all -- it's said that you can also expect the WiFi and Bluetooth to work better at the same time (keep in mind they're both running at 2.4GHz, so interference between the two is a well-understood problem). Oh, and there are new features, too: support for MIME type mpeg4-generic videos, the Bubble Town 2 game, and 3 new Sony Ericsson-designed themes. All told, not a bad haul.

Sony Ericsson Aino's new firmware update is all about the two S's: stability and stamina originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 11 May 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Pioneer speaker system can link to 2 iPods or iPhones

Serkan Toto — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:00:28 +0000

Pioneer is about to release yet another iPhone-compatible speaker system. The company yesterday announced [JP] the XW-NAC1 in Japan, a speaker system that can connect to and alternately play music from two iPods or iPhones. The XW-NAC1 has two iPod/iPhone docks that charge these devices simultaneously.

Dell Aero slips though the FCC, ready for Q2 launch

Thomas Ricker — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:11:00 +0000

With FCC approval out of the way it looks like the Dell Aero is all set to meet the leaked Q2 launch goal. Sure, we've already seen a generic Dell Mini 3iX (model V02B) pass through the FCC with AT&T (Canadian Bell Mobility, Telus, Rogers) bands back in November. But today's Mini 3iG (model V01B) sports 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, UMTS 1900 / 850 support, and the undeniable "Aero" marketing name destined to grace the first of many Android handsets made by Dell (uh hem, Foxconn) to be sold Stateside. For whatever that's worth.

Dell Aero slips though the FCC, ready for Q2 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 07:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF

Joseph L. Flatley — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:35:00 +0000

It's been nearly a month since a China Grabber employee drunkenly left his experimental prototype next gen GiPhone at a Sushi Bar in Shenzhen, where it was found and sold to Shanzai.com for several thousand Yuan -- and the gadget world hasn't been the same since. The GiPhone F98 features, as all of these KIRFs do, dual SIM cards, an FM Radio, an "iPhone style" UI, WiFi, Bluetooth, and compatibility with 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz GSM. And it's one of the thickest phones we've seen in a long time! (See for yourself after the break.) Available now for $150, if you dare.

[Thanks, Jessica]

Continue reading Keepin' it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF

Keepin' it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Diminutive Vodafone 845 Android Phone Set to Confound Big-fingered UK Residents From May 2010 [With Video]

Simon Chester — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:14:30 +0000

The itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, ~~yellow polka dot~~, Vodafone 845 has just become official in the UK. The device, manufactured by Huawei and running Android 2.1, measures the merest of 100 x 55 x 13 mm.

BlackBerry Clamshell Spied Wearing OS 6.0

Simon Chester — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:24:05 +0000

Following hot on the sexy heels of the BlackBerry OS 6.0 leak, comes word of some interesting BlackBerry firsts. The first first (so to speak) is that BlackBerry 6.0 has now been spotted running on a device. The second first (*ahem*) is that said device is also the (almost) first clamshell blackberry device! It shall be known, affectionately, as the 9670.

GameGripper: the snap-on, no-batteries-needed gamepad for your Droid

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:15:42 +0000

Bluetooth controllers? Meh. Why reinvent the wheel when the tire just needs new treading? Take the Motorola Droid. With its big ol' physical QWERTY keyboard, it has plenty of buttons for gaming (read: playing ROMs) -- it's just that they're not very conveniently placed. Enter the GameGripper, a snap-on accessory that converts your Droid's old, boring keyboard into a full fashioned game pad.

Onkyo’s new notebook is 22mm thin, offers over 14 hours of battery life

Serkan Toto — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:14 +0000

Onkyo in Japan announced [JP, PDF] a new notebook today, the Sotec MX1007A4. It has a 10.1-inch screen featuring 1,024×600 resolution and LED backlight, with Onkyo saying one of the two selling points is its thickness (the notebook is 22mm thin - 18mm at it thinnest part). It weighs just 1.16kg, too.

BlackBerry OS 5.0 upgrade now available for the Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630

Greg Kumparak — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:51:47 +0000

Man, it's a big day for ol' Red when it comes to software updates. All signs are indicating that the near-mythical Android 2.1 update for the Droid is beginning to trickle out right this second, and now they've announced that the BlackBerry Tour 9630 is getting bumped up to OS 5.0.