Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Improve Security with Windows Mobile 6

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "CONTENT" @ 06:00 PM

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/07/Mobile/default.aspx

"Mobile devices increase the productivity of workers around the world, giving them access to corporate information and keeping them connected even while they?re away from the physical office. The productivity increases are real: just turn on the mobile device and get to work. On the other side of that coin are the IT professionals who are challenged with the difficult task of keeping the virtual office secure and stable. From their perspective, every mobile device is a potential network security leak to be plugged and a potential data theft liability. Building a more secure deployment of mobile devices is crucial, but must also be balanced with providing a seamless and intuitive user experience. "



TechNet Magazine has a published a great article which highlights more than a few security measures that are built into Windows Mobile Standard and Professional, as well as Microsoft's Exchange Server. Out of all of the security precautions my favorite is the "Remote Wipe" feature. I love this feature so much; it baffles me that wireless carriers haven't built this into the regular batch of features that are included into almost every handset produced. :|

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• Source: Mobility Site & Jason Langridge\'s WebLog

Friday, July 6, 2007

HTC Cavalier With 3G and QWERTY Cleared by the FCC

Posted by Kris Kumar in "HARDWARE" @ 05:45 AM

http://tinyurl.com/366ayg

The HTC Cavalier is the upgrade to the HTC Excalibur a.k.a. T-Mobile Dash. Dopod launched this Windows Mobile 6 Standard smart phone in May as the Dopod C730. The Cavalier features faster 400MHz processor and supports the faster 3G data network. According to HTC the smart phone features Quad-band GSM/EDGE, Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 400 MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, and 128MB of RAM.



The FCC documents minus the photographs and user guide can be found over here. HTC had requested confidentiality until June 12th, 2007, which is already up. Surprised that we haven't seen any announcements during this time-frame. Does this mean that HTC is not planning on releasing this in the States? Or is it waiting for AT&T to be done with the iPhone honeymoon?

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• Source: Mobility Site

Friday, June 29, 2007

Living with the Toshiba Port�g� G500

Posted by Pete Paxton in "NEWS" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/2007/06/25/toshiba_portege_g500_review

"Continuing the tradition of reviews based on my real world experiences of handheld devices, thanks to the generosity of Tracy and Matt, I�ve had the chance to test drive the Toshiba Port�g� G500 for a week or so. The G500 is Tosh's first Windows Mobile Device since the e830 back in September 2004 and represents the first release of a Toshiba device with voice capability since 2002. The G500 runs Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.2, think of this as Windows Mobile 5.5 as it includes Push email, xT9, WPA2 for WiFi, A2DP for enhanced sound quality for Bluetooth headphones and Internet sharing instead of Dial up Networking. Connectivity wise the G500 supports WLAN (802.11b&g), is quad band including 3G, with HSDPA, GPRS and EDGE. The obligatory camera is a lowly 1.9 Megapixels>"



Alasdair over at Tracy and Matt's Blog have another review of the Toshiba G500. With this one only running WM5 and no qwerty keyboard, I'm not sure how it's going to stack up with the competition. Seems a bit outdated to me. I'll give it some points for having HSDPA. If you'd like to see an unboxing video of the G500 you can click here.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Keep Track of Your Call Data with CallsToJournal

Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 06:00 AM

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Friday, June 22, 2007

LapLink Looks to Solve Your Sync Problems with PDASync

Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 07:45 AM

http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3949

"No question, ActiveSync and/or Windows Mobile Device Center is and was a love/hate relationship for most Windows Mobile users and if you still have problems with either the one or the other, Laplink's latest PDAsync version might be an interesting alternative. Just released by the grandfather of all sync-software, Laplink PDAsync 4 provides you with simple, high-speed, one-click synchronization between your mobile devices and popular applications on your computer for all your corporate and individual needs. This fast, flexible and easy-to-use software supports all major devices, including Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6 PDAs and smartphones and applications, including Outlook, Lotus Notes, ACT! and Novell GroupWise."



Just when you thought you would never ever see a good sync product for your Windows Mobile device, in comes LapLink. Microsoft has been slow to release updates and the ones they have released are not very good at fixing the problems. I'm pleased to see that some developers are noticing this and working at a solution for us. I am going to give this product a try and if it works any better than WMDC or AS, then I'll be buying a copy. It's too bad that things have gotten this bad that we have to look at outside solutions to sysnc between Microsoft products and on top of that, pay for the ability to sync. But I'm so sick of the pains with WMDC that I'm willing to do it. Anyone else going to give it a try? You can download a trial version from the LapLink web site.

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Monday, May 14, 2007

Remotely Manage Servers with MobileAdminSite for Smartphones

Posted by Mike Temporale in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:45 AM

http://software.smartphonethoughts.com/product.asp?id=6898

"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?

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Thursday, May 3, 2007

Hands-on with T-Mobile's WM6-ified Dash

Posted by Pete Paxton in "ARTICLE" @ 09:00 PM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/05/03/hands-on-with-t-mobiles-wm6-ified-dash/

"Kudos to T-Mobile for rushing (in relative terms) Windows Mobile 6 to its Dash, an honorable move that makes it the first carrier to launch a Windows Mobile 6 device in the US. We've had a chance to run through the re-upped device today, and, well, what can we say: it's a faithful implementation of Windows Mobile 6 Standard. As we've said before, Windows Mobile 6 is an extraordinarily incremental upgrade; the new operating system alone probably doesn't warrant rushing out tomorrow and picking up a shiny new Dash, but for existing owners, we can't think of a better way to close out the week."



I am really excited that the official Dash WM6 update is only a few hours away. So to hold me over til it's here, EngadgetMobile has some great pics of what's to come. I'm so glad the Dash gets first dibs. So for those of you who have waited until the official release, are you going to get it right away or wait to hear feedback from others? As for me? I'll probably fall asleep in my computer chair. Come on, I don't want to waste time walking to my computer :mrgreen:

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Hands-on With a Motorola Q 9h in the Wild

Posted by Kris Kumar in "HARDWARE" @ 07:15 PM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/05/03/hands-on-with-a-motorola-q9-in-the-wild/

"Well lookey lookey, the cellphone fairy dropped us off an unbranded Motorola Q9 to fool around with. Cut to the chase: we're not going to lie: the fact that it's larger than the Q is somewhat unacceptable in our eyes -- we really don't care that it has HSDPA, 3G is no longer an excuse for a big ass phone. Also unfortunate: no more scroll wheel, you're now stuck with the usual up/down rocker buttons. ... Basically, we're not super stoked for the Q9, but hey, it ain't over until it's out, and this thing hasn't shown any signs of US release in the near future, so maybe they'll have time to work out some kinks."



Those lucky folks over at Engadget have managed to get their hands on the Moto Q 9h, and it doesn't sound like they are impressed. The Q 9h has been in the news lately, and it seems like the Q 9h will also be launching on the European circuit first. :-( After a long spell of US-first launches, it looks like we will be seeing the newer smartphones launch first in Europe. It also seems to me that a certain carrier might be interested in holding off the launch of any other smartphone till the iPhone launches <coughs>and flops</coughs>.

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Friday, April 27, 2007

3 to launch Windows Mobile X-Series with Moto Q9

Posted by Pete Paxton in "NEWS" @ 02:00 PM

http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=254271

"Things are about to get interesting... 3 are about to hit the bigtime in the UK Windows Mobile market Our sources very close to 3 in the UK have confirmed that 3 are to have an EXCLUSIVE (at least initially) on the Motorola Q9 (aka Norman), and will be launching it as the first of a whole range of X-Series devices based on Windows Mobile!The Motorola Q9, pictured here, features Windows Mobile 6 standard Edition, a landscape QVGA screen, QWERTY keyboard, TI OMAP 2420 processor running de 325 Mhz, 96MB RAM and 256MB ROM (!), a 2 megapixel camera and microSD expansion. The Q9 will join the current Symbian X-Series devices, and will be offered with the usual X-Series flat(ish) rate data connections. Orange and T-Mobile, beware. In light of the 3 X-Series signature capabilities of Skype, Slingbox, Orb, Windows Live Messenger etc., it's clear the Q9 and other Windows Mobile devices are a perfect fit."



I've never actually heard of 3 but according to Modaco, it looks like they are going to get an exclusive on the Q9. I like this phone. It looks nice and has nice specs. What do you think? Is this what the original Q should have been?

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Thursday, April 5, 2007

Hands-On With The HP iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "HARDWARE" @ 04:54 PM

http://ctia2007.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2B19213B4A187D9E!166.entry

"While at CTIA 2007 I had a chance to get some hands-on time with the HP iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger (whew, quite the mouthful!). This is a Windows Mobile Standard smartphone with some decent specs: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 1.2, a Texas Instruments OMAP 850 200mhz processor, a two inch colour display running at 176 x 220, 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of Flash ROM, a microSD slot, and an 1100 mAH battery that provides up to 6.5 hours of talk time and 188 hours of standby time. It weighs in at 3.6 ounces (102 grams) and is 16.3 mm thick. This is an enterprise-focused device, so it's not meant to be sleek and sexy like many of the new Windows Mobile devices - although I have to ask myself, can't an enterprise user take advantage of a T-Mobile Dash or Samsung Blackjack just as well as this device? I'm not the only one asking that question. The battery life is impressive, and the device felt sturdy - but the lack of a QWERTY keyboard may turn off some users. It will be interesting to see how this device does in the market when it's released this spring (meaning, soon)."



I do not think anyone will ever know why HP is releasing such a bare-bones device onto the market. My only guess was they picked up a prototype they had in storage, threw Windows Mobile 6 Standard on it and called it good. Hopefully though, that isn't what they did as I would like to believe they put at least a little bit of thought into the whole design process. I guess we will just have to wait and see! :)

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Friday, March 30, 2007

Sharing Video Ringtones With Vringo

Posted by Jerry Raia in "SITES & RESOURCES" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.vringo.com/

"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:

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• Source: CTIA Blog

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hands-On Time With the Vox Brothers - HTC S710 (GSM) and S720 (CDMA)

Posted by Kris Kumar in "HARDWARE" @ 07:00 PM

http://tinyurl.com/yt52fg

"Yesterday afternoon I was fortunate enough to be invited by HTC to a small gathering of press people to look at new HTC devices. It was an informal discussion setting, so I wasn't taking many notes: the real purpose was to show us the two new devices that they had announced, the HTC Advantage and the HTC Shift. They also passed around some new phones I hadn't seen before - one was the HTC S720, a CDMA phone that looks similar to the Vox and will be released by Telus in Canada. There's another phone, with a steel blue finish, that I can't identify. I've sent out emails asking for more information on each phone but I haven't heard anything back yet. For now, here are a series of photos comparing the new phones to my current phone, a T-Mobile Dash."



We have heard a lot, and seen a lot of photos of the HTC S710 (Vox). It is an amazing QWERTY-slider smartphone for the GSM networks. At the CTIA 2007 HTC surprised everyone by introducing to the attendees S710's brother the HTC S720, which is a CDMA device that supports the fast EV-DO data networks. Telus in Canada is supposed to be launching it, but we can be sure that this smartphone will be hitting the American store shelves. The only question is - who will get this awesome device, Verizon or Sprint? Anyway, Jason got to spend some time with the upcoming HTC devices at the CTIA 2007. He got some side angle shots that clearly shows the size difference between the Vox family and the T-Mobile Dash.

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Indian Firm Takes Aim at Instant Messaging Market with mundu IM V4

Posted by Kris Kumar in "SOFTWARE" @ 06:00 AM

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/india/news/article_1282195.php/Indian_firm_takes_aim_at_instant_messaging_market

"Online chatting in cyberspace is a hugely popular form of communication, especially among the young, and an Indian firm has major ambitions in this sector by cashing in on mobile instant messaging (IM). Geodesic Information Systems Limited has just released the latest version 4.0 of its Mundu IM software, a development that drew attention from California, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and elsewhere. It provides comprehensive mobile IM with the ability to 'cross-conference' across a wide range of otherwise-segregated online chat tools like AIM, MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Google Talk and Yahoo. A user can be logged into any or all of these services at the same time. The product links all these together on a single user-friendly interface. But more than that, it takes chat to mobile phones, instead of keeping it restricted to computers alone."



Mundu IM V4 is loaded with features. It offers impressive interoperability across all the popular IM platforms - AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber, from a single easy-to-use interface. If you IM a lot, and have multiple IM accounts then it is time to consolidate them. For more information or to purchase mundu IM V4 click here. Trial version is also available. We would like to hear from our readers about this IM software.

Update: Jason has managed to shoot a nice video of the mundu IM V4 in action at the CTIA 2007. Head over to his CTIA Blog to check it out. :)

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

HTC S621 (Excalibur) Arrives in Canada with Rogers Wireless

Posted by Mike Temporale in "NEWS" @ 07:45 AM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/03/21/htc-s621-excalibur-now-official-on-rogers/

"The S621 from HTC is now available all official-like through Canada's Rogers Wireless, offering the same glorious QWERTY experience (and somewhat controversial "JOGGR" touch strip experience) that T-Mobile customers have been enjoying for a little while now. Grab it now for a cool $250 CDN (about $213) on three-year agreement."



While it's true that it's listed on their website and you can view it right now. I can't seem to be able to browse to it. I'm thinking the official launch is still a couple days away. Regardless, it's nice to see Rogers pick up a new hot device like the Excalibur and get it out on their network inside of 6 months from the actual device release date. Unfortuantely, it's listed as a Windows Mobile 5 device. I sure hope that they plan to release an upgrade for it - but I wouldn't count on it. If anyone manages to buy this, please let us know!

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Monday, March 19, 2007

World Cup Cricket Series - Track it on Your Smartphone with Mobile CricketCast

Posted by Kris Kumar in "SOFTWARE" @ 05:30 AM

http://plusmo.com/cricket/getcm.shtml

Are you following the World Cup Cricket series? Or wish that you could fit in the World Cup series into your mobile lifestyle? Here is a solution for your Smartphone that will make it really easy and fun. Before I share with you the link for the application, I would like to ask the cricket lovers to post which team they think will win the World Cup this year? :) Also, if you have been using your Smartphone to track the games, which application or Web site are you using?

Mobile CricketCast is a service brought to you by Willow TV and Plusmo, with commentary from Cricinfo. It offers ball by ball commentary that refreshes automatically and live scorecards. I have used this application, and I am impressed by its design and features. Best of all, this application is FREE. Give it a try today. Few more screen shots after the break.

Figure 2: List of matches that are currently live.


Figure 3: Score card.


Figure 4: Ball by ball commentary.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Revolutionizing Mobile Instant Messaging With Mundu IM

Posted by Rocco Augusto in "SOFTWARE" @ 01:30 PM

https://messenger.mundu.com/

"Geodesic, an innovator in mobile communication applications, today launched the latest version 4.0 of its market leading product Mundu� IM. Marking a significant step forward in improving the mobile communication experience, Mundu IM V4 is the most comprehensive mobile instant messaging product in the market. Mundu IM gives users the exclusive ability to cross-conference friends, colleagues and family across AIM�, MSN�, and Yahoo� IM services through a single chat window on Palm and Windows Mobile Smartphone platforms."



I'm pleased to see a variety of instant messaging applications emerging in the Windows Mobile Smartphone (Standard) world. As QWERTY keyboard handsets become more readily available it just makes sense that there would be more offerings for services such as this. If you do decide to purchase this application please be aware that the $11.00 price tag for lifetime use does not include lifetime upgrades, just minor ones. I point this out because the wording on their website seems a bit like doublespeak. ;)

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• Source: Darius Wey

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Hands-on with the Motorola Miniblue H9

Posted by Jerry Raia in "ARTICLE" @ 12:00 PM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/03/02/hands-on-with-the-motorola-miniblue-h9/

"It may not be the world's smallest anymore, but make no mistake, folks: Motorola's Miniblue H9 is really small. Of course, manufacturers have pretty much perfected the miniaturization of Bluetooth circuitry to the point that headset design has been more a question of aesthetic design for some time now -- so is smaller necessarily better when it comes to these suckers?"



These things are getting small enough to swallow now, not to mention just loose. Thankfully, this review does not include a picture of the thing in some guys hairy ear hole.

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Samsung Phones to Slim Down with New LCD Display

Posted by Jerry Raia in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 12:00 PM

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200702/kt2007022618503411870.htm

"Samsung SDI has developed the slimmest liquid crystal display (LCD) for mobile phones, breaking the record set by its sister firm Samsung Electronics only three months ago. The display maker said the new prototype module is only 0.74 millimeters thick, while Samsung Electronics� product is 0.82 millimeters. SDI also said it will start mass-producing a 1.9-millimeter-thick LCD module from the second quarter of the year, which is also the slimmest among commercially available ones. The 1.9-millimeter module will fit into Samsung Electronics� ``Ultra Edition II�� series which is scheduled to hit the market this spring. The 0.74-millimeter version is to be equipped in Samsung�s next-generation phones, the company said."



I wonder at what point the phones get so slim that they become too fragile. Imagine trying to tuck a folded piece of paper between your ear and your shoulder. :lol:

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• Source: MobileWhack

Monday, February 26, 2007

Create Over the Air Installers Quick and Easy with AirWizard

Posted by Jerry Raia in "SOFTWARE" @ 05:00 PM

http://www.teksoftco.com/index.php?section=airwizard

"AirWizard is a unique Desktop PC tool that comes in handy for Over the Air solutions. With AirWizard, you can take several CAB files, a splash image, a readme text file with instructions and create a compressed, self extracting installer to be runned directly on your Pocket PC or Smartphone. With AirWizard you can create one single installer for all your favorite programs. Think of the time you could save with this tool!"



This sounds almost too good to be true. Can you imagine being able to install all of your programs, after a disaster for example, with just one operation? This list of features is staggering including being able to install the cabs in any order you choose! This almost negates the need for backup software. There is a fully functional trial version available and you can buy it for 44.95 euros with PayPal. Once purchased it says you are emailed your registration code automatically.

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

PDAGold Gets Busy with the Samsung i600

Posted by Mike Temporale in "ARTICLE" @ 06:00 AM

http://www.pdagold.com/articles/detail.asp?a=294

"At the first sight of the black body of the device, it is clear that the fashion of phones as thin as possible has firmly rooted even in the field of Windows Mobile. Even when the remaining two dimensions are quite large, even too large for a smart phone, (59 x 113 millimeters), the thickness of mere 11,8 millimeters must be interesting for almost anyone. And when also the weight is taken in account, which does not exceed 100 grams (with the smallest reserve possible), the result is a very interesting and practical device. From the point of view of design, Samsung is not extravagant � the black colour makes the device look smaller. Moreover, a combination of a navigation button and a set of programmable and system buttons, together with a turning button at the side, ensure easy and quick control with one hand only."



PDAGold has posted a great first impression of the Samsung i600 Smartphone. This is the European sister to the Blackjack. One thing you'll want to take notice on is that extra cool looking home screen that is running on it. Samsung has been doing a great job with the little things and this is just further proof of that. Unfortunately, the i600 is only Windows Mobile 5. I sure hope they announce an update program. :D

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