George Hotz aka geohot, known for hacking the Apple iPhone has hacked the Playstation 3.  George announced that he had hacked the PS3 on Friday, January 22nd.  After playing around inside PS3, he decided to release the details of the exploit today so that others can help contribute to what will hopefully become a new up-incoming PS3 hacking scene.

From his blog entry: “Here’s your silver platter: In the interest of openness, I’ve decided to release the exploit. Hopefully, this will ignite the PS3 scene, and you will organize and figure out how to use this to do practical things, like the iPhone when jailbreaks were first released. I have a life to get back to and can’t keep working on this all day and night.”

Here is a link to George Hotz’s blog entry.

For at least the past 2 years now, I’ve been trying to find a good cell phone that has WIFI capabilities, but does not require a data plan for a “reasonable” price. I really thought that this would not be difficult thing to accomplish. However, I still haven’t found this cell phone yet.

To give you some more insight as to why I’m searching for this device, here is some more information that I think would best explain why I’m looking for this functionality in particular: Many have asked me, “Why don’t you want the data plan?” Simple, data plans for cell phones are too expensive (in my opinion), and I’m too cheap to pay for it. A standard everything data plan costs approximately $30 / month for every major carrier that I have seen. That’s $360 per year. I spent less than that on the last desktop and laptop that I purchased (individually, not combined). $360 is probably my tech budget for entire year. As I said, I’m cheap…

Currently, I use Sprint and I have a $150 credit toward a new phone if I sign up to a new 2 year contract with them . So, I called them and asked them if they have a phone that has WIFI capabilities but does not require a data plan. This was my only requirement for a phone. They came back with only one phone, the Samsung Intrepid. The price tag after discounts and rebates, $150. I asked if they had one cheaper, and they said no. So, I called AT&T. According to the customer service rep, AT&T does not carry a phone with WIFI capabilities that does not require a data plan.  I called Verizon and received the same answer.  After some google searching to just make sure, I found that Verizon and AT&T both have an official stance on this, that they require a data plan for smartphone capable devices that they sell through the respective carriers.  US Cellular also has the same policy.

My last hope was T-Mobile.  They currently have 1 phone that has this capability, the Blackberry Pearl.  One problem: According to the user forums, if you don’t hook up the data plan, the Blackberry functions can not be used.  Apparently, they are not programmed to allow usage of these services with a WIFI connection.  WTF…  I understand why there is no push to fix this, because it’s more incentive to force users into paying for a data plan.  But, let’s look at this logically.

Blackberry provides web services for anyone that purchases Blackberry phones right?  By requiring that I pay for a data plan in order to access the service, you are basically imposing a monthly service fee on me.  How come your competitors don’t do this?  If I purchase an Apple iPhone or Apple iPod Touch, all the built-in applications (the app store, itunes, email apps, etc.) all work with a WIFI connection.  They do not require an additional data plan in order to operate them.  I get these services for free as a complement for purchasing the phone that works with these services.   It’s just one more thing that I think will eventually be part of Blackberry’s demise.

To break into my theory about the future of Smartphones, here’s a review (as I see it) of the current companies in the marketplace.  Palm once ruled the smartphone market.  They were the 900 lb. gorilla in the room.  Blackberry comes along with a slick services platform to complement their phone and swiftly start taking away the market share and became the king of the smartphone market.  Then comes along Apple that has an even slicker services platform and starts cleaning up from a different angle: target consumers first and eventually work your way into the businesses.  Now enters Google, with the slickest services platform to date.  As I see it, Apple and Google Android will be the leaders in the marketplace, with Google Android eventually becoming king (unless Apple is smart enough to extend on their services offering to compete with Google).  Palm is dead and Blackberry is quickly bleeding.  Blackberry still has a chance to rebound, but they are making all the wrong decisions.

In addition to the WIFI with no data plan issue, if I want to develop for the Blackberry and have my application in the marketplace, I have to pay an upfront application fee of $250 which is good to publish 5 applications.  Apple charges $99 per year, Android’s is $25, and Palm is free (if you open source the code, $99 otherwise).  Not to mention that Apple and Google Android allow you to price applications for $0.99 (an impulse buy), where Blackberry requires a minimum app amount of $2.99.

Recently on an episode of Diggnation, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht talked about how Blackberry is the “battle tested tank” and that most business people prefer it to the Droid or iPhone.  They’re right…  However, this “tank” still releases new models each year that amount to a new coat of paint (buy our new “blue tank”, it’s pre-waxed!).  All the while, the competition is releasing a tank that can fly.  So, the competing tank doesn’t have as heavy armor, and the main turret isn’t as powerful, but it can fly!  The issue is that Blackberry is releasing the same device in a new shell without any innovation (not on the phones or the services as far as I have seen).  Apple and Google Android on the other hand are innovating, with their devices, OS, and services offering.  This is why Blackberry needs to innovate…  or they will die in this battle.

Back to my original issue, for now I’m confined to using 2 separate devices for this WIFI/Smartphone functions and cellular phone services.  grr….  Interestingly enough, from doing research on this topic, it appears I’m not the only one looking for this functionality in a single device.  Which goes into another theory of mine, eventually data plans will become obsolete because there will be WIFI hotspots everywhere.

I’ve been waiting for it for awhile, and it’s getting closer and closer to arriving, but it’s still not quite there.  So what I’m looking for is an Powerful, thin, lightweight netbook that doubles as a tablet PC and E-Book reader by folding over the LCD.  The tablet component should not require a stylus to use, but it should be available for writing.  The final component to this is attaching your cellphone to it in such a way that if you were to remove your cellphone, all the data/programs/etc. are on the cellphone for easy accessibility on the go.  This device is very close to a reality, but some of the components still haven’t been put together.

At the CES show, there are some devices that are getting EXTREMELY close to this “ultimate mobile tech device”.  IBM Lenovo has a new hybrid device coming out called the Lenovo U1 Tablet Hybrid that is a tablet with a notebook attachment.  Basically, it’s a tablet device that snaps into a notebook shell and becomes a notebook.  The device comes out later sometime in the 2nd half of 2009 and has an estimated price tag around $1,000.  Watch more about it here.

Another device unveiled at the CES show is the enTourage eDGe 2-Screen eBook/Netbook.  It runs Google Android.  Watch more about it here.

Tekzilla reviewed another netbook that has mult-touch LCD screen.  Estimated price is $500.  Watch more about it here.