Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Good news everyone! Yours truly has come into possession of two registration keys for Microsoft's My Phone Beta program! Since I'm such a nice guy I thought the best thing to do would be to give them away to our readers! For those of you that are unaware - "Microsoft My Phone syncs information between your mobile phone and the web..." - Basically it can best be described as a very simple and easy to use cloud syncing solution for Windows Mobile handsets. Exchange services for the rest of us!To qualify to win one of these two never before used registration codes, all you have to do is post a reply telling us about a time when data syncing has failed you miserably. It can be anything; like having your phone stolen and not backing up your contacts or getting the phone number of an attractive member of the opposite sex seconds before your waiter spills a cup of water on your Samsung Blackjack... Whatever you can think of!The contest will be going on now until Sunday April 12th, 2009 at 11:59PM PST, at which time I will go through and randomly select two entrants to be announced Monday April 13th, 2009. As I mentioned before the winners will be selected randomly so unfortunately bribing me with cookies will do you no good - but you are more than welcomed to try!

The holidays are upon us and while I know a lot of Windows Mobile users out there will be picking up shiny new devices to play with on our respective gift giving holidays, there is always that one Windows Mobile gift that is overlooked – The gift of great Windows Mobile applications! From December 19th-23rd the company that manages our affiliate store, MobiHand, is having a huge 50% off sale on over 40 of the best-selling Windows Mobile applications. During this MobileHeist event you can expect to save anywhere from $10-$20USD on such applications such as Elecont Weather, Sprite Backup 6, Agenda One, Pocket Streamer and more!To pick up any of these best-selling applications you can just point your browser to our affiliate store(s) by using one of the links below!

• Smartphone Thoughts Affiliate Store
• Pocket PC Thoughts Affiliate Store

"Here's something that is sort of under the radar: evidently a company called Mobileyes has teamed up with various local news networks to release customized live Traffic cam apps. Available for for WM Pro and Standard devices, you can download the app for your region and then select via various sub-menus locality and specific highways."

Now this is a handy application. I remember when I was a kid we use to watch this mythical box called the TV that would show us pictures from various "eyes in the sky" so my parents could see how traffic was looking on our always backed up highways. Now you can pretty much do the exact same thing from your phone and a few traffic cams making the days of helicopters recording traffic a thing of the past.

Microsoft has just launched a new developer portal for Windows Mobile to help advertise upcoming events, showcase applications, and introduce you to a number of team members and MVPs. And, of course, there's no shortage of guides showing you how to turn that idea in your head into a working Windows Mobile application.

"After teasing the market multiple times, Microsoft Corp. plans to finally confirm today that it's bringing its most money-making desktop software franchise online and to smart phones. Microsoft will release lightweight versions of four components of its Microsoft Office suite for the Web and Windows Mobile smart phones, said Chris Capossela, senior vice president of Microsoft's business division, in an interview on Monday."

I was incredibly excited by this news until I stopped and started wondering - Is Microsoft going to build this to be compatible with all smartphones or are they going to go the usual Microsoft route and only make it compatible to Microsoft's horribly deficient mobile web browser? Either way, as a Windows Mobile user, this means we should have access to basic Microsoft Office elements online. Unfortunately it could mean that once again the rest of the Internet population would have to go without. Hopefully the latter is not the case. We'll keep you updated as we hear more news on this subject!

Remember a few weeks ago when I reported that my Samsung Blackjack had an unfortunate run-in with a clumsy waiter and a glass of water? If so you will probably remember that I was taking suggestions for new phones to purchase. Being the undecided gadget enthusiast that I am, even after I decided to pick up the HTC Touch Diamond from Sprint, a company which I loathe, I decided to pick up a T-Mobile G1 as well. I figure if I am going to be stuck with one of these devices for the foreseeable future, I better put them to the test and see which one comes out on top and in the process expand my mobile gadget horizon.

Summary:
After playing with the T-Mobile G1 since I first picked it up bright and early at 8:00am and playing with the HTC Touch Diamond all day yesterday and today I can easily say hands down the T-Mobile G1 is so much more usable than the HTC Touch Diamond. There are some things I really like about the Touch Diamond and the TouchFLO 3D interface truly is beautiful. Unfortunately I have found the TouchFLO 3D interface to not be very practical and the device itself to be fairly unusable for my needs. After using a Windows Mobile Standard device for years on end and being accustomed to the streamlined layout which allowed me to get to whatever I needed with one hand quickly - jumping over to the cluttered and highly frustrating old school Windows 95 tap based interface of Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional just filled me with pure rage. Why in the world does everything that triggers a reaction in the operating system have to be so darn small and hard to press?! Can someone PLEASE explain that to me!? Even with a stylus I spent a large majority of time thinking to myself "Really? Someone thought this was a good design idea…Really?" Read more...

"From our sources confidential and exclusive, we learned that Samsung would launch a new Windows Mobile smartphones, which we were able to hear very few but important details even if, unfortunately, we have had no image of the device... According to our information, the new Samsung smartphones was designed to target an extremely young and will be launched in Italy, although at the time there was communicated, even at orientation, the timing of final marketing."

Good news for our readers in Italy. It looks as if Samsung is working on a new Windows Mobile device target towards a younger crowd. There is no news at the moment if this device will be a Windows Mobile Standard or Professional handset, but it is nice to see that some manufactures are still catering to the younger and hipper consumer crowd. We will keep you posted as we hear more information regarding this new device.

"T-Mobile G1 manufacturer HTC plans to develop more handsets based on Android. It maintain this will not affect its Windows Mobile business - the Google platform and Microsoft's are 'complementary', it claimed. According to a report by DigiTimes, John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer at HTC, said that both systems have their merits, and so handsets based on either platform will appeal to different users."

I'm sure we can all agree that the only way this newest HTC Android enabled device is 'complementary' to Windows Mobile is due to how ugly it is and the wonders it will do for pushing users to the new Touch family of devices! All kidding aside, I have to agree with HTC on this one. Google Android and Windows Mobile are not even in the same league. Both platforms target completely different groups of consumers and where the Windows Mobile camp has been screaming at the top of their lungs for years hoping Microsoft will release a more consumer friendly version of their flagship mobile operating system, nothing has come of it at all. Even being as ugly as the T-Mobile G1 is, it will still sell a lot of handsets. This device is target to the general consumer and doesn't focus on the business aspect and because of that I can't take three steps outside of my front door without hearing someone talking about the T-Mobile G1 or having them ask me about it.

HTC will now be able to create new super sleek consumer friendly devices and at the same time, continue to cater to the enterprise and enthusiast crowd. This is the best of both worlds for HTC. Hopefully this will be a good swift kick in the posterior to make Microsoft hustle to bring us something really cool in Windows Mobile 7.

Have you ever been sitting down to a nice breakfast at a restaurant only to have your waiter accidentally knock a cup of water over right on top of your Smartphone? This happened to me yesterday while I was eating breakfast right before a meeting with a client. To make matters worse, I was expecting an email, and right as the cup was beginning to fall my screen lit up and the unmistakable sound of me receiving a new message rang through the air... as if my situation wasn't stressful enough, I was now left with that nagging questions of "Who was that message from?" and "What did that message say?"

I learned two very important things yesterday. The first above all else is that I have an addiction. I am indeed addicted to my phone and the service that it provides at being my gateway to the Internet and vast amounts of information and when this flow of information is just snatched away by means other than my own, I learned that I can be incredibly tense, anxious, and cranky. Not being able to check my email knowing that I was probably missing something important was just nerve wrecking. Trying to remember all of my important contact information I use on a daily basis was frustrating as well. Not being able to check the Internet on a whim for whatever reason didn't seem to help my situation either, especially when a majority of my day involved waiting for other people.

The worst part is that even though I knew my phone was now in Smartphone heaven, I still caught myself reaching for it more than a few times whenever I thought about emailing or messaging someone or even trying to figure out what time it was. At one point throughout the day I was talking to one of my clients about my phone ordeal and while telling them the story of my phone being destroyed, I caught myself reaching into my jacket pocket because his phone went off notifying him of a new message.

Now I know more often than not we bust Microsoft's chops because we feel Windows Mobile could be a lot better than it is, and it could be, but not having my handset around I realized something else. Besides my undying love for the handset I will forever now refer to as the Crackjack - I know, original and catchy - I realized that it is incredibly easy to point out the flaws in the things that Microsoft does more often than not and I rarely give praise to Microsoft for the features that do work and happen to work so wonderfully that we never even realize how much of an impact they have on your daily routine until they're gone. In light of this I would like to take a second to point out some of my favorite Windows Mobile features that do not exist on this horribly inefficient pre-paid phone I am forced to use until I get a new handset. Read more...

"Tomorrow (September 3rd) there is a webcast available for those of you considering starting to develop applications for Windows Mobile. The webcast is an introductory session on developing managed applications for Windows Mobile devices. It will cover the tools that are available as well as giving guidance on how to best approach developing applications."

I just ran across this interesting little tidbit on Jason Langridge's blog. If you are looking to get into software development for the Windows Mobile platform, this would be an ideal starting ground. To sign up for the MSDN Webcast and for more information point your browsers over here.

"I have sad news. After 11 years, we will be publishing a final 2008 issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and then suspend publication! We are working hard to make it the best Windows Mobile issue ever, a keeper, a reference guide... It is with great regret I make this announcement. We are a very small, self-funded magazine publishing company. We did not make this decision lightly, especially after 11 years of issues. It has become harder and harder to grow our circulation over the past three years since Windows Mobile changed from being PDAs to being phones. Pocket PC manufacturers like HP used to work with us to offer their customers a free issue of our magazine in their packaging. The phone companies have not shown similar interest in working with us. The other business challenge has been the lack of advertising sponsorship from Microsoft, phone companies, and OEMs, despite our coverage of their products. In order for us to sell subscriptions at current low consumer magazine-type prices, we must have a stronger and growing circulation, and we much attract the large advertisers who benefit the most from our existence. Of course, the irony is that almost 20 million Windows Mobile units were sold this past Microsoft fiscal year. We think there is a great opportunity to continue the magazine in this high growth smartphone market for a more sophisticated publishing company or a funded entrepreneur."

After eleven amazing years, the folks at Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine are suspending publication due to a lack of interest and sponsorship from a number of parties. For many years, I've had the pleasure of working with Hal Goldstein and his committed team in the Best Software Awards, and have appreciated their enormous level of dedication and enthusiasm shown toward the Windows Mobile platform and community. It's sad news, and on behalf of the team at Thoughts Media, I wish Hal and his team the very best in their endeavours. Of course, the door is still open; if you'd love to see Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine continue on and have sponsorship ideas, you might want to contact Hal.

"For a limited time only Skyfire, the only flash-enabled web browser for the Windows Mobile platform, is opening up to all comers. The browser, which now supports Silverlight, will now be accessible to all comers who use the special code 'Michael8', meaning Skyfire users can now watch all the streaming video from the Olympics. Skyfire says they did this to commemorate Michael Phelps’s monumental accomplishment of winning 8 Gold metals in a single Olympic games."

If you have been waiting to test out the new Skyfire web browser but have not been able to get into the Beta testing, now is your chance. From now until August 30th 2008 Skyfire will be available to all users who use the special code "Michael8". To sign-up to use the only Flash enabled web browser available for Windows Mobile visit Skyfire's website here.

"We reported back in June that AIM for Windows Mobile was now in beta. Well, the folks at AOL have sent word that it’s now officially out of beta and available as a free download at mobile.aol.com/AIM4WinMo. The latest version of AIM for Windows Mobile supports both smartphones and touch-screen devices running Windows Mobile 5 and 6 and features status messages, buddy icons, and the option of sending text messages via SMS."

It has always amazed me that it has taken this long for AOL to release AIM for Windows Mobile. Sure there have been a few Instant Messaging applications over the year that could handle the AIM protocol, but it just seemed odd that AOL never released their own. You can download this free piece of software today from AOL's website here.

"Samsung recently announced new software that will greatly improve the way its flash memory behaves in smartphones running the Windows Mobile, Symbian, Linux and RTOS platforms. The software makes communication between the memory chips and the phone's operating system more efficient. It also has an improved file system. These two improvements combined should result in fast boot times and faster downloading to memory and searching memory. Samsung did not indicate exactly when this new software will be available."

This is pretty cool news. Way to go Samsung! Who wouldn't love faster RAM without upgrading their hardware? I know I would. It is unclear if this software will be released to the masses or just released to manufacturers but we will keep you guys (and girls) updated on any progress we hear, just in case.

"...Dare I say, Windows Mobile is not Unstable, it’s the applications we flood the devices with. Bashing Microsoft for other developer’s applications is something that has just become the 'cool thing to do', I guess. Windows Mobile is not perfect, but it’s not the beast many want us to believe. Apple has 3rd party applications now. Nice right? Well, iPhone owners are complaining of lockups and having to reset. It could never be Apple’s fault though, it’s got to be the applications. Bad developers, bad apps, it could never be Apple’s fault. So here we are, Apple iPhone locks up… Bad App. Windows Mobile Phone locks up, Bad Microsoft. Hmmm… Ok. Let’s talk about the iPhone shall we?"

I had a little internal battle with myself before releasing this. On one hand I am incredibly sick and tired of the constant barrage of articles comparing the iPhone to Windows Mobile. At the end of the day their differences and user experiences are so unique that it is pretty much useless to try and draw comparisons. These devices were designed from the ground up for completely different customer bases mean Windows Mobile will always be superior to the iPhone when it comes to the business side of things and the iPhone will always outshine Windows Mobile when it comes to user interface.

Chris from Mobility Site does bring up an interesting point though. With the release of the new iPhone and application store there appears to be larger than average complaints from users about device lockups, hard resets, bricking from other the air application updates, and even the camera distorting images - it looks as if Apple's little device that could is starting to experience some big boy growing pains like all the other mobile smartphone operating systems. So what do you guys think, are these all just isolated incidents or are any of you iPhone users experiencing any of these issues?

If you're new to the Windows Mobile scene, or work for company that uses Windows Mobile phone, and need a little reference guide to help you figure out what the heck we are talking about sometimes then do I have a present for you. Pocket PC FAQ has put together this simple one page PDF file that gives you the skinny on what all those pesky things on your homescreen or Today Screen are called. This guide is free for individuals to download and use but if you are a corporate user you will have to contact Pocket PC FAQ for details on licensing this guide and customization options.

"Astraware Fireworks is a simple FREE application, showing sequences of fireworks flying and exploding into the air. As 4th July is traditionally a time for fireworks and celebrations in the USA, the features have been created to help our American friends highlight one of their major holidays - Independence Day!"



Now you can enjoy fireworks anytime you want with Astrawares latest offerings for the mobile world. You can download this free application from Astraware's website or by going here.

"This year I've got the great honour of running the Tech-Ed EMEA Windows Mobile Track! This is the first time Windows Mobile has had it's own track at Tech-Ed so I want to make sure it is the best track at the whole conference! To do that I need your help... What sessions do you want to see being run at Tech-Ed EMEA for Windows Mobile?"

Jason Langridge is sending out an SOS to all of us Windows Mobile users. As stated above Jason is running this year’s Tech-Ed EMEA Windows Mobile Track and needs our help in deciding what should be run this year. There are a few suggestions such as Windows Mobile 6.1, development, security and more. If you would like to help Jason out you can do so by posting a comment on his blog here.

"DVD Catalyst 3 converts DVDs and movies quickly and easily into a format that can be played on a portable device (Apple iPod, Apple iPhone, Sony PSP, Creative Zen, Smartphone, PocketPC and more) It offers a multitude of different video types it can create, allowing it to even create video files for non-listed or brand-new devices. One application supports all devices. No need to purchase an iPod video converter, a pocketpc video converter and a psp video converter, DVD Catalyst 3 does them all."



Looking to squeeze your DVD movies onto your tiny Windows Mobile device? If so you might be interested in DVD Catalyst 3. Ripping your DVDs to a format your phone can play has never been easier. With a few clicks of a mouse you can be in mobile entertainment viewing bliss! Just set it and forget it! Alright, enough of that silliness, if my awesome sales pitch was enough to make you start throwing wads of cash at your monitor then you then you can pick up DVD Catalyst 3 today from our affiliate application store for $24.95.

"On the first of July, California residents will no longer be allowed to talk on the phone while driving, without using hands-free accessories. This is the reason, tomorrow LG Mobile will give away more than a thousand Bluetooth headsets at a special event. It will be hosted in Los Angeles, at the Petersen Automotive Museum (6060 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036) from 11AM to 1:30PM (or while supplies last) on the 19th of June. All are welcome."



First off, I apologize we're posting this so late. I didn't catch wind of this story until 20 minutes ago. Now on for the goodies! LG is showing a lot of love to cellular phone users in Los Angeles, CA. As the post says above you LG will be giving away 1000+ Bluetooth headsets between the hours of 11AM and 1:30PM PST on Thursday June 19th, 2008. If you live in the Los Angeles area you should take an early lunch tomorrow and treat yourself to little gift because nothing says fun like brand spanking new electronics before lunch! To get your free headset you have to go to the following address:

Petersen Automotive Museum [map]
6060 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036