Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"I think the intent of the Windows Mobile 6.5 release was to provide a more finger friendly user interface on touch screen devices, while non-touchscreen devices remain pretty much the same. I believe there were some backend updates and improvements, but there were not readily apparent. There are four main areas where end users will see changes and these are in the Start menu, lock screen, Today screen, and menus. Let's check out each area in more detail."

My friend the hyper-productive Matt Miller - seriously, how DOES he do it? - has his take on Windows Mobile 6.5. And it's about the same as most of the other reviews we've seen today...there's a general feeling of "Really? This is it?". Apple and Google have shown that significant updates can be made to an operating system on a regular basis, and they've raised the bar of expectation. With 6.5, Microsoft has done the limbo right under that bar...without needing to lean back.

Don't think Microsoft has forgotten about the Windows Mobile sector amidst all the Office 2010 excitement. The video posted here showcases some of the nice features that heavily-Microsoft-using shops will enjoy. Things like sharepoint integration through the browser, communicator integration, and even plain old document editing. Couple the editing interface with somethine like Live Mesh to keep it all in sync, and it looks like a pretty mean interface for mobile productivity.

I thought this video was quite thought-provoking, so on this Friday afternoon (where I am at least), I present this to you. Have a great weekend everyone!

Not yet ready for place-shift video streaming but you have a bunch of DivX encoded movies on your HDD? Then it's time to download DivX new mobile player which was just released and which is called "DivX Mobile". Beside supporting Symbian S60 and UIQ, the new DivX Mobile player also supports Windows Mobile in all its flavors - from Windows Mobile 2003 and Second Edition Pocket PCs up to Windows Mobile 5.0 as well as Windows Mobile 6.0 (including Classic, Professional and Standard devices). DivX Mobile Player will try to play any video on any device, but playback performance will depend on the phone's processor speed (DivX recommends 200 MHz or faster).





When we first brought news of Divx Mobile to you guys a few months back I was incredibly excited. After spending about a day and a half testing videos with the player, that excitement turned into serious disappointment. Not much has changed since then. The player still has a few major bugs that keep me from using it full time on my Samsung Blackjack. One of the most major bugs is that it completely destroys my home screen after using it in full screen mode. The moment I close the application it looks as if someone just shoved all of the content on my home screen down a bit which causes me to have to restart my device to get everything back to normal. I'm not sure if this is just a Samsung Blackjack related bug or if it affects all Windows Mobile Standard users. If you do try this application out, proceed with caution!

"myMovo is an innovative new way to search, download and convert videos from the internet to your PC, portable media player (iPod, PSP, Zen, and Zune) , cell phone (Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia, Motorola and Samsung) or Pocket PC. myMovo performs a targeted search of top videos sites including YouTube, ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, CNN, Discovery, ESPN, Fox, mySpaceTV, MTV, Yahoo! and more."



Taking a brief walk-through of the features on the help page, myMovo looks like an extremely feature-rich application. It's essentially a software tool that allows you to capture remote or local video (streaming or files) and convert it to portable device-friendly formats. Some of the supported devices include the Apple iPod and iPhone, Creative Zen Vision, Pocket PC (and by extension, I'd assume Smartphones), the Microsoft Zune, and others. As with all rich applications, there's so much there it's hard to wrap your brain around it all at once - any myMovo users out there care to share with us what they think of the program?

"In World of Warcraft (yes, I play), whenever you gain a new level you often get a whole slew of new abilities - your avatar can do more than it could before. When that happens, the standard thing to yell is "Ding W00T!" Well folks, this summer I think the Samsung Blackjack will be calling out Ding W00T! When I loaded the hacked Windows Mobile 6 ROM on there, I noticed something very, very odd. There was a new setting and a hidden application that kept loading itself in the background no matter what I was able to do, and it was called "Video Share." So today Mobility site points us to an AT&T announcement that this summer they'll be rolling out a real-time video sharing service..."

Real-time video sharing? That sounds exciting! Almost as exciting as leveling up in World of Warcraft. ;) I wonder how AT&T is going to pull off this video sharing service? If they plan on making the videos out of the same shoddy Real Video codec that is used for their Cellular Video service, than I think I might have to pass on that one. While Cellular Video looks great on AT&T's feature phone lineup, the same cannot be said for their Windows Mobile devices which usually have screens resolutions that are a lot larger than size. :(

"In a first for pocketpcsoft.net I'm pleased to bring you a video of the unboxing of the new iPAQ 514 voice messenger. This has only just shipped this week in the UK, so this will be one of the first glimpses of the retail device."



PocketPCSoft.net has an unboxing video and PocketInfo.nl has a series of pictures of the new device, including a couple comparison pictures with that hot new Vox. I know we've talked about this device a lot back at the start of the year when it was announced, and now it's starting to hit the streets in the UK. I'm not sure how successful HP is going to be with this device - the specs are 2 years old. The only thing this device has going for it is the voice enabled software. Is it enough to keep this device and HP's efforts in the Smartphone arena alive? Only time will tell, but my prediction is no. What are your thoughts?

Wow I'm having a difficult time here. I thought I wanted the Cavalier but this one is looking more attractive all the time. There really isn't anything I don't like about the Asus M530w. Ok, here we go, Windows Mobile 6 standard, a 416mhz processor, front camera for video conferencing, bluetooth 2.0, WiFi B/G, 3G broadband, micro SD, 2 MP camera, and a qwerty keyboard, all in a very handsome device. Oh, I guess there is one thing I don't like about it. It's only GSM 900/1800/1900 so I may never be able to use it here. :evil: Now being that the article is from PDA France, it makes sense that the text is in French but there are some great pics and a video.

"We take a look at Verizon's second Windows Mobile Smartphone, the Pantech PN-820. Like the Q, the PN-820 runs Windows Mobile 5 for Smartphone, but that's about where the similarities end. The PN-820 looks like an older clamshell phone, complete with external antenna. This of course provides excellent reception, even in our vault test, as well as a comfortable feel that most users are accustomed to."



Phone Scoop has posted an excellent video review of the Pantech flip Smartphone. Folks who are interested in buying this Smartphone or already own it, must check out this Wiki. As always, I must add - wish this phone received better marketing treatment from Verizon and Pantech.

"Vringo is one of those services that left me scratching my head a little, wondering if there was really a market for this, but then again I can't grasp the huge market for cheesy-sounding ringtones either. Vringo is a video ringtone service that allows you to see and share your video ringtones with others."



I don't understand why people even want custom musical ringtones, let alone something like this. I've lost count of how many times I've rolled my eyes at the goofy music coming out of people's phones when they ring. This seems even more obnoxious to me. :roll:

Video: HTC S710 'Vox' + Toshiba G500 Preview 1

Paul over at MoDaCo has made a short video clip which features two Windows Mobile Standard devices that will be launching soon. The first one is, our current favourite, the HTC S710 (Vox) and the second unit is the Toshiba G500. The slider from Toshiba features a finger print scanner, and Toshiba has put the finger print scanner to a good use. The phone can be trained to identify each finger, and programmed to launch a different application for each finger. 8) Check out the video, and don't forget to thank Paul.

"Do you have a Windows Media Center and a Windows Mobile phone? Yes? Well listen up! Makayama lets you watch your recorded Windows Media TV shows on more than 500 mobile devices. Install the software on your Windows Media Center PC then simply choose your mobile device - everything else is automatic. Every new TV recording will be converted in the background to a mobile video format which is then copied to the device when connected via USB. The software can be operated with a TV remote control and has the Windows Media Center look and feel."

This has to be one of the handiest software solutions to emerge for the Windows Mobile platform in a while. While I am a huge fan of Orb for streaming recorded TV shows to my handset, there are times when I would rather not mess around with streaming files and would prefer to have direct access to them. Now the real problem here is deciding whether I love my recorded shows enough to spend $34.95 for this software ;)

"OK, what's it with all these smartphones I am looking at? Today I received a Sexy, Tri-Band GSM phone from i-mate, the SPL. This phone looks similar to the Motorola SLVR but runs Windows Mobile. It has no keyboard like the Q and the Cingular Blackjack, but hey... It's itty bitty. Here is a video unboxing of this device, hope you enjoy it. The video lighting was rough, but you can't redo an unboxing can ya?"

Chris Leckness from Mobility Site has posted a 5 minute video of the i-mate SPL unboxing. This is one sexy little phone. I like the glossy black look, but I can imagine it would be a pain to keep clean from finger prints and smudges. :?

"With the announcement of the Cingular Blackjack (Samsung SGH-i607) Monday via webcast, Cingular completed it's 1st Windows Mobile sweep of HSDPA devices. One Smartphone and One Pocket PC phone. I am happy now. I had the chance to do some 3G speeding in Birmingham Alabama when I was visiting my parents, but no 3G here yet..."

A very cool and very long video showing off the Samsung Blackjack. While the video is pretty neat, I don't think it shows off just how truly cool this device is. I traded in my Cingular 3125 earlier today and picked one of these up for myself! After using HTC products for the last few years, it feels really good to use a device made by a different manufacturer! 8)

Howard has just posted a video showing off a couple of the latest devices from HTC. The video shows a couple different Pocket PC devices and the new HTC Excalibur (S620). Unfortunately, the video doesn't show the Excalibur next to the Q. It's a comparison that you really need to see more of. The Excalibur is a lot thinner and more narrow than you think. I had a chance yesterday to lay my hands on the S620, and overall it's a pretty sweet phone. I was a little concerned with the keyboard as the keys are really small. I can see this being a problem for a fair amount of people. The keys also didn't have the snap and firmness of the Q. I was also a little disappointed with the JOGGR strip. It seemed a little awkward to use. Perhaps that would change if I had a little more time to play with it. The device has a really cool rubberized feel to it. It gives the device a little grip in your hands. 8)

"Mobile entertainment enabler, Hubdog, has produced a guide that assists video publishers to encode video podcasts designed to be efficiently playback by a maximum number Windows Mobile Pocket PC & Smartphone devices. Hubdog Quick Guide to encoding Video for Windows Mobile devices is available here. �The wide diversity of devices available for Windows Mobile (WM) has made it very difficult until now for video podcasters to provide a smooth, lag-free encoding format universally compatible with all types of WM Pocket PCs and Smartphones. By putting together this free guide, we hope to eliminate a significant entry barrier and drive far more independent and mainstream producers to create video podcasts for the fast growing Windows Mobile market�, says Patrick Hanchay, Hubdog CEO."



If you're interested in reaching out to Windows Mobile users with your video content, this brief tutorial is a good place to start - but, as with all things like this, experience is the best teacher of all.

Amazon has just launched their online video ordering system, and it looks pretty slick - though, unfortunately, it's available to US-based customers only, so I can't actually order any videos. Prices are about what I'd expect: $1.99 for one-hour TV shows such as 24 (with a 20% discount for buying the whole season) and full-length movies range in price from $9.99 to $14.99. That seems a bit high to me, though the price is offset by the fact that the purchase price includes two versions: one DVD-quality download for playback on a PC, and one mobile-ready version for playback on a portable video device. Both downloads seem to be WMV and use Microsoft DRM, so iPods won't be compatible.

Amazon has an impressive array of TV channels, including A&E, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, BBC, The Biography Channel, Cartoon Network, CBS, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, E!, Fine Living, FOX, FX, MTV and others. Movie studios that have signed on so far: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros.

Supported mobile devices include the Creative Zen Vision: M, Creative Zen Vision, Toshiba Gigabeat S, Archos AV 500, Archos AV 700 and the iRiver PMC (Portable Media Center). No word on other supported mobile devices, but given that PlaysForSure support is required, I'm inclined to think that Windows Mobile 5 devices will also work, but seeing as I can't order a movie, I have no way of testing this. Someone care to give it a try? Once the DRM authentication happens, Windows Media Player should offer to transcode the video file is necessary.

The whole thing centres around the Amazon Unbox Video Player, a Windows-based software application that serves as the central point for movie ordering and transfers. Unfortunately, this service does not allow DVD burning in a format that a DVD player can read. There's no mention of a Windows Media Center Edition 2005 plugin either, so I think the "TV" portion of this offering is a bit ridiculous. What do you think of what Amazon is offering? Is it compelling enough for you to try? They're offering a $1.99 rebate on your first purchase, so if you're in the USA, go grab a free TV show!

"We recorded our adventures testing the FasTap keyboard over the course of ten days. The FastTap is designed to make text entry faster by adding a key for each letter around the traditional numeric keyboard. We practiced daily and clocked our speed to see if the FasTap is actually... fast."

Over at Phonescoop, "the new Myth Busters," the staff has put together an interesting video that everyone should go check out. It might be a little off topic from our usual coverage, but it certainly is amusing. A nice way to kick off the weekend! :)

"Here�s a great tip for us Smartphone users. This will let video play in full screen in Windows Media Player"

I love tweaks. Here is one for Media Player fans. As always, be aware of the risks and do a backup if you can before you try these kinds of things. I of course try most tweaks without backups, but that's just me. :lol:

"In this videoreview our reporter Sennur Yagmur takes a close look at the latest Windows Mobile Smartphone from HTC, the MTeoR. HTC just recentely changed their brandname Qtek to HTC. This is the first 3G Smartphone that HTC will be releasing. The phone has a built in 1.3 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 but unfortunately there is no WiFi on board. The processor is a 300Mhz Samsung CPU and the memmory consists of 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM. Check out the video to find out what our reporter thinks of this phone."



Pocketinfo.tv has put together a nice video review of the first 3G Smartphone from HTC, the MTeoR. This unit has a 300Mhz processor, 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, Tri-band UMTS/3G and Quad-band EDGE. Check out the professional quality video review for more information. I wish that the camera had focused more on the Smartphone instead of the reporter during the video review. ;-)