All posts tagged "smartphones"
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Smartphone Talk" @ 08:00 PM
http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=4628
"AT&T's Chief of Mobility, Ralph de la Vega, was recently quoted as saying that his company intends to offer data speeds of up to 20Mbps on its network by 2009. AT&T has previously committed to using the yet-to-be-standardized LTE technology for its next-generation 4G network. AT&T is currently testing an HSPA upgrade that will offer speeds up to 7.2Mbps, and already offers PC Cards that will support it. AT&T is in a unique position because these speed enhancements are merely software upgrades to existing equipment, and would require limited resources to deploy, as opposed to implementing an entirely new network."
Jumping from 7.2Mbps to 20Mbps is a significant bandwidth increase. In theory by the year 2009 my HSDPA enabled phone would be able to download whatever I wanted quicker than my current cable connection from Comcast. Hopefully with the increased data speeds AT&T will finally get around to releasing some video conferencing enabled devices, preferably of the Windows Mobile variety.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Smartphone Talk" @ 12:30 PM
http://direct.motorola.com/hellomot...uetoothconnect/
"A new reference site launched by Motorola in the UK will allow Bluetooth users to check their devices for compatibility and help with a 'plain English' guide to the pairing up of devices. The website lets you do a compatibility search from either your mobile device or with the designated accessory. According to the manufacturer, 'Motorola’s Bluetooth headsets are designed to be compatible with over 200 Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones from more than 15 manufacturers, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, as well as Motorola devices.' 'The intention is to provide some much needed clarity to the market by creating the ultimate Bluetooth compatibility reference point,' said Steve Gaskell, General Manager, Accessories, Motorola EMEAI."
It is about time someone created a site such as this. During my time slinging handsets the most frequently asked customer question was "Can you help me pair my headset?" I guess one of the downsides of creating incredibly small and useful products is that they can be a bit hard to manage and figure out. If you have an urge to learn more about the magic known as Bluetooth, than check out Motorola's new site here.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Smartphone Talk" @ 09:00 AM
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=2964
"Sprint's not going out of its way to make a big fuss about it, but its long-standing Voice Command service will soon be no more. The service, which allowed Sprint-Nextel phones to dial two buttons and then give voice commands to place calls, will be discontinued on July 1st, 2008, meaning that all your server-based contacts will soon be inaccessible. Aside from removing the VC fee from your monthly bill, Sprint's advising users to download and print their contact lists, and better still, it's encouraging users to rely on handset-based voice-activated dialing (or pick up a new phone if their current one can't pass muster). So long, Voice Command -- we can't imagine too many folks actually missing you."
I'm not sure if any of our Sprint readers take advantage of their carrier based Voice Command service, but if you do it would be a good time to back up all of your contacts now! It turns out Sprint is pulling the plug on this service on July 1st, 2008 and whatever you do not backup will be sent to the vast CDMA heaven up above. To be honest, I'm surprised they didn't pull the plug on this service a few years back when it started becoming more popular to use the VC services on the handset instead of via the network. Better late than never, huh?
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Smartphone Talk" @ 01:17 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/23/...y.ap/index.html
"Windows Mobile does have and support voice-enabled functions, but this is an interesting twist. Due to better support for Java, Microsoft's Tellme subsidiary is offering its voice search for Blackberry devices before it goes live on Windows Mobile handsets. Tellme keeps track of where you are through your phone's GPS radio so your search results are local to where you are... Device owners can tap a button and speak their search query; in return, Tellme will offer local results using the Microsoft Live Search engine."
You know what? I'm not really too broken up about this. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is pretty cool in theory but to quote Lawrence Peter Berra - "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not". As amazing as Microsoft's Voice Command service is on our handsets the one major drawback I have always encountered is that it just does not work very well at all if you are not in a quiet room. Same thing goes for voice enable telecom services! Every time I try to use anything voice enabled and there is any noise in the background whatsoever then the service flat out fails... unless I yell my command into the microphone but then you just end up looking insane. This is the exact reason why I have stopped demoing the Voice Command feature for people who are interested in learning more about my phone.
Who knows, maybe this is a Trojan horse for Microsoft to make all Blackberry users look crazy while they shout into their handsets - aggravating them to the point where they switch over to Windows Mobile devices.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "Smartphone Talk" @ 04:00 AM
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2007/001361.html
"NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced today the development of two smartphones equipped with the Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.0 Japanese-edition operating system... The HSDPA-capable handsets employ McAfee® security scan to ensure high-speed, protected browsing of PC websites and email management. The security scan function identifies and isolates malicious data before it is downloaded... The FOMA F1100 can access both FOMA and wireless LAN networks for IP telephony. The handset will come with a fingerprint authentication feature to ensure tight security control."
Talk about neat, I wish my Samsung Blackjack hand a fingerprint reader attached to the back of it. Not to long ago, I went on vacation and managed to misplace my Samsung Blackjack Smartphone. When I actually found the device, it was in the hands of someone that swore up and down that the handset belonged to them... even though a picture of my daughter was on the homescreen! Now imagine if I wasn't able to recover my phone! All of my contacts and email at the disposal of whoever found it! The idea of a technology such as these fingerprint readers seem so elementary, it puzzles me as to why phone manufacturers haven't been including them on handsets for years!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "ARTICLE" @ 08:45 AM
"As you�ll see, on the SP platform, there�re far fewer really usable browsers and there are absolutely no Java and real Flash support. This, fortunately, makes one�s life far easier � generally, you only have two browsers to select from: either Opera Mobile or Opera Mini. They both are, as you may have already guessed, superior to the built-in Internet Explorer Mobile."
Menneisyys has been hard at work again. This time he's posted a great comparison of the 3 browsers available for Windows Mobile Smartphone along with their respective short-comings. I'm still using IE Mobile, while I would like to switch, I just can't justify the price of Opera Mobile. After reading Menneisyys's article, I might take another look at it. But it's still expensive just to view the web. :(
Please continue the discussion in the
original article
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 07:15 AM
http://www.sbsh.net/press/index.php?page=ml21
"SBSH MyList is a rich and easy to use list manager that allows you to create lists for any purpose that will help you bring order to your life! Create lists for your daily activities such as: grocery list, To-Do's, collections, frequent flights packaging, project development and more! MyList also comes with a user-friendly interface."
SBSH has just released MyList for Windows Mobile Smartphone (Standard) devices. I have to admit I felt that SBSH had forgotten about the Smartphone community when they released MyList for the Pocket PC. But all is good in the universe now that they've got a Smartphone version for us. :) If you haven't played with MyList, I suggest you download a copy and give it a whirl. The gang at SBSH has always produced some excellent quality software, and I'm certain that MyList is no exception.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Posted by Pete Paxton in "NEWS" @ 07:00 AM
http://www.connectivetools.com/alarmmaster.html
"Alarm Master is a useful and easy to use utility that helps to manage personal alarms on your Windows Mobile smartphone. With Alarm Master you will never miss any important thing! In the new version you'll find several important additions and improvements: Icon Selection - new and unique Alarm Master feature! Now you can select icons for your alarms. Next time when alarm occurs you'll see this thematic image instead of boring default icon! Sorting&Filtering. The list of alarms could be sorted by type, by occurrence order, by time, by name and by occurrence type. You can choose whether you want to display different alarm types. There is ability to hide disabled and outdated alarms. Password protected device unlock, interface improvements and many other additions..."
I like Alarm Master. It's quick, simple, versatile, and inexpensive. The new version has a variety of options without weighing down my smartphone since it's only a 280 KB download. The new "set your own icon" feature is cool. Lots of icons to choose from. It's probably going to replace my Fizz Traveller since I really only use Fizz for multiple alarms anyway. Now through July 5th Alarm Master is only $8.25. Now where are you going to get an alarm clock with this many functions for under $10? If Alarm Master is what you've been looking for, you can purchase your own copy at our
affiliate store.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 06:45 AM
"Spb Software House, the leading Windows Mobile software developer, releases the Smartphone version of Spb Brain Evolution, the #1 best selling Pocket PC game. By using Spb Brain Evolution you can improve your mental awareness, and maintain brain fitness. Use this game for everyday training and you will find that your thinking processes will become faster and more reliable. This game has become very popular among users and is now the #1 best selling game for Pocket PC. That is why Spb Brain Evolution is one of the first applications Spb Software House has chosen to port from Pocket PC to the Windows Mobile Smartphone platform."
Check it out! Spb has just released their first Smartphone application in years. I'm happy to see that they have decided to start looking at the Smartphone platform again. They make some great applications and it will be nice to have them back again. Spb Brain Evolution is a top rated brain teasing game. Check out all the screen captures over here on the Spb website. You can download a trial version or purchase the complete game from our
affiliate store. The quote above is taken from their press release which can be found here.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Posted by Rocco Augusto in "THOUGHT" @ 10:41 AM
http://www.webis.net/products_info.php?p_id=pisp&tab_id=smartphone
"Pocket Informant for Windows Mobile Smartphones vastly improves upon the functionality of Pocket Outlook by offering advanced views, category coloring, icons and powerful tools to manage and keep track of your schedule, replacing the default Calendar and Tasks tools with a much more powerful solution, yet keeping intuitive operation and user-friendly interface. Despite its robust features, Pocket Informant is naturally easy to use. Features are designed to be quickly accessible, without being in the way. We're constantly improving the features that already exist making them faster, more intuitive, and more efficient."
For those of you that live by Pocket Informant, and I know there are more than a few of you on our site, you will be happy to hear that WebIS has released an update for all of us to enjoy! Some new features in this update include tweaks so the program now runs properly on Windows Mobile 5 devices with AKU3 and Microsoft's recently released Windows Mobile 6. Other features include improved speed and a slew of bug fixes! You can purchase Pocket Informant for Smartphones from handango.com for $17.95!
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 06:45 AM
http://www.makayama.com/pocketlivetv.html
"Watch live TV from the U.S., U.K. Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands and other countries. So whatever you would've watched on the sofa, you can watch elsewhere instead. In the room next door, down the pub, or on the beach a thousand miles away. Take your favourite tv-series, talkshow, sport events or news programs with you on your portable device. The most affordable way to get your television content in your pocket. No subscription, no bundled data-plan, just a one-time purchase of software."
Mobile TV is the golden child right now and everyone seems to be coming out with a product. Makayama's solution offers 100 channels in 10 different countries and I'm sure those numbers will grow along with the customer base. There's no subscription here, just buy the software and you're good to go. :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 11:00 AM
http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail.jsp?globalObjectId=8150_8079_23
"Motorola, Inc. today introduced two new MOTO Q products: the MOTO Q 8, the GSM version of the original award-winning CDMA-based MOTO Q, as well as the flagship, lightening-fast global quad-band 3G QWERTY, MOTO Q 9, which is available in Italy this week. The MOTO Q 9, based on the Windows Mobile 6� operating system, couples a new sleek form factor with a dual-processor HSDPA/UMTS engine, enabling broadband-like over-the-air downloads at up to 3.6Mbps1. Consumers will be able to download their favorite music tracks directly onto the Q 9 in approximately six seconds without having to touch a computer."
Moto sure managed to keep the Q 8 all hush-hush. I wonder why? It's not like it's the star here. The Q 9 is clearly the focus of the press release and everyone's attention. So why leak the 9 early and keep the 8 quiet? :? Anyway, the Q 9 will be available in Italy this week and launching in other locations over the coming months. No word on the Q 8 and when it will be available.
Update: I've added a picture of the two new Moto Q devices. I got it from the Moto Launch site. There are plenty of high res pictures there - if you can navigate past the slowness of the site. ;)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:45 AM
"MobileAdminSite is a remote mobile system management solution that enables IT professionals to securely manage their windows servers and workstation from their handheld device using any available network. By taking full control of their server management function, organizations can reduce the costs associated with maintaining a high level of system and network uptime. MobileAdminSite Server software is installed on a windows 2003 server behind the enterprise firewall. This server has access to the enterprise infrastructure and performs all the system and network administration. A MobileAdminSite� user uses a wireless device with a web browser as an interface to securely connect to the MobileAdminSite� server. The server then performs the requested command and sends the results to the user in real time."
This isn't a cheap solution, but it sounds like a good one. It's priced at $298, but you can administrate as many servers as you want for that cost. Has anyone here looked into this or other solutions to managing their networks while on the go?
Monday, April 9, 2007
Posted by Kris Kumar in "SOFTWARE" @ 04:30 AM
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931621/en-us
"You try to synchronize content from Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 to a Microsoft Windows Mobile 5-based device with AKU 2.3 or a later AKU. When you do this, the phone connects. However, only the internal storage on the phone is available in Windows Media Player as a synchronization target. This issue occurs because the canonical name for Windows Mobile 5-based devices with AKU 2.3 and later AKUs is truncated in Microsoft Windows Media Device Manager. This hotfix eliminates a bug that causes this truncation to occur."
Windows Vista is claimed to be one of the most heavily tested software developed by Microsoft. It is sad to see that problems like this one went unnoticed. If you are having trouble with the Media Player in Windows Vista being unable to recognise the storage card on your smartphone, then you must apply this hot-fix.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Posted by Pete Paxton in "ARTICLE" @ 07:00 AM
http://www.connectivetools.com/alarmmaster.html
This looks like a handy little application. Connective Tools has released a beta version of Alarm Master. It is a very small application to help you manage personal alarms on your smartphone. Sometimes I need something simple but useful to remind me of the important tasks in my day. After all, I can't drag my wife around with me everywhere. :D You can download a copy at our
affiliate store.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Posted by Jerry Raia in "NEWS" @ 11:30 AM
http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3745
"And one more from Samsung! During a press event yesterday, Samsung Electronics Germany unveiled, that it plans to release 6 new (and so far unanounced) Windows Mobile 6 smartphones in 2007! According to Samsung Manager Norbert Strixner, "the classical German mobile phone market has finally reached a kind of market saturation. However, Samsung sees an increasing demand for smartphones in the prosumer and even consumer segment"."
I'm beginning to think there are almost too many Smartphones coming out. Yes choice is good. I must say though, my like of HTC devices is waning. Using the BlackJack for quite some time now has reminded me of how solid Samsung devices are. I still remember how well made the old i600 was. I am looking forward to seeing what Samsung will be offering up. There is some ambiguity though as to whether these will be Standard or Professional devices. :roll:
Monday, April 2, 2007
Posted by Jerry Raia in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:00 AM
http://www.adisasta.com/wmZip3sp.html
"WinMobile Zip v.3 is a multipurpose encrypting and archiving tool. WinMobile Zip enables you to effectively store and secure your sensitive data in a single operation. It supports AES for the state-of-the art encryption technology in a popular zip archive format."
Looking for a file zipping application? This might be worth a look with a trial version available. It supports most of the compressed file types along with AES.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 07:15 AM
"Flash Format is a full featured memory card management utility for Windows Mobile powered Smartphone devices. It supports all SD and ATA and compliant storage cards, including SD cards, Mini SD, Micro SD, Compact Flash cards, Multimedia cards (MMC), MicroDrives, SmartMedia, MemorySticks, etc. With Flash Format you can get detailed information and statistics about your storage cards, including file system characteristics (FAT type, sectors, cluster, etc.) and analysis of file allocations (slack space). Flash Format lets you perform integrity checks, repair allocation errors, and re-format storage cards to original conditions, with the file system settings that best suit your needs, directly on your Smartphone, wherever and whenever you need."
Flash Format lets you manage your storage card from your mobile device. While Pocket PC users have had access to this tool since 2001, the Smartphone version has just recently been released. You can download a trial version or purchase a copy for $10.95 from our
affiliate store.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Posted by Jerry Raia in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:30 AM
http://www.spacetimearcade.com/arithmetick.php
"The objective in ArithmeTick is to solve as many addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems as possible before time runs out."
From the makers of SpaceTime, one of my favorite applications on my Pocket PC, is a fun little game to see how quick (or slow) your brain is. It runs on WM5 as well as older devices. I tried it out on my BlackJack and it works quite well. Best of all, it is free! :)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 09:45 AM
http://www.ruttensoft.com/Products/HomescreenDesigner/WindowsMobile50forSmartphone/tabid/58/Default.aspx
It's been a long time coming, but Ruttensoft has finally released the upgrade to Homescreen Designer. Version 2 adds support for higher resolution and landscape devices. It also adds a new interface that looks a lot easier to use. Homescreen designer is a most have tool if you want to create or modify your homescreens but you don't want to learn XML.
If you already own a copy of Homescreen Designer version 1, you can upgrade to version 2 for only $5 - check the details at Ruttensoft's web site. The full version sells for $14.99, and it's a great deal in my opinion. Check out the Flash animation over here for a good look at what version 2 offers. I'll be installing this a little later today and I'll post a screen shot or two when I do. :mrgreen:
Update: Homescreen Designer can now be purchased from our
affiliate store. 8)
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