Spb Software Creates Finger-Friendly Interface for Major UK Carrier

Spb Software, world's leading Windows Mobile software developer creates an Spb Mobile Shell-powered touch screen interface for O2 Xda Zest. Designed exclusively for O2's latest Xda handset, the 'O2 Menu' helps to make the device ideal for those subscribers new to the Xda phones. The O2 Menu is carefully fitted to O2's style and brand, and is integrated with the built-in Opera Mobile, for seamless Internet browsing.

The new O2 Xda Zest is expected to encourage the conventional handset users to switch over to the more powerful Xda smartphones. The Zest's impressive 2.8" TFT screen with the sleek finger-friendly touch interface make for extremely easy device navigation, optimal for novice PDA users. Erik Staaf, Head of Own Branded Devices says: "Our established O2 Xda range has proven very popular with experienced PDA users but we are now pleased to also offer early entrants to the market a Pay & Go handset without an overcomplicated user interface."
 
Read more at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/2008/nov25.html

Forward your text messages to an email address with txtForward.

This is nice application and a useful one. txtForward lets you forward SMSs to an email address and is quite useful as a way of archiving text messages. I spotted this utility on Jason's Langridge weblog: http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonlan/archive/2008/11/24/txtforward.aspx
 
You can download the software from http://electricpocket.com/txtforward/
            

Take Control over Wireless Data Spending with Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0.

Spb Software releases Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0 - a powerful software solution that offers full control over all types of smartphone data connections by monitoring them in accordance with configurable tariffs and data plans, and providing per application data traffic reports. First brought to market in 2002, Spb Wireless Monitor, formerly known as Spb GPRS Monitor, accounts for the lack of a built-in data tracking tool in Windows Mobile devices. A four-time prize winner in the Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine's Best Software Awards, shipped in over a dozen devices by ASUS, HTC, O2, Samsung, and T-Mobile, the Spb Wireless Monitor has over 3,000,000 loyal customers worldwide. The new name of version 3.0 comes with massive enhancements in features and abilities. 


With the growing popularity of mobile Internet and captivating online services - crossing the data plan limits and receiving painful phone bills is common, especially with the high cost of roaming. Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0 prevents unwanted mobile service charges and gives subscribers control over their mobile data spending, by measuring data traffic, calculating the network charges, warning of costly data usage, and reporting which application exactly generates what kind of data traffic.

The new Wireless Monitor supports both touch and non-touch screen devices, it can manage CDMA, GPRS, 3G, and even Wi-Fi and USB connections. Spb Wireless Monitor can provide per application traffic and cost reports, allowing users to single out guilty applications, responsible for high data charges. The new version has a modern, multilingual user interface and can manage several connections simultaneously.

You can find this press-release online: 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/2008/nov18.html


Spb Wireless Monitor for Pocket PC product page:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/wirelessmonitor/

Spb Wireless Monitor for Smartphone product page:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/smartphone/wirelessmonitor/

Microsoft Store now open

Microsoft now have their Store open. This is the place where you can purchase both software and hardware products. For now, the store is accesssible to some countries only inclusing the U.S., UK ans some asean countries. More will be added later. Check it out at http://store.microsoft.com/home.aspx?lc=1033

Adobe developing Flash 10 for Windows Mobile

Mobile Crunch announces that Adobe will release Flash 10 for Windows Mobile devices late next year. Flash 10 will allow viewing of flash enabled sites on a WM device. At the same time, Microsoft is also developing Silversight mobile which offers the same functionality. However, Redmond has not anounced a release date yet.

Read the article on Mobile Crunch:

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2008/11/16/adobe-to-demo-flash-on-mobile-but-only-windows-still-working-on-the-iphone/

SMTP fix for WM6.1 released

The Outlook Mobile team released a patch to fix a problem that prevented users to send email. Here's a description of the problem:
"This feature allows operators to specify an alternate server that can be used only when your device has a problem accessing your mail account’s SMTP directly. When can this happen? Some mail services, like those provided by ISPs, only allow access to their SMTP servers when you are directly on their network. With this feature, it’s supposed to be easier for end users to send mail on a Windows Mobile device."

The fix can be downloaded from the Outlook Mobile Team website:
http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook_mobile/archive/2008/11/12/wm-6-1-smtp-fix-released.aspx

Vito announces new Weather 1.2

Note that this application is free and now includes all U.S. cities. Check it out at http://iwindowsmobile.com/vito-mobile-weather.html

Spb releases Spb Keyboard 4.0

It's been a long time since Spb released the first version of screen keyboard software which I have been using on my good old Eten M500. At the time, the keyboard software was very handy to type without the stylus. So the next logical step for me was to simply get a device with a real keyboard. Ever since, I have had devices with front face keyboard and one with a slide keyboard. While Spb Keyboard does make text entry easier on touchscreen devices, I won't go back to a device without a hardware keyboard. If you're looking for a good soft keyboard, I certainly recommend Spb Keyboard 4.0. A trial can be downloaded from http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/keyboard 

SPB Software release SPB Traveler 2.0

SPB Software released Spb Traveler 2.0 –" an expert mobile travel assistant application that is a pleasure to handle. The new Spb Traveler 2.0 offers a revolutionary animated finger-friendly user interface, a subscription-free flight search engine (powered by OAG), an animated 3D Globe with real satellite image of the sky, and a Geo Game for fun and learning.
 
Winner in Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine's Best Software Awards, Spb Traveler provides valuable tools and information to travelers such as world time and global weather service (powered by Foreca, the trusted provider of msn.com), tip calculator and multilanguage phrase book, as well as currency, unit, and clothing size converters. In all it does, Spb Traveler 2.0 has the speed and usability of an Spb Mobile Shell-powered interface, topped off with high-class 3D animation and gestures."

Read the complete press release at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/2008/nov04.html

BIO.ID - New Text notification alert app with eye iris scanner support!!!

That one made me laugh. In a nutshell, BIO.ID is a text notification alert with more features than the built-in one and to make the app fun to use the author added iris scanner support as well as fingerprint recognition. Of course these features are fake. They are just themes that you can use to impress.
 
BIO.ID features:
 

3 themes: eye iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, voice reconizing

2 voices: woman, man, to announce messages, or short vibrating without announces

"You've got message..." repeats after a minute, then every 3 minutes, up to 10 times (to save battery)

auto-deleting every message marked as Read in Inbox, or when you open some message to read

delays of deleting: 15 seconds, minute, 15 minutes, one hour, or on the next morning

modes of deleting: move to Deleted Items folder, or delete completely 

 
A trial of the software can be downloaded from http://www.jgui.net/bio.id./index.html. Yes it's not free. Purchase price: $9.95 on Handango.          

Sprint Picture Mail Officially Released (finally)

Sprint has released Picture Mail for its Windows Mobile phones finally.

To download:

OTA: Open Internet Explorer and assuming that your homepage is the default Sprint page, click "Shop for Games & Applications". Then choose "Free/Demo". Then choose "Picture Mail Application Available NOW!".

PC: To download to your PC to then load onto the phone, go to http://softwarestore.sprint.com/wap/phones.php and choose your phone from the list. Then again click "Shop for Games & Applications". Then choose "Free/Demo". Then choose "Picture Mail Application Available NOW!".

Install it via the cab and then configure it. To configure it, go to Start > Programs > Configure Picture Mail. Tap on "Tap to Add" then choose Online Albums. That sets it up to work with the Sprint Picture Mail website. You can also configure your Photobucket and MySpace accounts there too if you want to use either of those.

To send a regular picture mail message, open a picture and then choose Menu > Send Picture Mail.

To upload a picture to MySpace or Photobucket once those are configured, choose Menu > Post to Service.

When sending a picture mail, you can add more than one picture to each message too. Select the portion labeled Media and then choose Menu > Add to add additional pictures to the message.

More info. at http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/sprints_picture_mail_app_offic.html

Check the forum at http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=173377 for help and questions.

Live Mesh now in open beta

Finally Live Mesh is here in free open Beta. With Live Mesh, you can sync your computer, laptop and mobile device to what Microsoft calls "the cloud". In other words, data that you want to sync via Live Mesh is stored in one of Microsoft huge datacenters and can be accessed anywhere provided you have an internet connection.
 
Unfortunately, the beta program for mobile devices is still restricted to the U.S. and U.K. 
 
To signup and download Live Mesh, go to www.mesh.com.

Tips: Change the default location where camera saves pictures

Out of the box, a device is configured to save pictures to the \My Documents\ My Pictures folder on the phones memory. The issue with that is it fills up memory very quickly. The camera settings does let you change that to the Storage card. In this case the pictures are saved to \SD card\My Documents\My Pictures folder. You can further customize that. Say you want to save your pictures to a location of your choice; for example: SD Card\Photos. Follow the steps below. This change requires you modify the registry, so be extremely careful.
 
Open the registry editor on your device and go to:
 
Hkey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Pictures\Camera\User\
 
Change the value for DefaultDir to Sd Card\Photos. Make sure you verify the name of your storage card in File Explorer.
 
This is it. From now on,every picture you'll take using the device camera will be saved to that location.
 
A free registry editor can be downloaded from Http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/Regedit/
 
Note: You do this at your own risk.

Free: GudenSoft Email Scheduler

Spotted this on PocketNow. GudenSoft Email Scheduler is a nice utility that lets you configure the polling interval of each of the email accounts you have configured on your device on one screen. The software is free for download and requires .Net Framework 3.5. Unfortunately, GudenSoft Email Scheduler does not support Windows Mobile Standard. Only WM5 touchscreen devices and later are supported.
 
Download from http://www.gudensoft.com/emailscheduler/
            

Bluehoo, first Windows Azure based app for Windows Mobile

Windows Azure has just been announced by Microsoft and yet an application has already been released based on the new platform. "Bluehoo is a mobile app that helps you make new social connections with the people around you - for business or for please.

Bluehoo uses Bluetooth to discover "hoos" around you right here, right now, shows you those people’s profiles and helps you start conversations."

Bluehoo is still in beta version. therefore free to try. Download a copy from http://m.bluehoo.com/

Now, you're probably wondering what is Windows Azure. Check out Azure's website:

http://www.microsoft.com/azure/default.mspx

KB:You unexpectedly lose the ability to send eimail messages on a Windows Mobile 6.1-based device.

Microsoft has posted a temporary fix regarding the issue in the title above. Note that Exchange-based email accounts are affected, only POP3 or IMAP. Read the KB article from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958639/en-us

Microsoft, I believe this is an opportunity to test Windows Update on our devices. Get a .cab file ready for a permanent fix and send it over the air.

A cab file that fixes this problem is available on Tracy and Matt's Blog:

Http://tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/2008/10/15/windows-mobile-smtp-fix

Press release: SPB Software creates interface panel for Xperia X1.

Spb Software, the world's leading maker of Windows Mobile applications, develops a user interface panel for Xperia X1. As part of the strategic partnership between Sony Ericsson and Spb Software, Spb has put forth a top-notch, Spb Mobile Shell-based solution that compliments the X1 in both style and speed. Taking advantage of the smartphone's unique panel technology, impressive hardware and dynamic wide VGA touchscreen, this custom version of Spb Mobile Shell is optimized for the new Xperia, and comes with all X1 devices as a free download.

"We are very happy to be working with Spb, one of the most respected Microsoft Windows Mobile software developers in the market," said Mats Ekstrand, VP and Head of Convergence Unit at Sony Ericsson. "The addition of Spb to our panel ecosystem gives Xperia X1 users the opportunity to customize their handsets with an already established interface for the Windows Mobile environment, alongside enjoying the eight other active desktops through the unique Xperia Panel user interface." 
 
Spb Mobile Shell is an application that improves the innate Windows Mobile user interface, making it more direct, logical, and slick. The first version of software came out in February 2007 and quickly gained recognition among end-users and media. Spb Mobile Shell fulfills the highest requirements of in-ROM software, paying a great deal of respect to criteria such as ROM, RAM, performance, battery life, and stability. Customized and improved menus of Windows Mobile devices are achieved without any damage to built-in system features or other third-party software.

"The Xperia panels are an innovative approach to personalization," - comments Yaroslav Goncharov, the Product Manager of Spb Mobile Shell - "With 3D acceleration, the panels are visually appealing for consumers, and at the same time present new opportunities for the developer community." 

Getting started with Windows Mobile development.

Luis E. Cabrera, from the Windows Mobile team, posted a short article on how to get started with developing applications for Windows Mobile. Besides the usual requirements such the device emulator, Visual Studio and the WM SDK, there are links to very useful resources.
 
Check out the article on the Windows Mobile Team blog:
 
http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2008/10/21/getting-started-with-windows-mobile-development.aspx

Opera Mobile 9.5 adds Opera Widgets to deliver a one-click mobile Internet experience

Opera has released a second version of Opera 9.5 Beta introducing Opera Widget "enabling one-click Web content access". This new version, acoording to the press release loads pages faster
 
"Opera has built its second Opera Mobile 9.5 beta based on user-generated feedback following its first public release earlier this year," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "In addition to Opera Widgets, this new test version promises to be a smoother ride than the previous version, as we have improved page loading times and increased our focus on end-user productivity."
 
Read the press release: http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2008/10/20/
 
Some widgets are pre-installed and other can be downloaded at widgets.opera.com.
 
Opera 9.5 Beta can be downloaded from http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/

Pre-Order the HTC Touch HD on Expansys

It is possible to pre-order the HTC Touch HD on Expansys for the price of $799.99. The device will be available on the 18th of November though. I was expecting the HD to cost more than that.

http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=173482

Windows Mobile® 6 Upgrade Deadline

Spotted this on HTC's website. If you haven't upgraded yet, you have until October 31st to do so or simply download the upgrade and do it later. HTC will remove the file on that day.

October 31st is the last day to take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows Mobile® 6. The upgrade link will be removed from HTC’s website at 12:00 pm (noon) GMT on October 31st.

Removal of this free upgrade may affect users of the following devices: HTC S621, HTC S620, HTC P4350, HTC P3300, HTC Advantage.

If you haven’t upgraded yet and your device has a Windows Mobile® version lower than 6, please take advantage of this offer before it expires. To check the version on your device go to Start > Settings > System tab > About.

http://www.htc.com/europe/supportcontent.aspx?id=19302

Find all WM6.1 upgrades in one place

Need to know if there is an upgrade for your device? I usually recommend you check the device manufacturer or mobile operator's website to find out. Even that can be difficult, especially if the sites are not user friendly. Well, search no more. Jason Langridge has put a list of WM6.1 upgrades on his blog. So, point your browser to http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonlan/archive/2008/10/16/windows-mobile-6-1-upgrades-how-to-find-them.aspx and see if your device is listed there. Good job Jason :)            

Windows 7 Faq and WMDC

Paul Thurrot has an interesting faq about Windows 7, the next version of Windows to be released in early 2010. Yes, Windows 7 is the official name of the OS as recently announced by Microsoft. Paul writes that Windows Mobile Device Center will be included in Windows 7. Therefore, no separate download anymore. Read Paul Thurrot Windows 7 faq at http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/windows_7.asp    

Registry tweaks for the HTC Touch Diamond

I found this extensive list of registry tweaks for the HTC Touch Diamond on XDA forums and thought it might be of interest to HTC Diamond owners who are or will be reading this post. Bear in mind that tweaking the registry requires that you to be extremely careful. Therefore, you apply those tweaks at your own risk. BTW, if you know some tweaks that are not in the list, feel free to share it on XDA.
 
Here's the link to the thread:
 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=398265

WisBar Advance Desktop released

I'm surprised I missed the release of Wisbar sometime ago. But it's never too late. So, if you want to give your device a new look, go for Wisbar Advance. This application has been around for sometime already and lets you customize your home or Today screen according to your taste.

 
"WisBar Advance Desktop replaces your existing Today screen. Using WisBar Advance Desktop, you can create shortcuts, system meters, floating windows and virtual pages to extend the functionality of your Windows Mobile device.
WisBar Advance Desktop also supports most existing Today plugins. You can arrange them on multiple pages in order to maximize their usefulness".
 
A trial version of the software can be downloaded from http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/products/pocketpc/WisBarAdvanceDesktop/

Winterface updated, now with Weather.

VITO Technology updates Winterface - mobile shell for Windows Mobile devices. The new version of Winterface features a Weather icon among other status icons with "live" info like time, calendar, e-mail, tasks and other icons. Winterface 1.14 also addresses some minor device specific bugs and provides further improvements.
Since Winterface was released in July there has been a definite call from its users for weather support. Many users find Winterface much more attractive than the Today screen and want to see Weather information in Winterface.

For this purpose VITO Technology has developed a free stand-alone product Weather. Weather installs on device just like any other application but its icon when added to Winterface displays the actual weather information. Weather is completely finger-friendly and easy to use application.

Among other improvements there are numerous bug fixes and cyclic page scrolling, i.e. users can flip through pages with icons from the last page immediately to the first one and vice versa.

Weather is a free application available for downloading here: http://iwindowsmobile.com/Weather.cab      
 
Vito Technology website: http://iwindowsmobile.com
       

WM6.1 upgrade for HTC Dual released

An upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 has been released by HTC for the Touch Dual.
 
Download the upgrade from http://www.htc.com/www/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=44&cat=all
 
Check out this link to learn more about Windows Mobile 6.1:
 
http://www.htc.com/www/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=44&cat=all
 

Windows Mobile 6.1 for Pantech Duo available for download.

It's great to see more and more device manufacturers offering free Windows Mobile 6.1 for their devices. It's now Pantech's to join in with the upgrade for the Pantech Duo that can be downloaded from http://www.pantechusa.com/html/images/software/download.htm. Just make sure you read the instructions carefully on Pantech's website and backup your data before upgrading.

Press-Release. Play the Games, Play the Online Games of Spb!

St. Petersburg, October 08th, 2008 - Spb Software, the world's leading maker of Windows Mobile applications announces the release of Spb Online Games as a separate suite. Originally, part of Spb Online - a set of online services under one roof, which attracted over 15,000 users in under two weeks (at the rate of more than 1000 users per day) - Spb Online Games is a collection of four instant online games, supplemented with an online chat service.

Spb Online Games makes it possible to play two versions of Checkers, Hexagon, or Reversi with real people from virtually anywhere in the world, in real-time. Any online game can be launched within 30 seconds and if interrupted - continued from the spot it was left off. The service already has thousands of registered players on the network, with each potential opponent equipped with a configurable user profile (might include picture, name, type of handset, and network). The online gaming experience can be further personalized through real-time chatting with active online players.

All of new Spb Online Games features (such as the online chat service and more informative user profile) will become available to registered users of Spb Online through automatic 'push' update to Spb Online version 1.1.


*** Pricing and Availability ***

Spb Online Games software is compatible with Windows Mobile 5 and later Professional and Standard devices, qVGA, VGA, Square QVGA, and WVGA screen resolutions are supported. A Wi-Fi, GPRS, 3G, or ActiveSync connection is required for online playing. A free, 15-day trial version is available, or Spb Online Games may be purchased for 14.95 USD at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com. 


*** Further Information and Downloads ***

Further information regarding Spb Online can be found at the Spb website:

Spb Online Games for Pocket PC web page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/onlinegames)
Spb Online Games for Pocket PC screenshots page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/onlinegames/screenshots.html)
Spb Online Games for Pocket PC downloading page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/onlinegames/download.html)

Spb Online Games for Smartphone web page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/smartphone/onlinegames)
Spb Online Games for Smartphone screenshots page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/smartphone/onlinegames/screenshots.html)
Spb Online Games for Smartphone downloading page (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/smartphone/onlinegames/download.html)

Firmware update for Samsung Omnia released

If you live in Europe and own a Samsung Omnia, a firmware update is available for you to download. The update is to bring more stability to the device. It can be downloaded free from http://www.samsungmobile.com/promotion/omnia/index.jsp
Applying the update will delete your data and software installer by the owner. It is important to do a backup and carefully follow the instructions on Samsung's website.

Fake Call Beta

Trinket Software, which recently released PowerSMS, has announced a new product in beta. Fake Call is "a secret weapon against boring meetings and bad dates", says the site.
It even lets you schedule a fake call. If you have a use for that kind of software, head over to www.trinketsoftware.com/FakeCall/ And download the beta version. Now, just avoid getting yourself caught using that "secret weapon".

Sign up for TextGuard Beta

TextGuard is an application that lets you filter, Search, block, and archive text messages on your Windows Mobile device. You can also monitor all incoming and outgoing calls. TextGuard is still in Beta, therefore free to use. If you would like to participate, go to http://www.textguard.com/. I think they have a special offer for beta testers. Will confirm that later.
 
Read the press release about TextGuard here.
 

Press release: Best Software Awards 2008 Winners Announced

The Winners in Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine's Eighth Annual Best Software Awards for Windows Mobile software have been announced at www.Smartphonemag.com/Awards.  Eighty members of the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Board of Experts judged 936 Windows Mobile products in 194 Pocket PC and Smartphone categories. Winners are also listed in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine 2009 Resource Guide first seen late November.

From the Publisher of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, Hal Goldstein
"The annual Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Best Software Awards helps users select software that best suits their Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone needs by honoring companies that produce outstanding software. The awards process is a huge 6-month undertaking involving the experts of the Windows Mobile community starting with over 15,000 Pocket PC and Smartphone products."
The Awards Process
Nominations Manager, Werner Ruotsalainen, and the Board of Expert judges spent two months selecting 936 award nominees, about 20% of the software in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories.
The Board of Experts
The Board of Experts voted for the finalists and winners are from all over the world. They run prominent Web Sites, serve as Microsoft MVPs, and write for Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and other organizations. These experts all are volunteers and none are employed by Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine.
Winners & Finalists listed in last issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine -- available in new Knowledge Bundle
The Knowledge Bundle contains 2009 Resource Guide (last issue) with Awards Winners & Finalists, GPS, How-tos and Accessories sections, 100-page How-to Guide, Back-Issues of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and a 15% discount on all Windows Mobile software.

HTC Cruise gets WM6.1 upgrade

Owners of the HTC Touch Cruise can now download a free upgrade from http://www.htc.com/www/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=59&cat=all.
Applying the upgrade will delete data and software that was installed by the user. Therefore, I advised a backup before applying the upgrade.

Steve Ballmer about Google's Android

In an interview with BBC, the Microsoft Chief Executive said about Android: "You've got to remember Android is version one...and it looks like version one". Steve Ballmer went on to say that Google has "one handset maker, we've got 55. They're available through one operator, we've got 175." Crushing numbers :)

He also admits that there had been problems with Vista. Read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7647399.stm

Celio Redfly on sales for $199

This is indeed the new price for the Redfly, which as you  know is an extension to your Windows Mobile device in that it lets you use it as laptop. Simply connect your device to Redfly via USB or Bluetooth, and use it for your presentations for example. The special offer ends on October 31. Go to http://www.celiocorp.com/ to learn more and eventually purchase one.

Spb Online: The Spb Approach to Online Services

Spb Online is a set of attractive online services that share a practical user interface and make superior quality mobile entertainment available on handsets at a single fixed-price fee (no subscription). The services offered include Mobile TV, Online Radio, News, Weather, Online Games, and On-device Catalog - all subject to automatic updates and powered by Spb's exclusive interface engine and patent-pending TV technology.

Spb Online is robust and easy to use even for novice smartphone users.  All of Spb Online services support adaptive skins, smart scrolling, 3D transition effects, and one hand navigation.

Features:

*** TV ***

Unlike any other solution on the market, Spb's mobile TV facilitates channel hopping, offers on-screen controls, intelligent video/audio stream tuning to account for broadband fluctuations, doing it all to deliver a genuine TV watching experience - on the go:

- Fast channel switching

- Picture-in-picture

- On-screen controls

- Integrated TV guide

- Export of TV guide reminders to Outlook

 

*** Radio ***

Spb's radio offers a wealthy selection of the world's streaming radio stations, allowing users to tune into a news or music source of their choice in virtually any language or location of the planet:

- Huge catalog of the world's real-time streaming radio stations

- Stations sorted by popularity

- Option to add custom URLs to catalog

- On-screen volume control

 

*** Online Games ***

 

Spb's online games let real people play each other in real-time. All games take only a click to start and require no setting up or much of getting used to:

- Play with real people

- Configurable user profile with picture

- Play Checkers, Hexagon, and Reversi

 

*** Weather ***

For any city from a database of 10'000, Spb's weather service attractively displays FORECA's five-day forecasts (provider used by msn.com) in one screen. The service allows scrolling between the screens of up to 10 selected cities with a finger swipe:

- 5-day weather forecast in one screen

- Detailed weather screen with morning/day/evening information for selected day

- Option to select units and updates frequency

*** On-Device Catalog ***

Spb's on-device catalog makes it easy to discover and buy additional content directly from the mobile phone. Selected titles are downloaded, installed, and activated automatically:

- The on-device catalog offers programs, games, themes, ringtones

- All titles are 100% compatible with your device

- Secure credit card payments

- 'My Account' safely stores all your purchases

*** Pricing and Availability ***

Spb Online is compatible with Windows Mobile 5 and later Professional and Standard devices. qVGA, VGA, Square QVGA, and WVGA screen resolutions are supported. To enjoy the TV service a fast connection is needed. All other services are accessible with lower bandwidth; TV however, requires a reliable 3G, WiMax or WiFi network. For checking your connection and services compatibility, a free, 15-day trial version is available. Full Spb Online may be purchased for 29.95 USD at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com

Windows Mobile 7 release delayed

While Microsoft never announced an official date for the release of the next major upgrade to Windows Mobile, it seems that we will not, or atleast, partners will not get it in the hands until the second half of next year, according to CNet. What that means for us, customers. Well, simply we won't see Windows Mobile 7 on our devices before 2010 or maybe new devices will appear at the end of 2009.

Read the article by Ina Fried on Cnet.

Move the Start bar to the bottom of your screen...

Shayder over at XDA forums has developed a little application that lets you move the Start bar to the bottom of your screen and the softkey bar to the top. Kind of funny. So, why would one want to do that? Well, just for the fun :)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=428317

Tips: Cannot open Messaging.

You wake up early in the morning, switch on your device and connect to your home wireless network. As usual, you open the Messaging application to manually download your emails. However, there is no response from the device when you press the email button. It doesn't work in Start > Programs either. How to fix this?
 
Simple. Open File Explorer and locate the following file: Inbox.mst123456789 (Check the storage card). Delete the folder and reboot your device. That's it. You should now be able to access Messaging again to send and receive your emails/SMSs.

Pre-order the HTC Touch HD

Expansys is taking pre-orders for the HTC Touch HD. So, if you want to be among the first to purchase the device, go to Expansys and add it to your basket. No price has been announced yet.
 

HTC announces 3 new devices.

Yesterday I spotted the Touch HD on HTC's website. Today HTC has officially announced two more devices along with the Touch HD which will be released in October: The Touch 3G and the Viva. Both devices are slightly similar, except that the second named lacks 3g connectivity and is intended to be sold at an affordable price.
 
"The HTC Touch 3G and Touch Viva^TM embody our commitment to build a family of touch phones that are powerful and stylish but also offer something to everyone," said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. "Whether you're a professional or a student you can now get an HTC touch phone with a beautiful touch user experience."
 
Check out the press release here.
 
Details about the Touch 3g can be found here.
 
For Viva, click here.

PowerSMS released

I blogged about PowerSMS last week while it was still in its beta version. It is out of beta now and cost $9.95. Which is not bad a price. A 14 days trial is available. So if you're a SMS power user, PowerSMS should be a must have because of its ability to send SMS to groups, backup/restore and analyze your SMS usage and more.
 
http://www.trinketsoftware.com/powersms/
 

Tips: Enable/Disable Recent Programs on WM6.1 Standard.

Microsoft added a new feature in Windows Mobile 6.1 called Recent Programs. It's a kind of Most Recently Used programs list that is useful if using the Sliding panel homescreen. The latter does not display the MRU list at the top of the screen, the way the default Windows theme does. Whichever theme you are using, the Recent Programs feature is enabled by default. 

So, what is it really? When you click Start on a non-touchscreen device, it displays the programs that you have recently  used. The left softkey changes to All Programs. Clicking that displays the list of installed software.

Since I use the sliding homescreen on my device, I find the Recent Programs feature to be very useful. But if you want to disable it, just go to Start > Settings > Home Screen and uncheck "Show Recent Programs".

HTC Touch HD appears on HTC's website

It seems that the Touch HD (High Definition) will be released soon. It has already made it to HTC's website with the usual overview of the device as well as specs and pictures. While It's great to see HTC releasing a device with a 3.8-inch wide, WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) screen, I do hope that they'll come up with a device with a keyboard on the face. Since the HTC S620 and S630, HTC seems not interested to pursue the front face keyboard adventure despite the success of the S620/Dash. 

Click here for more info about the Touch HD.

Highlights of the Touch HD

	3.8-inch wide, WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) display offering a cinema experience on the go
	Vibrant TouchFLOTM 3D user interface, responding perfectly to your finger gestures when scrolling through contacts, browsing the web, and launching media
	Surf and download at broadband speed with HSDPA internet connectivity
	Google Maps enhanced by the wide screen viewing platform
	5 megapixel camera for quality stills and video
	3.5 mm audio jack makes the Touch HDTM compatible with the majority of audio equipment available

Tips: How to rename a Windows mobile 6.1 Standard device?

Prior to the release of Windows Mobile 6.1, it was not easily possible to rename a non-touchscreen device. That required modifying the registry. Of course, this is not a recommended approach. 

With Windows Mobile 6.1, this is now possible. Simply click on Start > Settings. Click 3 times on More and the "Device name" option will appear. Reboot the device after the change is done.

Check out the HTC Touch HD

The Windows Mobile community is abuzz again and, unsurprisingly, HTC is the cause of it all with the photos of a new device with impressive specs. The large screen is awesome.
 
The folks over at Modaco have pictures of the beast.
 
Features:
 

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Qualcomm 7201A processor @ 528MHz

512MB ROM / 256MB RAM (+32MB on processor)

WVGA!!!

115mm x 62.8mm x 12mm

'In stores for Santa'

GPS / HSDPA etc. etc.

5 Megapixel camera (no flash)

No Dpad or scroll wheel, does have a stylus

microSD slot

1350mAH battery

3.5mm headset jack on the top!

More at Modaco.

Palm Treo Pro Available for Pre-Order

Palm's latest smartphone, the Treo Pro, is now available to pre-order with an estimated ship date listed of 2-3 weeks. It goes for $549 USD from Palm and you get a free international power adapter as well.

http://store.palm.com//product/index.jsp?productId=3252772&cp=2584212&parentPage=family

Try PowerSMS Beta

Spotted PowerSMS on Jason Langridge blog. PowerSMS is one of those must-have applications. Three features that I like most are Group Message; Auto Reply and Backup-Restore. I strongly recommend this all-in-one software.

Features

• Note to Self: Need to capture a thought or send yourself a reminder? With PowerSMS, there's no fumbling around to type your own phone number or search for a contact.
  
• Group Message: Texting the same set of people over and over again? PowerSMS lets you create groups of contacts, and drastically reduces the number of clicks required to text them (see screenshot).
  
• Auto Reply: Ever ignore a phone call while you're in a meeting or movie theater? Let PowerSMS respond to those calls automatically with a text message, thus politely letting them know when you'll call back (see screenshot).
  
• Schedule SMS: Schedule greetings or reminders in advance. PowerSMS will automatically send the message even if you forget. Especially appreciated by loved ones (see screenshot).
  
• Cool Stats: Let PowerSMS analyze your messages and tell you interesting things like when and with whom you text the most over a given period. Just for fun or to verify your bill (see screenshot).
  
• Backup & Restore: Switching phones? Just need to get rid of old messages? PowerSMS will help you archive, transfer or export messages to your computer or to another phone (see screenshot).
  

Learn more here. Download .Cab file here.

SMSSync updated

Brian P. Hamachek, developer and Editor of www.BrianHama.com has just released an update for Windows Mobile SMSSync. The latter "allows users of Windows Mobile Devices (Smartphones and Pocket PCs) to backup their SMS (Text Messages). ActiveSync does not have any native support for this feature".
 
Features:
 

Streamlined installation application.

Full User guide.

Ability to save to CSV file.

Windows Desktop application for viewing and searching messages.

Wizard for uploading messages to a SQL server database.  

 

SMSSync is available as a free download from http://brianhama.com/Software/SMSSync.aspx

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Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger  Get it now!

Google releases new browser, Chrome

Chrome beta is available as a free download from http://www.google.com/chrome. I've just downloaded it and it works well. It's fast and utterly simple. The interface is not cluttered with a lot of cryptic menus and options. It does seems fast, faster than IE7. 
 
According to a document released by Google, "Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers."
 
I've also been playing with IE8 beta 2 and the latter has a lot of improvement over IE7 as far as speed is concerned. The two browsers-in-beta are both impressive and bodes well for the future. Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/worldwide-sites.aspx?icid=ie8_asdf123.
 

Windows Mobile 6.1 for the Blackjack released.

The long awaited upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 is finally here. Click here to learn more.
 

Samsung has released a software upgrade for the SGH-i617 (BlackJack II) which is recommended to be installed. This update includes an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 and numerous software enhancements. The update may take between 10-15 minutes to complete if the system is already set up.   This upgrade contains several enhancements and features. Highlights are listed below. Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1w/AKU1.0.1 Windows Mobile 6.1 includes new features such as: New Look & Feel:  Using Windows Mobile 6.1, an easy-to-use Sliding Panel homescreen allows you quick access to your Samsung i617 primary functions by simply sliding vertically and horizontally through the homescreen panels. System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM):  When enabled by your business IT department, SCMDM provides device management enhancements and secure data access to your corporate network. Improved GPS Navigation: With AT&T Navigator and assisted-GPS (aGPS), the Samsung i617 leverages both satellite and cellular technology to get you there on time. Threaded SMS Messaging:  Rather than seeing a stand-alone response when you open an SMS message, you'll view the details of your entire conversation. Now you can easily see how the conversation has progressed. Internet Connection Sharing:  Utilize your smartphone capabilities by using your phone as a high-speed wireless modem for your laptop. It's easy to set up and even easier to connect. Just click and go! Mobile Banking:  Perform secure banking transactions with many of the nation's largest banks right from your Samsung i617. Voice Command:  Voice Command transforms your Samsung i617 into your own virtual personal assistant, letting you use your voice to look up contacts, make phone calls, get calendar information, and play and control your music, as well as start programs.

Tips: Change IE Mobile default home page on WM6.1 Standard

Changing the homepage on non-touch screen devices prior to the release of Windows Mobile 6.1 was a pain. In fact it required a registry modification that, if not handled properly, might damage the device. Fortunately, Microsoft has been listening to customers and has made this very easy and risk-free to do.

Devices running Windows Mobile 6.1 have the option to change the default homepage in Internet Explorer Mobile. Open IE on the device, click Menu > Tools > Options. Select Homepage. In the dropdown list, you have the following choices: Use Default; Use Custom; Use Current.

If you select "Use Custom", you will be able to type in the website of your choice. You can do the same without having to manually enter the URL. In IE, navigate to the page you want to set as default. It is probably in your Favorites list. After the page opens, click Menu > Tools > Options > Homepage. Click "Use Current". Voilà!

USB 3.0 offers transfer rate of 4.8Gbps

I spotted this article about the introduction of USB 3.0 on Gadget Reviews. Besides the speed, version 3.0 allows for bi-directional transfer and is backward compatible.

Read more on Gadget Reviews.

Adobe Photoshop.com mobile coming in September

Adobe has announced that they will offer a new online free service where you'll be able to upload your photos and share with friends and the world. For those of you who, like me, believed that Adobe has developed a mobile version of Photoshop for editing photos, well this is not it. Adobe Photoshop.com mobile beta will be available as a free download in September.
A list of supported devices is posted on Adobe's website and most of them are non-touch screen devices, with only the Treo 750w representing the touch screen devices. But there is a note on the page that reads: "Treo's Touch feature not supported". Non-touch screens rule.

Read more...

Dataviz releases Documents to Go for Pocket PC

If you are not happy with the Microsoft Office Mobile need a more powerful software that does not rip your formatting, make sure you download and try Documents to Go from Dataviz. Initially, Dataviz had Documents to Go for non-touch screen devices only. I'm glad to see that they ported their robust software to touch screens as well. One the features that motivate the purchase of Documents to Go is the ability to password protect files.

Features:

Create, view and edit native Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files

The first and only commercially available mobile office suite to fully support (view, edit & create) Microsoft Office 2007/2008 files and attachments

• View, edit and create Word 2007/2008 files
• View, edit and create Excel 2007/2008 files
• View, edit and create PowerPoint 2007/2008 files

View native Adobe PDF files

• Supports embedded graphics and fonts for desktop-like viewing
• Supports password-protected PDFs
• Supports 40-bit and 128-bit encrypted PDFs

Decompress Zip Archives

"Zip and Send" allows you to compress and email an opened file instantaneously

Create, view and edit Excel charts

Access password-protected Word & Excel files (97-2004 formats only)

Supports rich formatting such as bold, italics, underline, tables, embedded graphics, footnotes, endnotes and much more...

Click here to learn more and download a trial copy.

Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine: the end of an adventure

I read with dismay the email that Hal Goldstein sent to me last night. It is hard to believe that I will soon be reading the last and final issue of such a great magazine. I have been an avid reader of the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine for two years or more and will surely miss the quality articles from the experts. Fortunately, these experts will still write great articles online. The forums and blogs will remain and that is good news. So all is not lost. BTW, Thaddeus Computing will soon release an iPhone Magazine.

A big thanks to the Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine team.

Read Hal's blog post about the Final Issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine:

http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blog/4/final-issue-smartphone-pocket-pc-magazine

HTC announces the S740

The S740 is a stylish smartphone with the same design as the Touch Diamond except that it's a non-touch screen phone. Powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, the device also has a sliding QWERTY keyboard and is expected to be released in Europe as from September 2008.

Key HTC S740 Product Specifications
• Size: 116.3 x 43.4 x 16.3 mm
• Weight: 140g with battery
• Networks: WCDMA/HSDPA: 900/2100 MHz for EU and Asia
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Maximum speed: UL = 384 kbps; DL = 3.6/7.2 Mbps**
• Camera: 3.2MP, with the second VGA camera for video calling
• Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard
• Display: 2.4-inch QVGA screen
• Camera: 3.2 megapixel with fixed focus
• Internal memory: 256 MB flash; 256 MB RAM
• Memory card: microSD™
• WLAN: 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth®: 2.0 with EDR
• GPS: GPS/AGPS
• Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
• Battery: 1000 mAh
• Talk time: WCDMA: Up to 320 minutes*** / GSM: Up to 380 minutes***
• Standby time: WCDMA: Up to 400 hours*** / GSM: Up to 280 hours***
• Special features: Sliding QWERTY keyboard, FM radio, Google Maps, RSS Hub
• Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225, 528 MHz

Read the press release.

Handango Sale

Now through Tuesday, August 26, 2008, use code SECRET20 for 20% off everything at Handango.com.

Official details from Palm on the Treo Pro

Unofficial pictures and details have been leaking out for weeks on Palm's latest smartphone release: the Treo Pro. It comes right on the heels of the recently released Treo 800w. Now Palm has made their own official announcement and confirm such details as Windows Mobile 6.1, 320x320 touchscreen, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera. If that sounds exactly like the Treo 800w, lets distinguish with the Pro being Tri-Band 3G / Quad-Band EDGE, including a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, and a slightly bigger battery at 1500 mAh. Plus, this one looks a lot more iPhone-ish.

Details from Palm here. Unboxing pictures and details from Engadget Mobile here.
View a video from Palm about the device here.

The release date has not yet been unannounced, but the carriers have:
Europe: Vodafone and O2
Austrailia: Telstran
USA: unlocked version will be made available for GSM networks

Latin American and Asian carriers to be announced in the future.

Papyrus 2.0 released

Papyrus 2 brings many exciting new features, including: Search View for PIM item searching; Advanced filters management; Automatic attendees notifications, Popup selection effect for optimized display and much more! Papyrus 2 back-end engine was re-designing from the beginning and delivers the fastest experience for the pro user!

SBSH Papyrus 2 Highlights

All New Search View - Introducing extremely effective search functionality for your PIM items! Use the new Search View from any chosen view to easily browse through your different items!

Mobile Innovation - Automatically email notifications and appointment invitations to attendees; New Pop-out Effect on all views for better data display, Active timeline display, New professionally designed built-in category icon store with PNG format support and much more!

Redesigned Interface - Featuring the next generation of user-interface with automatic adoption to your Windows Mobile look and feel and easy to navigate dialogs! Additionally, Papyrus 2 includes especially designed features to take advantage of any screen orientation Smartphone!


Click here to find out more information about the new features and improvements available with the all new Papyrus 2 release!

Motorola Q9h WM6.1 update available

Jason Langridge posted about the availability of Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade for the Motorola Q9h. The upgrade can be downloaded free from here. The Q9h owners will certainly like the sliding panel home screen. BTW, the sliding panel is only available on non-touch screen devices. I often receive emails asking where to find this feature on touch screens.

Visit Jason's blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonlan/

Free Facebook client released

If you are a heavy user of Facebook, Snap2Face will certainly be of interest. Snap2Face will let you connect to Facebook wherever you are, provided you have a good connection and preferably an unlimited data plan.

The features of Snap2Face are:

• Sleek, graphic-rich user interface
  
• Set your status while on-the-go
  
• View friends' status and detailed information
  
• View friends' friends and send friendship requests
  
• Get notified of events like wall post, message,
  poke, and friend request
  
• View your pokes, wall, inbox, and friend requests,
  all in full text
  
• Poke friends, send message to friends, and post
  on friends' wall
  
• Access you and your friends' photo albums
  
• Ability to view, zoom in/out, and pan full-sized
  photos, and play slideshow
  
• Upload photos from built-in camera or file folder
  
• Import friends' profile photos to Outlook Contacts
  (photo Call ID)
  
• and more...

Check out this link for instructions to download, setup and configure Snap2Face.

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Explore the seven wonders of the world Learn more!

Free: New version of Tiny Twitter is out

The new version include some interesting features like the message-like popup for new and unread tweets as well as replies to direct message. There is also the possibility to post your location to Windows Live maps.

Tiny Twitter can be downloaded free from www.tinytwitter.com.

Celio RedFly is Released!

On the heels of Palm's cancelled Foleo mobile companion comes the Celio Redfly, finally available now. This wonderful device allows you to use your compatible Windows Mobile device on a much larger scale. The Redfly is essentially a dumb terminal that simply provides a much larger interface for your device with an almost-full size keyboard, a touchpad, and an 8-inch screen at 800x480. It also has two USB ports, a VGA out port, and Bluetooth. Connect to your phone via USB or Bluetooth, and you are ready to enjoy WinMo on the big screen. :) Use that VGA out port to connect to an external monitor or a projector. If connected via USB, your phone will charge off of the Redfly's battery. Use the second USB port to connect a standard mouse for even more functionality.

For more information, check out the Info page and this full review and then you can buy your own at the newly lowered price of just $399.95 US.

The Redfly is now compatible with these phones:

• HTC Mogul
• AT&T Tilt
• Verizon XV6800
• Treo 700 w/wx
• Treo 750
• Samsung SCH-i760 (Verizon)
• Samsung Blackjack II
• Motorola Q9c
• Motorola Q9m
• Motorola Q9h
• T-Mobile Dash
• Sprint Touch
• HTC Touch (Original GSM)
• Treo 500
• Treo 800w

Press Release: Vito Technology release Winterface 1.1

VITO Technology released a new version of one of its best-sellers – Winterface. Winterface is a Windows Mobile shell that helps you to organize applications and settings at your PocketPC the way you like. The start gesture "rainbow" was replaced in new version by upside down tick ^. Moreover, it has become possible to add to the main screen not only applications, settings and contacts but also any files on your Pocket PC. Besides, calendar and tasks now can notify you about upcoming events, appointments and tasks. Minor bugs have been also fixed.

The new version 1.1 of Winterface includes numerous improvements. The major one is that we've changed the start gesture, now the application is started with the help of the upside down tick ^. This gesture is unlikely to interfere with other applications so that Winterface couldn't pop out each time you slide the screen. Drawing the gesture "tick" or letter "v" on your screen can close any application you are working in.

Other improvements are concerned with tasks and calendar. For most of users their Pocket PCs are organizers and reminders. Therefore Winterface now have red indicators with numbers above Calendar and Tasks icons to show active tasks and upcoming events. When tapping Calendar you can see a semi-transparent window with all events. If you need to edit time or event you can go to the calendar if not you may return back to the screen. As for the tasks, pressing the icon you are put straight to the Tasks to look at them and to edit.

At one of the sites where we had great discussion with our users we were strongly convinced by the advanced WM users that they definitely need quick access to separate files. Therefore "Files" was added to the menu of the program that affords you to add any file to the screen. Moreover, we've made a possibility to switch off the lock screen.
Winterface now looks whiter as most of the standard icons were replaced by super stylish winter-like icons. You will be amazed by the cool looks of your Pocket PC screen.

Some of the bugs were fixed like: it is now impossible to delete Menu and Running icons of the program, some of the icons are not doubled any more (like Phone). The bug on HTC devices with battery icon was also fixed.
NOTE! If you need to backup your settings, you only should rename file pages.db (for example, pages_old.db) in the Winterface folder. Then you should uninstall the old version of Winterface, rename it back from pages_old.db to pages.db after that install new version of the program. All other updates that are higher than version 1.1 won't need this operation as the program will do it itself.

Winterface is available for $19.95 at www.iWindowsMobile.com/vito-mobile-shell.html.

Hot fix for resolving inability to download/open PDF files in HTC S620

HTC released a hot fix for the HTC S620 to resolve the inability to download and open PDF files. The fix can be download on their new support site at http://www.htc.com/www/SupportDownloadList.aspx?p_id=2&cat=all. By the way, the download page has moved from the e-Club to a new support page where the device serial No. is required to download instead of having to be a member of HTC e-club.

If you are trying to download and view Adobe PDF files from the Internet that were saved using the newer versions of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Distiller, you may not be able to download/open them on the HTC S620. Please download this hot fix to be able to successfully download/open Adobe PDF files from the Internet.

Tips: Cannot recognize one or more recipients or the address is not valid

If you get the error mentioned in the title above while sending a text/SMS/E-mail message, do the following:

Open Messaging.

Click Menu > Options.

Click Address tab.

"In Contacts, get e-mail addresses from:" drop down list, select "All e-mail fields"

Source.

Astraware releases Insaniquarium Deluxe

Don't have an aquarium at home? Or may be you do, but you don't get to fight off alien creatures to protect your fish. Astraware has Insaniquarium Deluxe which "offers hours of frantic aquarium fun as you feed your fish, watch them grow and protect them from alien invaders!".

"Insaniquarium Deluxe is the craziest aquarium game ever - tend to your fish and keep them happy and they'll reward you with precious coins and jewels. Use the money you earn to buy upgrades for your tank or egg parts which hatch lots of different in-tank pets with special powers. These pets can help you feed your fish, collect coins, or even protect against the aliens that will invade your tank and wreak havoc. You can also use the money you earn to buy better weapons to see the aliens off quicker!"

Click here for more information.
Download a trial version here.

Olympics 2008 live on your device with Yahoo Go! 3.0

I wish I could stay home to watch the games in its entirety, but I doubt my boss will agree to that. Fortunately, Yahoo has a widget for Yahoo Go! that will let me keep in touch with what is happening in Beijing. If you do not have Yahoo Go!, open your browser on your phone and type get.go.yahoo.com. Download and install Yahoo Go! Then, all you have to do is search for "Beijing 2008 games" and add it to your widgets.

Free: Twitula, another Twitter client

A new Twitter client is now available free for download from http://www.kevdaly.co.nz/Software/Twitter/Twitula.CAB. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks nice.

Getting started -

• Download the CAB file (see link above), copy it to your device and double-click to install. (Or download the CAB file directly to your device and double-click)
• Select one of the options available from the menu.
• To do most thiTo do most things other than view the public timeline, first log in. ("Log in menu" option, left Soft Key menu) - You only need to do this the first time: credentials are stored between sessions, and you can log in with a different account or switch accounts.
• Click on someone's screen name (or select Menu->Send message) to send them a message (check the "Direct message" option on the form to send a direct private message). link in Internet Explorer.
• Check the "Auto-refresh (on/off)" menu option to refresh info displayed at (roughly) one-minute intervals.

Source: Http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonlan/

Developer's website: http://www.kevdaly.co.nz/Software/Twitter/Twitula.aspx

Astraware 25% Off Sale

Astraware is offering some of their most popular games on sale right now with their 25% Off 25 Hot Summer Sale. Offer ends August 17. http://www.astraware.com/promo/summer08/

Skype 2.2 for Windows Mobile released

Skype has released a new version of the popular software with support for Windows Mobile 6.1. Version 2.2 is available free for both Professional and Standard version and can be downloaded from www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windowsmobile/