Amazing. Found this out and I’m quite amazed that we have a comprehensive SMS blacklisting tool available for the Symbian platform.

There are really just those annoying SMS messages that come from unknown senders or stalkers. Wouldn’t it be nice to automatically quarantine them for “future reference” with the business end of the law? Also, wouldn’t it be nice to auto quarantine annoying text spam from your carriers asking you to sign up for new promotions and useless downloads? Well, MCleaner does this all. It’s a customizable spam filter, a mobile phone SMS firewall. And your new best friend.

There’s a small caveat though, which is especially true to certain Nokia phones that do not distinguish between the first few numbers of two different SIM cards. In this case, MCleaner has a tough time with international format numbers that end up in the black list.

[photo and source]

Happy weekend! This may be old, but it’s still hella funny. Makes me see how the practicality of a mobile phone can accelerate movie plot events to the point of having NO rising action or climax.

[image taken from YouTube]

Went diving over the weekend. You’d be amazed at the number of diving log tools available on the Internet. It sure beats pen and paper. Thus far, the best app I’ve seen was Facebook’s Dive Buddy as it allows you to map your dive through Google Maps and tag buddies who dove with you.

If you’re running Windows Mobile, you can also use Dive Log for HanDBase which is free to use. If you’re on the PalmOS, you can download SharkPoint or Aqua Dive which pretty much do the same thing. If your device has a built in GPS receiver, you can even plot out the coordinates of your dive.

[photo c/o myself -- that's me in Anilao, Batangas]

Hey this is interesting. The Loudspeaker application basically works like a hands free device but it is really just your Nokia phone that activates on voice commands, allowing you to speak while driving and have your hands free. You can download the app from SymbianGuru.

Key Features:

- Ability to answer the incoming call automatically
- Good and inexpensive alternative to your Bluetooth handsfree
- Activated on certain profiles
- Adjustable sounds on the call start and hang up
- Available for all Series 60.3/60.5 devices
- Translated into: Spanish, French, Italian, Russian and Ukrainian.

Compatible with:
Nokia E50, Nokia E61, Nokia E62, Nokia N71, Nokia N73, Nokia N75, Nokia N80, Nokia N91, Nokia N92, Nokia N93, Nokia N95, Nokia E Series, Nokia E65, Nokia N76, Nokia E61i, Nokia N73 Music Edition, Nokia N77, Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia 6120 Classic, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia E51, Nokia N81, Nokia 6121 Classic, Nokia N82, Nokia N93i, Nokia 6290, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N91 8 GB, Nokia N96, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 Classic, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N85, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 6650, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, Nokia 6124 Classic, Nokia 5800 MusicExpress, Nokia E63, Nokia N96-3, Nokia N86 8MP, Nokia E55, Nokia E75, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5730 Xpress Music, Nokia 6720 Classic, Nokia N97

A few months ago I was part of a team that was consulted upon to help launch a Philippines-based service that had “everything in a box” related to a particular telco’s property. Although the focus was with the blogs on my end, the bigger picture was with the actual portal itself. The name of the portal is Sandbox.

Sad that the current product doesn’t use “open technology” to share with the outside world. It doesn’t have RSS feeds and you really can’t permalink much. Not much Javascript either for photo uploading. What it does fulfill though is having all of SMART Telecommunication’s services all in one place — music downloads, games from Gameloft which cost really cheap when consigned with them, movies, MyTV (a service that allows mobile TV to occur in HSPA enabled handsets via streaming technology) and network chat.

You be the judge. Check out the service at www.mysandbox.com. It isn’t meant to be a Facebook or MySpace. What it looks like is what it is — a portal for housing all their properties.

[photos c/o author]

We’re excitedly anticipating the release of Mass Effect 2 for the consoles but in the meantime, there has been a release of pre-buzz content for the iPhone which acts like a prelude of sorts. To differentiate it from the main franchise, this version is a top down shooter with cartoonized graphics. This is still part of the Mass Effect universe which means that fans should give this a try as a premonition to the main plot. You can download the application through the iTunes store.

[Thanks to 1UP for images]

One of the top paid apps this week in the iTunes store is iManila, your functioning guide to the different restaurants and tourist attractions both for locals and expatriates. The app costs 0.99 USD and is right now limited to Metro Manila. The application still isn’t complete but hopefully we will be able to see free upgrades with more information in the near future.

[photo c/o iTunes Store]

Just in case you still have not found it, Yahoo! Messenger for the iPhone is on the list of top FREE applications in the iTunes store. I’ve been using it for days now and I must say that it is the best made-for-iPhone app that integrates YM - well, duh! It should! Finally, a decent version of Yahoo! Messenger that allows you to monitor multiple contacts in an easy to navigate UI.

The only thing I don’t like is the obvious disallowing of running on the iPhone’s background. If you exit the app to multitask, you will have to connect again.

[photo c/o iTunes Music Store]

In just seconds, the applications enable an iPhone user to find a nearby restaurant and call for a reservation. Each listing comes with detailed information, including address, phone number, opening hours, awards and MICHELIN guide comments. Users can also upload and share their opinion of the restaurant, by rating such features as “quality products,” “inexpensive,” “good value for money” and “friendly welcome.” [PR Newswire]

The Michelin Guide is now available for the iPhone. The apps list all of the restaurants selected by the MICHELIN guide since April 30. The Michelin Guide is available in English and five other languages (French, English, German, Spanish and Italian) for the European countries.

Thanks to Textually for the image.

Created by Barry Schwartz, blogger and application developer, the Swine Flu Tracker will include a threat level page, clickable maps of reported cases and alerts issued from WHO, CDC and HealthMap Twitter accounts.[BlogHerald]

As of this writing, the app is still pending approval. But yeah, you heard it — the Swine Flu tracker is currently in development from the guys who brought you the Target store finder and Coffee finder.

[Photo c/o Intuapps]