Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"The specification list of the HTC Snap was already impressive with a super fast Qualcomm MSM 7225 processor, running at 528 MHz. With sufficient memory, and all possible types of connectivity onboard the HTC snap suits various purposes. Foremost the easy and fast device navigation with the Jog Ball and an excellent full QWERTY keyboard (with offset keys) make it simply fun to work with this device on the go. The hardware keyboard design and the offset keys reduce the risk of a typing error, fore [sick] my compliments HTC."

Remo Knops over at Mobility Minded has put together a detailed article about the HTC Snap - it's worth a read if you're considering this device. Knops shares some of my same concerns - the fact that the miniUSB port is on the upper-right side, and the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. He didn't seem to find it problematic that the "A" key is in a strange place, so he must have been able to adjust to it better than I could.

"Forget the Palm Pre, never mind the iPhone 3GS, we've managed to get our mitts on the soon-to-be-released Sprint HTC Snap! (insert snicker) Sprint looks to be the first out the gate with this entry-level messenger device and it's made some changes from the GSM version that debuted only a few months ago. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the Sprint Snap (it actually keeps the HTC name) is replacing the venerable but problem-prone Motorola Q9c. Wanna know all the deets, see some pics and get our first-impressions? Read on for our exclusive mini-review!"

I just got my hands on the HTC Snap today, and I'm already jealous of someone else: Malatesta (is he like Prince or something with one name?) over at WM Experts got his mitts on the Sprint version of the HTC Snap...and unlike the version that I'm going to be using for a few days, it has 3G speeds. That's one thing that's frustrating about the way HTC works: with GSM phones, they always release the Europe/Asian phones first, so several months go by when the reviewers in North American gimp along at EDGE speeds while reviewing these phones. I don't know if that will ever change...

This is my video review of the Pantech Matrix Pro, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard smartphone offered by AT&T for $179 USD on a two-year contract. The unboxing and first impressions video can be viewed here.

This phone has the distinctive feature of having two keyboards (12 key and QWERTY), both hidden away via a slider. It weighs 4.3 ounces, has a 2.4 inch display at 240 x 320, comes with 256 MB of ROM, and 128 MB of RAM. It also features a microSDHC card slot for expandability up to 32 GB. It's a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA phone, functioning on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands for GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 850/1900/2100 MHz for 3G data. The battery is 1320 mAh, giving 3 hours of talk time and 10.4 days of stand-by time. More details about the Pantech Matrix Pro can be found on this AT&T site. Read more...

"The Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky little brick measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and 5.34 ounces, but I have to say that it is so nicely curved and solidly built that I never felt its size to be a problem... The size is almost perfect for me. I can easily hold it in my hand (I don’t do belt clips…) while I walk around at my day job. If I don’t want to carry it, it isn’t difficult to stow it in my jeans pocket. It is a bit thick, but it has two keyboards - so I can overlook that."

The Gadgeteer brings us a dual review of this dual sliding Windows Mobile Standard handset. On one side of the review we have Julie from the Gadgeteer, and on the other side of the review in blue italic text we have the lovely Judie from Gear Diary. Both ladies have been using this hot little handset for a while now and were nice enough to bring us their fantastic review of it. This Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device comes equipped with 256MB of memory, microSD card support (32GB max), 2.0 Megapixel camera, Tri-band HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0 and a battery that packs 6 hours of talk time. I saw a fair amount of these phones when I was at the Microsoft campus not too long ago for the MVP Summit and I have to admit, this phone looks rather tempting to go out and pick up. If you are in the market for a new Windows Mobile Smartphone I would seriously give this one a once over.

"There is little question that Windows Mobile has been primarily geared for the enterprise market. While many - including me - have faulted Microsoft for forgetting the consumer market (or seeming so at time), few if any can question their ability to take the Windows Mobile platform and develop it into a world class mobile operating system for enterprise users. The platform simply does everything: Email, Word editing, Excel editing, PowerPoint viewing, OneNote synchronization, some have printing and PDF applications included (mostly HTC devices)... the list goes on. Which which phone is really the best when it comes to business needs?"

The "which is best" is a always a personal question - my needs in a business phone might not match up to your needs - but Clinton Fitch does his best to compare four phones on the market from the perspective of a frequent business traveller. He looks at the HTC S740 Windows Standard Phone, HTC Touch Pro Windows Professional Phone, HTC Advantage X7510 Windows Professional Phone, and the MWg Zinc II Windows Professional Phone. Check out his article and tell me if you agree with his assessment of these devices - for me, having a small and light email triage tool is the most important thing, so the Touch Pro and the Advantage wouldn't even be on my list to start (I'm using a Blackjack II right now). For some, data entry and document managemnt are more critical, so bigger phones with a better keyboard carry the day. What device do you carry, and why?

This is a new type of review that I'm experimenting with - rather than me doing an exhaustive review of a product, I'm giving a Windows Mobile smartphone to someone else for a couple of weeks and asking them about their experience using it. I think there's a lot of value in real-world testing of products by people who aren't experts, because as much as I try to put on my "Everyman Hat" when I'm testing a product, I still carry a bias with me. This first Real World Review fell together nicely: my wife had a phone on our local CDMA carrier in Calgary, Telus, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to ask HTC for an S640 for review.

Q: Let's start off with the basics: this is your first Windows Mobile-based phone. What were you using before, and why did you want to leave it behind to try a Windows Mobile smartphone?

A: Before I started using my HTC S640 with Telus, I was using a Motorola KRAZR (also with Telus) and an iPAQ Pocket PC rx1955 as my PDA. I would sync it over WiFi or at home to my Exchange server in order to keep track of appointments and contacts - when it would work. The WiFi was really unreliable on it! I often couldn't connect reliably to WiFi with it and it would then be out of sync. I really liked the look of the KRAZR - sleek and sexy - but as I started text messaging more and more, I found it just simply wasn't meeting my needs, largely because I wasn't very fast at using the predictive text input. My iPAQ wasn't connected, so it was useless to me as far as a device for communicating with my friends and family. It was at that point I decided I wanted to look into getting a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Q: You always told me you preferred being a two-device person. What changed your mind?

A: I don't think I fully bought into the concept of a single device until I started using the HTC S640 smartphone. Now that I have my email, calendar, contacts, phone, etc. available to me no matter where I am on a single device, without having to remember to sync it when I get home, or am in range of a wireless network, I can't believe I waited as long as I did to make the switch! More than anything, using a smartphone gives me the ability to be productive no matter where I am. I don't have to worry about things like whether I'm missing appointments because my calendar is out of date. I also love having a QWERTY keyboard to use for texting and responding to email. Composing messages on my KRAZR took far too long. Now it takes me a fraction of the time. Read more...

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the T-Mobile Shadow. Although the T-Mobile Shadow isn't a brand new device, it's still a current model being sold so when I was given the opportunity to take a look at one I said yes. It runs Windows Mobile Standard 6, meaning it's a non-touch screen phone. With a slide-out keypad and 128 MB of RAM (along with a microSD card slot) it's one of the more powerful Windows Mobile Standard smartphones on the market today.



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"Aliph's original Jawbone received one of the most difficult B ratings we ever issued to an accessory. Much hyped and unquestionably impressive from a technology standpoint, the first Jawbone was a wireless Bluetooth headset with breakthrough noise-cancellation abilities, but suffered from two serious issues: an uncomfortable design and a high price tag. Retailer discounting eventually helped solve one of those problems, and now Aliph has taken care of the other one in a brand new version with the same name: Jawbone ($130), known alternately as Jawbone Earwear or Jawbone with Noise Assassin. Simply put, the new Jawbone is the best Bluetooth headset we've yet tested with the iPhone -- the first one ever to receive our high recommendation -- and only two things stand in the way of it being a complete replacement for every other option we've seen."



That's a comparative picture from iLounge, who managed to get its hands on the device early and publish a full review. It looks like a significant improvement over the first; anyone thinking of picking one up, or have managed to get one?

"Some may say the device is nothing special, it isn't bleeding edge technology having a 1.3 MP camera, and a 200mhz CPU, however I believe HP have done this deliberately in order to get a good battery life and a low weight. The quoted specs say the battery is a 1100 mAh Lithium-Ion (user changeable), with a talk time of up to 6.5 hours and a standby time of up to 6.7 days (160 hours). In my experience the battery life is excellent, the first day I received the unit I charged it and turned it on Wednesday at 2:30pm, I got a low battery warning Sunday night. The call log showed a total of 2hr 2mins of calls, I had done a fair bit GPRS Data sync with push email, and also used WiFi for a short time."



We've seen the first look comments and initial impressions of this device. Now it's time for the full on review. It looks like PocketPCSoft.net likes the overall experience of the phone. I still think it's a mistake to under spec the device as much as HP did. It would be nice if there was a little more under the hood, even if it meant a day or so less of battery life. The PocketPCSoft review looks at the voice commander software that comes included on the phone and how well it performs. It's worth a read - even if you don't plan on getting the device. With any luck, there might be a updated version around the corner.

"As a person who is constantly looking for the next best device for business use, it amazes me that no one came up with this design before HTC did. A quote straight from PhoneArena.Com says it all: 'The HTC S710 is the most compact messaging phone with an auto-sliding QWERTY keyboard. It is the first smartphone powered by the new Windows Mobile� 6 Standard platform. This new platform provides genuine mobile Office Outlook� experience, greater control of Outlook� Mobile Calendar, better Internet Explorer� Mobile browsing experience and Windows Live�. It also offers greater interoperability with Exchange Server 2007 providing you with improved e-mail management (such as Fetch Mail and Set Flags), Out-of-Office assistant, and HTML e-mail viewing capabilities.' And boy are they right, I picked this device up about a week ago and have been trying to use it religiously, but when you carry an average of 8 devices constantly it can be hard to do so sometimes."



Gear Diary has posted an excellent review of the HTC Vox, the hot new Windows Mobile 6 Standard device. I must say, I have a love/hate relationship with this device. It seems as though I spend half the week drooling and swooning over this handset and the other half of the week getting upset that this is not a 3G enabled device. Sure, it has 802.11b/g WiFi built into it, but it just is not the same. If only HTC would release a UMTS/HSDPA Smartphone here in the US, I would be in heaven!

"Smart devices�call 'em what you will: handhelds, smartphones, PDAs�make business people's lives easier. They help to ensure continuous communication by offering features like calendar applications, instant messaging and e-mail services, cell phone functionality and Web access. Any number of today's smart devices can satisfy the basic needs of the average business user, and plenty of websites can give you consumer-conscious reviews. However, the real challenge for IT executives seeking smartphones for themselves or for their organizations is selecting a device that fits their telecom needs with as few tweaks to the company's IT architectures as possible�and therefore as little time and money expended."



CIO.com has compared four of the most popular smartphones, from the perspective of four experienced IT executives. If you are responsible for managing the IT and deployment of mobile phones in your organisation then this article is a must read. For others I think this is a very good weekend article, it will help you understand the features that the competition is better at. I would like to see more articles like these, it is always good to know how the competition is evolving. :wink: There are times when I feel like I have boxed myself into the Windows Mobile platform, and wonder if there is a better alternative out there. Do you get the same feeling at times? Or do you change your smartphone based on features and do not worry about the platform?

"Brilliant, as the British say: take the side-sliding QWERTY keyboard design from popular HTC-made Pocket PC phones such as the Cingular 8525, T-Mobile MDA and Verizon XV6700 and use it on an MS Smartphone. When we first saw the HTC Vox (that's developer's code name for the HTC S710 and carrier branded versions such as the Orange SPV E650) in prototype at the beginning of January, we wondered why we, HTC or anyone else hadn't thought of this before? But then, until recently electronics components were too large to add a full slide-out keyboard plus the usual heavy compliment of features to a smartphone this small."



Mobile Tech Review has put together a lovely review of HTC's newest additional to the Windows Mobile Standard family, the HTC S710. This small but sexy handset sports a full QWERTY keyboard as well as Windows Mobile 6. I'm a little disappointed that the camera quality is still not up to par with other devices on the market and the lack of 3G data technology on this handset is enough to make me pass on it. Hopefully HTC will not keep us waiting very long for the release of a HSDPA version of this phone! :)

"Hewlett Packard has a very longstanding relationship with Microsoft where its Windows Mobile software is concerned. The company was in at the start when Windows Mobile was first announced back in 2002. When Hewlett Packard and arch-rival Compaq merged, HP took on Compaq's iPAQ name, abandoning its own Jornada naming. As time went on HP integrated SIM support into its devices, but the company always stuck with the Pocket PC format with its large touch sensitive screen. At last Hewlett Packard has decided it is time to launch a smartphone and the result is the Hewlett Packard iPAQ 514 Voice Messenger. I was just about the first journalist in the UK to get my hands on one of these to test and as I write this review I've had it for less than a week. There are still one or two tweaks to be done to the ROM before this smartphone goes on sale; it isn't even up at Hewlett Packard's website yet and no operators have announced that they are taking it on. However, that doesn't mean to say operators won't announce it, and Hewlett Packard tells me that it will be available SIM free in May for less than �200."



Usually I like the reviews posted on TrustedReviews, but this time I feel like the review doesn't do justice to the HP's smartphone. The unique selling proposition of this device is the VoIP calling and its ability to integrate with the office IP exchange system. It almost seems like HP designed a unit based on feedback from the enterprise market where players like Cisco are offering VoIP handsets, but the combination of Windows Mobile and VoIP is what makes this device unique. While it is not easy to test the office IP exchange functionality, I would have expected that the reviewer had at least talked a bit more about this functionality. Instead the review focuses more on the standard software functionality that you can expect from any Windows Mobile Standard device. Anyway, sounds like HP is getting ready to launch its first Windows Mobile Standard device. I am sure it will have its share of success because of HP's access to the enterprise market.

"Orange has an uncanny knack of producing mobile units that get closer and closer to my single device ideal. I�ve been using the SPV M3100 since last September and it managed to fulfil many of my needs, being smaller than the SPV M5000, but still sporting a slide out, full qwerty keyboard. But much as I liked the M3100, I found that I still ended up carrying my old Samsung D600 much of the time, since it made a more convenient handset for actually making phone calls. But now Orange may well have cracked it with the SPV E650 and my days of carrying two phones around with me could be well and truly over. The SPV E650 is based on HTC�s S710 smartphone and once again Orange is first out of the gate with a new Windows Mobile device. This comes as no real surprise considering that Orange pioneered Windows Mobile smartphones with the original SPV, and although that particular handset was pretty awful, Orange�s commitment to the Windows Mobile platform has definitely paid off."



Nowadays it seems like we cannot spend a single day without reading a review or watching the un-boxing of the Orange SPV E650 a.k.a. HTC S710. This awesome smartphone has made its way to some Internet stores in the States but hasn't been picked up by a carrier. Are you waiting for this device to be picked up by your carrier? Or hoping that the carrier will pick up the Vox successor, the one with 3G support?

"Thanks to Samsung, I've recently got my hands on the final version of a Samsung SGH-i600, the EMEA/APAC version of Samsung's BlackJack which was launched late last year. While the i600 was announced earlier, the U.S. got it released faster but since last month, the i600 is also available across Europe. Generally speaking, the i600 is the follower of Samsung's earlier introduced SGH-i320 and like the i320, the i600 is sporting a QWERTY keyboard for easy typing. This makes the device definitely another BlackBerry competitor. The i600 is part of Samsung's Ultra series and this one is also called "Ultra Messaging". Only 11.8 mm thin, the i600 fits perfectly into Samsung's Ultra series but UMTS and HSDPA makes it quite unique today. Not too many keyboard enabled smartphones features triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850 MHz aren't supported), singleband UMTS/HSDPA (up to 1.8 Kbps) as well as WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR yet."



Arne over at the::unwired has posted the review of the production version of the Samsung i600. This Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone is currently up for sale in Europe. This Tri-Band GSM and Single-Band UMTS/HSDPA QWERTY smart phone features WiFi, and of course the same battery life issue as its American cousin. :) One thing I like about Samsung is that they customize their Windows Mobile handsets. There is a custom carousel home screen, a new Quick Launcher and applications for reading RSS and watching Podcasts. One thing that would make this device even better is the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade, which has not yet been announced by Samsung for the i600.

"Now some of you may be thinking, �is this the same old FlexMail that caused me all those problems a year ago?� Well, it is the same app, but it�s a new version, has added Windows Mobile Smartphone support, and has undergone a ton of testing over the last several months. In fact, all of the testing for FlexMail is the reason this article has trailed so far behind the first part."



Once again a new version of FlexMail appears. Once again I download it in the hopes that this will be the version that really works. Once again I am disappointed. Once installed I was suddenly unable to send any text messages. FlexMail removed, problem solved. I honestly didn't bother to go any further than that. If you give it a try please let us know your experience.

Update: SMS issue solved in latest build. :)

"I spend all day indoors behind a computer...therefore, whenever I get the chance, I love to get outside: walking the dog, riding my bike, rollerblading, you name it. Unfortunately, thanks to the weather, the experience is not always pleasant. Being a Type Zero civilization, humankind has yet to learn how to control the weather...well if you can't control it, you need to know what Mother Nature is up to. Enter Fizz Weather."



This has always been a great application. If you haven't tried Fizz Weather here is a nice little review. Give it a read and if you like give it a try. I have used Fizz Traveler (more features) for years and have appreciated what it can do.

"It took a little bit longer for Samsung to release the long awaited SGH-i600 Windows Mobile Smartphone but Samsung used the delay to add something really useful to the EMEA/APAC version of the "BlackJack" - a pretty unique Home Screen plug-in called "Carousel" or "Card Wheel". Since Samsung's first introduction of a Windows Mobile Smartphone (the SGH-i300), the Korean mobile phone specialist always added its own flavored Home Screen plug-ins but this one is really a great and unique one since it adds fast and easy navigation to the i600 in a way, not seen before. Basically, the Carousel/Card Wheel plug-in provides several decks which are accessed by using the D-Pad. Each deck contains grouped information which can be accessed straight from the Home Screen."



Our buddy Arne Hess over at the::unwired has published an excellent article on the unique home screen created by Samsung for its European and Asian version of the i600. I personally love the way Samsung has added this unique differentiation to its Windows Mobile device. Instead of just launching with some vanilla home screen and colour customizations, they have definitely done a good job of separating themselves from other Windows Mobile vendors. It also seems like this home screen approach would reduce the use of the Start menu, since most of the smartphone features are accessible from the home screen itself. It will definitely help newcomers to the Windows Mobile world find and launch things easily. :) The sad part is that this cool home screen is not available to the American customers. Hopefully Samsung will make it available as a download in the near future.

"Smart phones have come a long way in design. Nowadays, they come in all shapes and sizes--from the sleek to the small--and not just the bricklike variety. Yet there's one form factor that the phone manufacturers have yet to conquer--flip phones. The Cingular 3125 was a good effort, but its Trekkie look isn't for everyone. Enter the Verizon Wireless PN-820. It's certainly not sexy--some might call it dull even--but the design is practical and more important, functional. Plus, the Windows Mobile 5 smart phone packs in Bluetooth, EV-DO support, and good performance. Of course, we have our share of complaints."



The Verizon Wireless PN-820 clam shell smart phone was launched quietly. We didn't see any fuzzy spy shots, there were no pre-production reviews and no launch buzz. The CNET review is probably the first one, and it took over a month for the first review to hit the Web. :( Regardless, the clam shell design is pretty popular. There aren't many smart phones in the Verizon Wireless stores right now that can match PN-820's skills. I agree that it is not as cool looking as the Cingular 3125, but it looks like a very practical gadget. What I like the most is that it has a miniSD, yes miniSD, slot that is externally accessible. If you are on the lookout for a flip smart phone on the Verizon's network then check out this Windows Mobile 5 device. In case you own one, we would like to hear about it.

"Vodafone New Zealand has been supporting Windows Mobile devices, Pocket PC and Smartphones, on its voice and data cellular network. But unlike the European Vodafone operations, the Vodafone VPA series didn't arrive in New Zealand until now. For years Vodafone New Zealand users have been able to purchase i-mate branded Windows Mobile devices from Vodafone stores and it is only now that a Vodafone-branded Windows Mobile device arrives here. This honour goes to the Vodafone 1210, a budget Windows Mobile Smartphone designed and manufactured by ASUS."



Maybe because it is a "budget" Smartphone they released it with WM5. WM6 is right around the corner! I don't quite get why but in any case here is a review of the device for your consideration.