The Wireless Power Consortium has officially defined the newest low-power wireless standard to be used in future mobile devices. Pronounced “chee”, the name is derived from the Tao concept of power.

Dubbed Qi, the new standard is currently available to all members of the WPC with a full public release coming on August 30, 2010. Future devices utilizing the Qi wireless charging protocol will be marked with the Qi logo and can be charged on any pad or base with a matching logo, allowing public areas like restaurants, airports and hotels to utilize the standard for their customers quickly and easily. The standard will allow for devices using up to 5 watts of power.

A new post at the official Google Android Developer’s Blog has alerted developers to significant changes in Google’s legal terms.

The post outlines alterations to the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement, naming “authorized carriers” as indemnified parties, suggesting that direct carrier billing via Android apps may soon be a reality. With direct carrier billing, users could purchase and download applications only to be billed directly by their carrier as opposed to paying at the time of purchase.

Android developers have 30 days to agree to the updated terms.

Apple has taken no shortage of criticism over both the iPhone 4′s inherent antenna problems and the company’s response which blamed users for holding the handset incorrectly, interferring with reception.

Following bad reviews from the likes of Consumer Report and an angry internet buzz that seems to not be going away, Apple has begun fixing the issue via its refunding of customers who had purchased an official Apple bumper case. By keeping fingers away from the built-in antenna, the bumper case is able to resolve the reception problem without the need for a recall.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has promised a free bumper case to all iPhone 4 owners in lieu of a recall in order to cut the costs associated with the iPhone’s issues.

Apple has unveiled its business numbers for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2010, posting record revenue and profit.

With $15.7 billion in revenue accounting for $3.25 billion in profit, Apple has registered a 77 percent increase in profits since Q2 with a $6 billion growth in revenue. Those numbers stem from the solid sales of both iPad and iPhone devices; Apple sold 8.4 million smartphones in the third quarter, a 61 percent increase over Q3 2009. In part due to iPhone sales, the iPod saw a drop in sales of 8 percent; Mac computers round out Apple’s lineup with a 33 percent increase over the same quarter last year.

American wireless provider AT&T has announced that it is adding the Sharp FX to its lineup of Quick Messaging Devices.

With a Sidekick-like form factor (remember that Sharp was the main manufacturer behind T-Mobile’s Sidekick lineup), the Sharp FX sports a full slideout QWERTY keyboard alongside a touchscreen to allow for easy menu and feature navigation as well as touch-sensitive web browsing.

Multimedia and social features include a two megapixel camera, a built-in music player with a 3.5mm headphone jack and easy access to AT&T services such as Navigator, Social Net and Mobile Email and, most importantly, AT&T Mobile TV. For $9.99 per month, FX owners can watch channels like ABC Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central and ESPN Mobile directly on the phone’s three inch WQVGA display.

The Sharp FX will be available in AT&T stores around the United States on July 25 at a cost of $99.99 with a two-year commitment.

Ladies and gentlemen with a passion for pastel colors rejoice: Sony Ericsson has announced that they will be releasing the popular Vivaz Symbian-based smartphone in light pink.

Boasting an 8.1 megapixel camera alongside a slew of high-end media and communication features, the Vivaz has proven to be one of the most popular Symbian devices of the past few years. Sony Ericsson’s announcement indicates that the pink Vivaz will be available in select markets near the end of Q3 2010.

Sony Ericsson has posted its second straight report of quarterly profits, indicating that the company is beginning to see an end to its own personal recession.

With Q2 2010 results indicating sales of 1.75 billion EUR, Sony Ericsson has managed a 25 percent increase in sales over last quarter; this is a four percent increase year-over-year. Q2 sales were represented by 11 million units shipped, netting 12 million EUR in profit for a company that saw new losses of more than 200 million EUR in the same quarter last year.

Our second quarter results show that the company continued the momentum seen in the first quarter as a result of our focus on the value market and the success of new smartphones; Xperia X10 and Vivaz, launched during the first quarter. These models, along with the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro which started shipping at the end of the second quarter, have been well received by operators and we are now well positioned for long term growth.

Sony Ericsson president Bert Nordberg

Microsoft has unveiled new details concerning their upcoming Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, revealing several new features.

The announced features include the ability to directly connect and sync with Zune software on your PC via WiFi, keeping your music, movies and photos easily synced between multiple devices. The announcement also included details of the Windows Phone 7 official site, bring a wide range of options to phone owners including the ability to publish content such as pictures and videos to the web and sync files such as contacts and OneNotes with other devices.

The standout feature revealed in this press release is called Find Your Phone, a nifty set of options on the web site that will allow you locate your phone on a map via GPS when it’s missing as well as remotely lock it against use and wipe its data.

Google has announced the beta release of their App Inventor for Android software, a freely downloadable program that allows just about anyone to create and release apps for Android-powered phones.

With an easy-to-use interface, App Inventor allows you to create mobile apps with the ability to store user data, access common phone functions such as phonebook and GPS, create and modify quizzes and much more. Based on the Open Blocks Java library distributed by MIT, users can “create just about any app you can imagine” according to Google’s corresponding press release.

Google’s App Inventor really requires a perusing to get a feel for everything that it can help you accomplish; check out appinventor.googlelabs.com to sign up for a beta invitation!

Sony Ericsson has revived its Walkman line of phones with the release of the Zylo (W20) and DavinciTeam is pleased to announce that you can now both debrand and SIM unlock this handset quickly and easily!

The popular Zylo is breathing new life into a Sony Ericsson brand otherwise thought to be coming to an end, offering high-end media playback with TrackID technology, a built-in FM radio and many other features.

Unleashing your Sony Ericsson Zylo is easier than you think; simply follow our Sony Ericsson debranding tutorial and Sony Ericsson unlocking tutorial and you’ll be done in minutes. As always, simply give us a shout if you need a hand along the way!