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'Bricked' iPhone users get their happy ending while Nokia's N82 gets closer to reality

It's the weekly Pocket Picks round-up

'Bricked' iPhone users get their happy ending while Nokia's N82 gets closer to reality
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It's been a mixed week over on Pocket Picks, with no obvious trends helpfully emerging for us to apply our typical journo spin on. So, for a change, we thought we'd do something different and bring you a blow by blow, day by day account of what went down on our sister site over the last working week.

Apologies in advance if at any time we slip into the default tone of a weather presenter.

Monday was a very busy day, kicking off with yet more murmurs regarding what is being described as the longest rumoured phone in Nokia's history, the N82. If the countdown on Nokia's Play site is anything to go by, we should know for sure by November 2nd.

Later in the day, Sony Ericsson was the subject of some rumour rumbling of its own, with various forum dwellers stating that the manufacturer is set to launch a DVB-H mobile TV phone in 2008.

There was also the happy news that McDonald's is set to offer free Wi-Fi in most of its 1,200 outlets up and down the country by the end of the year. Looks like the Wi-Fi access explosion is set to be accompanied by and explosion in waste lines.

But just in case you aren't anywhere near a McDonald's outlet (which would put you somewhere not far off the South Pole), the news that some boffins have fashioned a T-shirt with a built in Wi-Fi detector to help you and those around you stay in the know about signal strength would come in handy.

Especially if you plan on using Nokia's new Share Online 3.0 mobile blogging software, the beta of which we heard about on Monday, too.

Moving on to Tuesday, it transpired that some hackers managed to crack the iPhone's new 1.1.1 firmware, meaning many were again happily using their unofficial applications.

We also got a look at DoCoMo's new personalised control system and learnt that Microsoft is working on a hands-free texting system for drivers who simply have to SMS.

Vodafone also claimed a sizeable slice of attention with the announcement of its MusicStation downloads going free on a '£40 per month and up' contract, which will certainly help in the fight against the iPhone and mighty iTunes.

Wednesday was mostly all about software. First, Bloglines' feed tracking service went into its beta phase, followed by news of Nokia's Beta Labs launching the Nokia Device Status diagnostic tool for S60 handsets.

Later in the day, Nokia revealed itself rather fond of Devicescape's Wi-Fi tracking client, adding it to its one-click downloads folder for N and E series devices in the US.

And on a more business related slant on the software front, Google bought the micro-blogging service Jaiku, a move that will have obvious mobile repercussions over time.

On Thursday we got a little excited about the prospect of Apple finally getting around to officially listing iPhone compatible Web 2.0 apps, prompting speculation about the company finally opening up the device to third-party developers.

Motorola's supposed new line-up was leaked, while Sony Ericsson's new K630i was officially unveiled and very smart it seems, too. Also looking rather groovy was the company's newly unveiled Bluetooth music speaker.

In the afternoon came news that Mozilla has definitely not forgotten about getting around to a fully fledged mobile browser. Hot on its heals was a double whammy for Shape Services, who kindly clarified the iPod Touch/IM+ compatibility (it's VoIP calling but not as we know it), as well as announcing that the company has acquired the first ever iPhone widgets site.

And so as the week came to a close, Friday threw up a few salacious tidbits. Chief among them was the fact that the new official Apple iPhone widgets directory has a curious lack of any IM clients.

There was also word that the previously sighted Motorola line-up was potentially a fake. Much more real, though still ultimately unlikely to end up in the hands of many, was the company's freshly tarted up RAZR 2, complete with gold plating and faux snake skin. Kitschtastic indeed.

Finally, there was good news for any intrepid iPhone owners who had their unit bricked by the latest firmware version 1.1.1. Turns out that the hack released earlier in the week was not only capable of reopening the iPhone to third-party apps but also of un-bricking it.

Always nice to have a happy ending. Click 'Track It!' to catch next week's round-up, same time, same place.