Remotely lock and wipe your lost/stolen phone, localize via GPS.

Long a corporate feature, remote wipe and lock are now common features; No need to have an Exchange server. And thanks to the vibrant Windows Mobile developer community. Safe.My.Windows.Phone is a nice but not free application that lets you do the following in the event that you lose your phone or it gets stolen:
 

lock your phone from anybody use

localize your phone ^*)

hard-reset to the factory default settings, what deletes all your sensitivity data

 

Download the desktop installer from safe.my.windows.phone.setup.exe.
 
Download cab file directly to your device from safe.my.windows.phone.setup.cab
 
Website: http://www.jgui.net/safe.my.windows.phone/index.html

Spb Software House released Spb Weather 2.1.1.

This upgrade is free for all registered users of Spb Weather 2.X.

New Features:

- XPanel for all Sony Ericsson XPeria devices
- "64K Download" problem fixed
- Adding city by GPS fixed
- Minor fixes

http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/weather/download.html

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Microsoft Honeycomb is pure genius.

This is according to Long Zheng of www.istartedsomething.com Who wrote a short explanatory article about Microsoft choice for a hexagonal arrangement for Windows Mobile 6.5 rather than a grid.

I won't write more about this, but I just want to quote this comment that appears to be directed towards the journalist over at Engadget and which, in my opinion, is correct:

"...but that's what happens when misinformed "journalists" try to appear smart".

http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090302/windows-Mobile-65-honeycomb-menu-simple-ingenuity/

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Winterface updated to version 1.3

VITO Technology Releases New Version 1.3 of the Windows Mobile Bestseller - Winterface. This is a Mobile Shell comprising the options of a launcher, a task manager, and multitude of Today plug-ins. Winterface virtually replaces default interface of touch screen Windows Mobile devices and gives the user unprecedented freedom to easily lay out interface exactly the way they like it.

Winterface can now be different. You may choose either the black skin with white stylish icons or the bright one with colorful icons and 3d images.

The option that makes Winterface even more attractive is the ability to switch on or off Full screen mode. This mode allows you either to show or hide the standard top WM bar that shows the essential info like start button, time, profile, mobile operator, etc.

Another great change in Winterface is that URL favorites can now be added to the main screen not only from IE browser but also from Opera Mobile.

We have also fixed all bugs connected with SMS notifications and Weather icon.

Winterface is available for $19.95 at http://vitotechnology.com/vito-mobile-shell.html. 

New ROM update for HTC Touch Diamond.

Don't get excited. This is not Windows Mobile 6.5 coming to the Touch Diamond. Instead it's just some improvements and fixes.
 
1. When you launch the Camera while the system is working on other programs, the preview screen may become black.
2. When playing a video, sometimes a portion of the video will be cut off a little bit.
3. Fixes Audio playback problem with the speaker. Specific issues: sometimes the music will turn off and on after 10 minutes, or there is a buzzing sound or no sound at all.
4. Fixes the problem of not being able to receive MMS when in standby mode.
5. When launching music via the Music tab on TouchFLO 3D, the sound may intermittently turn off for a second and come back on.
 
Before applying the ROM, make sure you backup your data and read carefully the installation instructions.
 
http://www.htc.com/mea-en/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=483&news_id=58

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Google Mobile app for Windows Mobile released.

Google Mobile app is comprised of the Search engine(of course) and access to all of Google's apps like Gmail, Maps, Calendar, News etc. The application can be downloaded free of charge from http://m.google.com/search. Since this link points to a cab file, I suggest you download it directly to your device.

After installation, Google Mobile app adds itself to the Today screen for easy access. Start typing in the Search text box and the bar begins floating to the top of the screen.

If you are using a WM6.1 Standard device, you will need to switch from Sliding panel to a regular home screen to see Google Mobile app.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

My Phone - a short review

As soon as Steve Ballmer ended his speech at the Mobile World Congress, the My Phone service went live and was available as first-come-first-serve. I was lucky to get a participation code yesterday.
 
I wasted no time to download and install the file that lets you connect to the service and sync/backup your contacts, calendar events, music, pictures, tasks and videos to a 200mb online storage area. The allocated storage is small; I won't load my videos to My Phone.
 
There were no issues during the installation, except that I got an error saying "unable to connect to sync server" after I clicked sign in. I clicked again and it worked. Once logged in, you select the sync method you prefer; manual and automatic. I chose manual.  Click Next and you get the screen where you select which items to sync.
 
Calendar and Contacts were grayed out for me. My device was connected to an Exchange server for email sync only. But still, My Phone did not offer the option to sync Calendar and Contacts.   I deleted the Exchange account and both the Calendar and Contacts were available as items to sync. The first sync was successful and all my items were there on the site.
 
After the first sync, I made a couple of changes to some contacts on my device. I wanted to see My Phone's behavior when the same contact has been modified on both ends.  It appears that changes made on the device takes precedence, which makes sense. Now time to get rid of all my contacts and calendar events on the phone and see how the restore works.
 
On my device, I renamed PIM and rebooted my device. Sure enough, the Contacts application was empty. I opened My Phone of my device, click Sync and my data was back - So simple.
 
Pros:
 
1.  Simple to use
 
Cons:
 
1.  200MB????
2.  Cannot customize columns on the site
3.  Does not sync pics, videos from storage card
 

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Microsoft unveils Windows Mobile 6.5 at Mobile World Congress.

Microsoft unveiled Windows Mobile 6.5 today at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona. The new OS features a new user interface and the much awaited Internet Explorer Mobile 6. The browser is set to compete with Opera Mobile and Apple’s Safari. Microsoft posted a couple of videos of the announcement by Steve Ballmer and one about the new features of Windows Mobile 6.5 on their website.

Click on the link below to watch the videos and enjoy:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mobileworldcongress/default.mspx

First Official webOS Programming Resource Released

Palm and O'Reilly Media have the first official programming resource for Palm's new webOS: "Palm® webOS™: Developing Applications in JavaScript Using the Palm Mojo™ Framework". You can read the first chapter for free right now at developer.palm.com. From the press release:

"The first chapter of the Rough Cuts Version of the book is currently available online for free from the Palm Developer Network at http://developer.palm.com, and is scheduled to be available on the O'Reilly website Monday by 7 p.m. CET (10 a.m. Eastern). Rough Cuts is a service from Safari Books Online that provides early access to books on cutting-edge technologies prior to publication. Programmers eager to learn how to develop applications on webOS can literally read the book online as it is being written or download it as a PDF. And with Rough Cuts, readers can participate in an ongoing discussion about the book and technology. The complete book will be published upon release of Mojo, Palm's webOS software development kit (SDK)."

More information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596801816
More information about the developer webcast on Feb. 25: http://oreilly.com/go/webospreview

Opera to unveil Turbo-charged browsing at Mobile World Congress.

The Mobile World Congress will be held in Barcelona on February 16 to 19. On that occasion, like many other mobile players, Opera will show their latest technological innovation. So what does Opera has in store for us? The answer: faster browsing.

Opera turbo does all the processing on Opera's server before sending the data to a PC, PDA. Therefore, the display is faster and network traffic is, considerably reduced and, better yet, you save money. No matter what type of phone, old or new, or network protocol you use, you should experience a noticeable increase in speed.

For more details about Opera turbo, read the press release in the link:

http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2009/02/12/

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Pocket Tunes 5.0 released

If you are looking for a software that provides the best internet radio listening experience, then you must try and eventually purchase Pocket Tunes version 5.0.

This new version lets you automatically download your favorite podcast, sync iTunes with your Windows Mobile device, listen to online radio and more.

Browse to Pocket Tunes website to learn more and download a trial.

http://www.pocket-tunes.com/

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

New Pointui Home 2 available

Pointui released a colorful version of their user interface for Windows Mobile. The Home version is free and still in beta version. I haven't tried it yet, so I cannot tell how well it integrates with Windows Mobile. If you feel like trying it, go to http://www.pointui.com/products/home-2 To download your free copy.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

The Palm Pre has a cool inductive charging dock

The Pre is not out yet and it already has a couple of cool accessories being presented by Palm. The Touchstone inductive charging dock is one among them and probably the coolest way to recharge a device. Just drop it on the charger and a magnet positions it properly. Touchstone utilises the same technic of an electric toothbrush.

As Palm puts it on their blog, Touchstone is "Wireless. Elegant. Easy" (Wee)

Read more: http://blog.palm.com/palm/2009/02/adam-kaufman-product-manager-aka-accessory-guy-but-please-dont-call-me-that.html

http://www.palm.com/us/products/accessories/dock.html

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Google Sync for Windows Mobile released

As with most Google's product, Google Sync is free and still marked as beta. The new application is intended for Windows Mobile phones only.

Google Sync lets you sync your device's Calendar and Contacts with Google's. Obviously, a Google account is needed to start using it. Besides the sync functionality, updates are pushed directly to your device.

This is possible because Google Sync uses Exchange Activesync protocol. Google warns that "when setting up a new Exchange Activesync account on your phone, all existing Contacts and Calendar events may be removed". It is crucial that a backup be made before using Google's Sync.

Google's Sync is a nice offering for those who do not have an Exchange Server account. Adding email to Google Sync would have made it irresistible though. I wonder what it takes to include Gmail in the package?

To download a free copy, point your browser to http://www.google.com/mobile/winmo/sync.html

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

50% off star gazing software

Valentine's day is coming up fast and you do not already have a gift for your lover, then you're in deep trouble. Well, don't panic - at least not yet. I have a solution for you. In short, get a good bottle of wine, a nice open space and do not forget to bring the "universe in your pocket".

Vito Technology is offering 50% off AstroNavigator which is a nice application for Windows Mobile to guide you among the stars. A great way to celebrate Valentine's day.

http://vitotechnology.com/astronavigator.html

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Follow Windows Mobile Developers group team on Twitter

Follow Microsoft's Windows Mobile Developers group team on Twitter and you could get some free software. Right now they are frequently posting one time use registration codes for various software and the first person to register the code online gets a free copy of that application.
Follow them at twitter.com/wmdev

New HTC Advantage

Hello readers,

This post is just to inform you all that I received a HTC Advantage in the mail today. Feel free to ask any question about the device. I'll more than happy to respond.

Linley

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Press-Release. New Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 Brought to Light at Mobile World Congress 2009

Here's a press release from Spb software announcing the preview of their award winning software, Spb Mobile Shell.
 
 
St. Petersburg, February 04th, 2009 - Spb Software, world's top Windows Mobile applications developer will offer a sneak preview of the new Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 at Mobile World Congress 2009. Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 sets a new standard in handset user interfaces and goes far beyond what is available on any phone today. The new software is fitted with a flexible engine for 3D animation, clever Facebook integration, kinetic scrolling, widgets, and multiple usability innovations. Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 has gained a thrilling 'wow' factor and preserved the speed and clarity of device navigation.

First presented to Beta users back in 2006, then to the open market in February of next year, Spb Mobile Shell became the world's #1 bestselling software for Windows Mobile touch-screen phones in 2007 and 2008. While the software quickly gained recognition among end-users and media, the shipment of customized versions of Spb Mobile Shell by many OEMs and carriers further inspired the mobile community. Designed to be highly flexible, with not just the end-users, but also the device manufacturers in mind, Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 offers many different levels of customization, and is a viable basis for a new generation of world-class smartphones on Windows Mobile platform.

Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 is scheduled to release to manufacturers in late February of 2009, with release to the consumer market expected to follow in late March. According to Spb Software upgrades policy all end-users, who purchase software within 90 days of a new version's release, are eligible for free upgrades.

The GSMA MWC 2009 will take place February 16 - 19, in Barcelona, Spain. Spb will also showcase the new multiplatform approach to product development, more software upgrades and releases. To arrange a meeting with Spb at booth 2B38 in Hall 2, please contact us at pr@softspb.com

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How to easily change the font on your device

I came across this nice utility on Xda forums which was developed by Luigi.ing. Basically, it lets you easily change and import new fonts to your device. Better yet, it is possible to also change the system font and modify the size as well. i have not tested it, but I assume this utility will prove handy to those who are visually impaired. Again this is just an assumption as I have not tried the application yet.

ING Change Font can be downloaded free from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=451624

Watch a video of the Mozilla Fennec Alpha

Pocketnow managed to get their hands on the Alpha version of Mozilla's upcoming browser for Windows Mobile devices. According to Brandon Miniman, the author, it is very unstable and difficult to use. But the alpha version offers some nice glimpse of features that should be implemented in the final version.
 
Check out the video here.
            

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Microsoft Strategist questions President Obama's choice of the Blackberry

I guess we are all aware by now that President Obama (Who?) is keeping his Blackberry. Now the question is: Will the President still use the Windows CE powered phone chosen by the NSA? Don't have an answer for that yet; we'll just have to watch his belt.
 
Besides all the buzz, one Microsoft enterprise mobile strategist, Randy Siegel, is questioning the President's choice of the Blackberry and said that "You would be sending your data outside the country". Randy Siegel talked to Andrew LaVallee of the Wall Street Journal. Read the complete article here.

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Microsoft Tag

In Japan, small barcodes of sorts are popular on advertising. Snap a picture with your phone and save contact information or go to a company's mobile website all on your phone.

Microsoft has their own take on this now with Microsoft Tag. Jason Langridge's blog shows us a picture comparing Microsoft's HCCB format Tag as compared to QRCode and Datamatrix codes where Tags can be smaller in size and are multi-colored rather than black and white.

Microsoft's Tag concept takes the concept to the next level, though, by including a reporting mechanism that logs every time someone scans one of your codes, even if it's just a vcard. And there is an option in the application for your phone to allow location tracking, so you can now when and where someone scans your code.

The application is available for Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm OS, Android, and iPhone.

Links:

• Download the app to your phone via http://gettag.mobi/
• Try creating your own tags at http://tag.microsoft.com/
• Microsoft Tag's team blog http://blogs.msdn.com/tag/
• Lots of details at http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2009/01/19/microsoft-tag.aspx and http://www.microsoft.com/tag/content/what/

HTC announces new HTC Cruise, introduces HTC FootPrints

The HTC Cruise was specially designed to be more a GPS device in HTC's line of products. However, the company has more than one GPS-enabled devices in its portfolio, so I wonder why they are proposing an updated version of the Cruise. While the design has changed, the hardware is pretty much the same. Software wise, they introduced HTC Footprints.
 
"With the introduction of HTC Footprints, you have a mobile phone that lets you grasp all the precious details of the instances that make up your life."
            
"The best part about HTC Footprints is that you can use them to find your way back to the hidden little café you visited last year, or the elm tree under which your loved one popped the big question. And if you want, you can simply flip through your collection and laugh about the times that helped create who you are today. HTC Footprints is like a journal of your life's highlights, making them always within your reach."
 
Will the Footprints be extended to other HTC GPS-enabled devices?

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Improve touchscreen sensitivity on the Diamond and Touch Pro.

Before anything else, you try this hack at your own risk.
 
According to 1800pocketpc, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of the Diamond and the Touch Pro through a registry hack. In case you are not comfortable manipulating the registry, a .cab file is also available for download here.
 
Unfortunately, I do not own any of these devices. If you try this hack, I would appreciate a feedback.
 

1. Go to  HKLM/Drivers/TouchPanel using your registry editor   
2. Change the PressureThreshold value to 80866 in decimal ( NOT hex )   
3. Now goto HKLM/Software/OEM/TFLOSettings, Change FingerPressure value to 1  in decimal ( NOT hex )   
4. Soft-Reset your device  

 
Source: http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2009/01/14/hack-increase-touchscreen-sensitivity-on-diamond-touch-pro.html

            

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Vito Techonology apps now Omnia compatible

Vito Technology, the now well known Windows Mobile software developer, has released a version of its applications that now support the Samsung Omnia. Note that the Omnia looks similar to the iPhone in that it has more touch features rather buttons.
 
The new release includes:
 
Winterface, AudioNotes, Astro-Navigator, SMS-Chat, FunContact and Voice2Go.
 
Website: http://vitotechnology.com 

            

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Future HTC devices leaked

Spotted a listing of future HTC devices posted on wmpoweruser.com. I was impressed by the number of front-faced keyboard devices with one being the new Excalibur, which is my all-time favorite device. This one has 3G.
            

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Motorola unveils new WM Smartphone, MotoSurf A3100

 
 
Yesterday Motorola showed three new devices at CES among which is the A3100, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional powered phone.
 
"Managing your social and work life just got easier with the MOTOSURF A3100. The touch tablet's customizable home screen is layered on top of the familiar Windows Mobile 6.1 software and has many applications that can be accessed with the tip of a finger, a stylus or an omni-directional trackball. The home screen icons can be personalized to give 'live' feeds on weather, news, personal and work e-mail, messaging and calendar events¹.  WiFi¹ and 3G connectivity make the experience seamless and fast.

 

"We developed the MOTOSURF A3100 as a true social smartphone," said John Cipolla, senior vice president, product development, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Home screen personalization and access to a whole host of applications gets the info you want –  fast, and at your fingertips."

 

Whether toggling back and forth between documents while on the go, listening to MP3s, video conferencing on the run, updating your Facebook status or using aGPS to navigate from point A to B, MOTOSURF puts every aspect of your life, personal and professional, just a touch away¹.

 

MOTOSURF A3100 will be available in multiple regions beginning in Q1 2009, including Asia and Latin America." 
            

Besides the A3100, two other non-Windows Mobile phone were shown. The W233 is probably the most environmentally friendly phone on the market. Recycled materials were used to build the phone.

 

Read more...

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Pocket Player 4 released

Pocket Player 4 has just been released. Check out the features below before downloading a trial from http://www.conduits.com/products/player/download.asp.

• Full music and video support: MP3, AAC*, M4A*, WMA, WMV, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and WAV!
• Protected WMA support, u-Law, A-Law, AU, and ADPCM WAV (used in Voicemail attachments) playback
• Podcast subscriptions* auto-download new content to your device!
• Media Browser menu system, with touch scrolling and gesture support!
• Media Library auto-imports 1000+ tracks with ease, with support for all common metadata tags for all media formats, including lyrics and ratings!
• 10-band Equalizer and Preamp, with presets!
• Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP): browse and play content from your desktop!
• Internet radio streaming support for Shoutcast (MP3), AAC (including aacPlus, HE-AAC v1, HE-AAC v2)*, Windows Media (MMS) stations
• Web guide for Internet radio, MP3 blogs and podcasts, with pause, auto-resume and seek functionality!
• Voicemail playback (WAV email attachments), integrates with your Inbox!
• Visualizations and downloadable Album Art support
• Full support for Windows Mobile 5 (Pocket PC and Smartphone), WM6 and Windows Mobile 6.1 compatibility!
• Support for Bluetooth stereo headphones (A2DP), buttons (AVRCP), and mono headsets (Audio Gateway)!
• Skinnable (Pocket Player, WMP, and WinAmp WSZ skins) for all device resolutions with color change ability
• Themed and skinned Today plugin on touchscreen devices
• Reads tags such as ID3 (v1/v1.1/v2), MPEG-4, APE and ASF; scans device in background
• Gapless playback with adjustable crossfading
• Playlist manager, auto-generating smart playlists!
• DSP Plugin support, including time stretch and Bass Boost
• User-managed Bookmarks support; jump to a file and time
• For Podcasts and audio books: bookmarks, "Seek to last position", Auto-resume
• Hardware button mapping, button locking, one-handed navigation, including support for scroll wheels
• Adjustable sleep timer, automatic screen shutoff function

Dash in black

T-Mobile has just released a black version of my favorite Smartphone. Yes, the Dash or HTC S620 is and remains my favorite phone. It's thin, powerful, has a great keyboard and a sleek design. Unfortunately, the new Dash seems to be just a color upgrade. The specs haven't changed, thus no 3G. There has been no announcement from HTC about the release  of an unlocked version of the Dash. Learn more T-Mobile website.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2009

To all the readers here, I wish a Merry Christmas and a good year for 2009. Let's pray that the world's economic recession will just be a bad souvenir. I also want to thank you all for your support throughout the year. Without you, this blog has no reason to exist. God bless you all and enjoy the holidays.

Linley.

iPhone go home

Finally the iPhone is here much to the deception of those who went to the release with the intention to get one. According to Armand, who posted a comment to my previous post, there were many in the line to purchase an iPhone, except that they all went home without one because of the exaggerated price imposed by Orange. For the readers out there, note that a dollar equals Rs32.46 and Orange is offering an 8gb iPhone 3G for Rs11,899 plus a monthly charge of Rs1259. This is simply outrageous. According to other sources close to Orange, they manage to sell only 40 units with the first buyer getting one free. Knowing that one owner of an iPhone can only purchase applications through the Apple store, and that internet connection costs that much, I strongly suggest that Mauritians buy the HTC Touch series instead, because Orange requires that you sign up for a postpaid service whereas Emtel offers internet access for prepaid as well.

Clearly, the iPhone or any Apple products are geared towards the haves. And those are relatively few in Mauritius compared to the have nots. So now is the time for Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands to evangelize Windows Mobile in the consumer market. The HTC Touch brands released by HTC lately are much cheaper and "open" in the sense that Mauritians don't have to sign up for an onerous plan with Orange or purchase Apple-chosen applications. The Windows Mobile developer community is much more important and wider than Apple. Not only you get to buy software but there are plenty of free applications on the web that you can download. The only limit is the memory available on your device. Above all else, a Windows Mobile phone was designed to work with XP,  Vista and Mac.  How many Macs do we have out there? Does the iPhone work with Microsoft products? Is it worth it to shell out so much money fo it, knowing that the iPhone has so many limitations?

I forgot to mention that the iPhone has no removable battery.

The iPhone 3G reaches Mauritian shores

Just a quick note to say that Orange is launching the iPhone 3G today in Mauritius. The device has been on sale on the "Black market" for a while now and despite all the hype, my countrymen does not seem particularly attracted by the device or the iPhone frenzy we've witnessed everwhere else in the world. PDAs are still considered devices from Mars here. So far Nokia rules. Coincidentally, HTC rep has been posting some cool billboards across the island lately promoting the Touch HD. 

The war has started. Will there be a winner? Will Nokia and Blackberry survive (Nokia for sure)? 

Palm releases application store

It's Palm's turn to offer a free application store for its Windows Mobile powered and Palm powered devices. The application gives access to 5000 games and apps. Palm is also offering 25% on the first purchase. Use coupon code SHOPMOBILE.

http://appstore.pocketgear.com/palm/

Press Release: Spb Holiday Sale: Software Treats for All Tastes

SPb is offering 30% off on all their products. If you've been thinking about getting one or several, now is the time.

Spb Software, the world's leading Windows Mobile software developer announces the start of Spb Holiday Sale 2008, which will run from December 16th until December 30th at the developer's official website. For the first time ever, Spb launches a major sale campaign, offering a 30% discount across its entire product line: from usability applications to platform enhancements, from advanced business applications to games.

"The Holiday Season is a time when people exchange special signs of care," comments Olga Gachko, Marketing Manager at Spb Software. "This year we are proud to be able to offer our customers more of our famous software for less money, and we do have quite a bit of new titles in store for everybody," Olga concludes.

To claim the discount, shoppers need to enter the "SpbHolidaySale" discount code in their shopping carts at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com, and see 30% deducted from the order total. The Spb Holiday Sale offer is not valid with any other promotion.

Press-Release. Spb Survey 2008 Results Announced: Analyzing the Future

Spb Software, a leading mobile software developer announces the results of fifth annual Spb Survey. This year, Spb Survey was held between 10th and 24th of December, and aimed to track changes in mobile device preferences and brand loyalty, smartphone and software use cases, user profiles and behavior. Originally, Spb Survey addressed only the Windows Mobile audience, but this year, users of all mobile platforms were invited to participate. The majority of Spb Survey respondents are mobile activists with clear interest in mobile technology, and are not fully representative of the entire global mobile community. However, as mobile connectivity enters more spheres of everyday life - the global mobile community is becoming more active and technologically-savvy throughout, and accurate industrial outlooks and estimations can be made, based on the answers provided by Spb Survey respondents.
 
Thousands of survey responses given in 11 languages by people from 22 countries were analyzed and condensed into the following Spb Survey results summary:

The majority of survey respondents are still male (95%), 57% of them are aged between 19 and 35, and 58% have at least a Bachelor's degree

The majority of Spb Survey respondents are from North America and Western Europe

About 17% of respondents are students, 17% work in the field of mobility, and an amazing 68% are 'device fans'

Brand-wise, HTC smartphones have the absolute leading position, being the brand of choice for over 49% of all Spb Survey respondents. HTC is followed by HP with nearly 6%, Asus with 5.5%, E-TEN with almost 4%, Dell with a little over 3.5%, Nokia and Samsung with 3%, Qtek with 2.6%, MiTAC with 2%, Toshiba, Sony Ericsson, Palm, T-Mobile, and i-Mate - each at around 1.5%, and Fujitsu Siemens with O2 XDA at about 1%. All other brands ranked below 1%

The single most popular mobile device model is HTC TyTn II, followed by HTC Diamond, and HTC Touch Pro. Among the top ten most popular smartphone models, only one is a non-HTC device

Surprising 27% of all respondents use a second SIM card

62% of respondents would buy a device of the same brand, and 56% claim they would even buy the same model

Among the best things about their devices, 69% of respondents first put the looks (design), 68% - the availability of built-in Wi-Fi, 47% - business features and big screen, with the 'price' placing 8th in importance, and 'music platform' - last

The top two aspects most disliked in devices are 'Low memory' and 'Weight'

The majority of respondents upgrade to a new device once in every two years

Most respondents user their smartphones first for business - then for entertainment

31% of respondents use Push Email

80% backup their data

Nearly 80% of respondents use software they paid for

Spb Software invites the mobile community to view full Spb Survey 2008 results here: http://spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/docs/spbsurvey2008.html

Windows Mobile: What Microsoft Needs to Fix

I was reading this article in the link below on BusinessWeek and I thought I'd share it with you readers and especially to Microsoft. According to research firms, Windows Mobile has dropped to the 4th place on the mobile market. To be honest, that does not surprise me because I still have to use a stylus to move around in Windows Mobile. Thinking that Apple and Google just join the mobile bandwagon,  I'm stumped. I write this bearing in mind that Microsoft released Surface this year. They could have developed a similar technology for Windows Mobile instead. Based on news on the web, they plan to have a better technology than the iPhone with Windows Mobile 7. The problem is that WM7 will be released in 2010. Meaning that Windows Mobile will remain at its 4th position until then. I write this knowing that Windows Mobile was initially designed for the enterprise. For those of you who do not agree with me, well think about it. The only Mobile OS that lets you scan barcodes, connect to a database or web interface to publish data, use online forms is Windows Mobile and Windows CE. Android, Blackberry and iPhone do not support these features. In other words, Microsoft has the monopoly in enterprise mobility. Proof is that they licensed Exchange Activesync protocols to the fruit company and it won't be long before we see the G com joining the bandwagon. So I'm going to ask BusinessWeek and other major Tech news Corp to stop bashing Microsoft Windows Mobile. Do your homework.

Microsoft - Hurry up with the next release of Windows Mobile. I'm just tired of reading such articles on the web. 

Readers, if you want to read BusinessWeek's report, click on the link below:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081210_691586.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily&referer=sphere_related_content

Press release: new version Task2Gather 1.1

VITO Technology releases Task2Gather 1.1 for Windows Mobile. Task2Gather performs greatly as a personal to-do or shopping list as well as a collaborative tool for reaching common team goals. The major bugs of previous version were fixed. Moreover, the mobile version now has tag support, auto-login feature and many other minor improvements that make task management a whole lot easier.
         New features:
                tags
                auto log in
                indicator showing server connection
                German and Russian languages support
                exit via menu or minimize
                estimated/spent via edit mode
         Fixed bugs:
                landscape support
                list is shown from start
        
        Task2Gather for Windows Mobile is available now for $0.99. Special $0.99 offer is valid until the OFFLINE MODE release. 
        Since it entered the mobile software market in 2001 VITO Technology Inc. has developed an impressive portfolio of products for Windows Mobile. The latest VITO Technology's endeavour is iPhone and Web 2.0 software development. 


Useful links: 
Task2Gather page: http://vitotechnology.com/windowsmobile-task2gather.html  


Task2Gather download: http://vitotechnology.com/files/Task2Gather.exe 
                                            
VITO Technology's sites: http://vitotechnology.com, http://iwindowsmobile.com, http://task2gather.com

WM6.1 upgrade for Imate's Ultimate series released

If you own one of the I-mate Ultimate devices, you'll be happy to learn that upgrades are available for free downloads from https://www.imate.com/st-WindowsMobile6_1.aspx. The devices concerned are:
 

i-mate Ultimate 9502: Instructions | Available now

i-mate Ultimate 8502: Instructions | Available now

i-mate Ultimate 6150: Instructions | Available now

i-mate Ultimate 8150: Instructions | Available now

 
An upgrade for the Jama 101 is coming soon.
 
IMPORTANT: Read the instructions before applying the upgrades
            

Skype 2.5 beta released

The new version closely resembles its desktop counterpart and some novelties include improved sound quality and stability. Note that Skype 2.5 is still in beta.
 
Download your free copy from:
 
www.skype.com/download/skype/windowsmobile/
            

WVGAFIX3 - Free utility to change screen resolution

I found this great and free utlity on Xda forums - where else. Basically, it lets you change your screen resolution so you can run applications that is not compatible with the original resolution. And it does that pretty well without stretching or distorting icons. 
 
Download your free copy from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455974 and make sure you read the instructions first:
 
Installation:
*Copy CAB files to device
*Install SdkCerts.cab first
*Install second cab file
*Do soft reset
*Now you can see WVGAFIX3 in Programs.

Press release: SBSH Calendar Touch announced

SBSH Mobile Software announced today the all new Calendar Touch for Windows Mobile Pro/Classic! SBSH Calendar Touch for Windows Mobile Pro/Classic is an exciting new personal information manager that guarantees a great boost to your daily time management and productivity! Introducing new gesture-based navigation technologies to accompany latest developments in the Windows Mobile market.

SBSH Calendar Touch release follows the successful release of SBSH Calendar (former Papyrus) for Windows Mobile Standard devices earlier in August this year, introducing a complete personal information management solution for our Windows Mobile Touch users!

Calendar Touch packs exciting new features: Great looking and informative Calendaring and Tasks utilities, Search View; Advanced filters management; Automatic attendees notifications, Auto-adopting design to match your device look&feel, Popup selection effect for optimized display, advanced gestures navigation and much more! Calendar Touch is backed by a powerful engine to ensure the fastest experience for the pro user!

SBSH Calendar Touch Highlights

Personal Information Management - Full calendar views: Daily, Weekly, List and Monthly; Dedicated Tasks view; Search utility, PNG category icons with extensions support and more!

Gestures and Touch - Navigate using gestures support. Swipe your finger left/right to move between dates, down to bring the Touch Date Selector and up to easily jump get back to current day

Innovative & Powerful Tools - Automatic email notifications and attendees appointment invitations; Pop-out Effect for better display of current day events, Active timelines, Professionally designed PNG based category icon store for best display results

Simplified and Innovative - Next generation user-interface which automatically adopts your current Windows Mobile look and feel. Additionally, especially designed features that take advantage of any screen resolution and orientation!

Calendar Touch offers a myriad of exciting features and innovations! Click here to read the full development note posted at our company forums

Pricing and Availability

SBSH Calendar Touch costs $24.95

Calendar Touch can be purchased using the SBSH Store at the following URL:
http://www.sbsh.net/products/windows_mobile_pocket_pc/calendar_touch/add_to_cart            

HTC releases fix for Touch HD

HTC has a fix for the HTC Touch HD device. "Sometimes the screen stops responding for about 3 to 5 seconds when running an application that needs to use the stylus to click the screen repeatedly within a short time. For example, the windows built-in software like SMS, email, solitaire, etc."
 
The fix can be downloaded from http://www.htc.com/www/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=179&act=all       
            

Eagle Eye Tracker Mobile 1.0 released.

The Eagle Eye Tracker Mobile 1.0 is a software application that turns a Windows mobile phone with windows mobile 6.1 into an advanced tracking device with many capabilities no other tracking device on the market today offers. Our website eagleeyetracker.com is a free service where you can set-up an account and have up to 5 tracking devices on your account with absolutely no monthly service charges. Eagle Eye Tracker is the only World Wide tracking service that provides free basic service of 5 tracking devices.   
 
Read more...         

SafeMode 3 released

You're having issues with your device and notice that a driver or application is preventing from booting normally? I think you will more than happy to have SafeMode installed on the device. Similarly to the computer, SafeMode lets you boot your device into safe mode and fix your issues.
 
Download a trial from http://www.monocube.com/

Black Friday is coming

Mark your calendars, Black Friday is coming over at Handango on Friday 28. Expect massive savings on software.            

www.handango.com

Historia 1.0 Beta

Here's your chance to try a call logging application that works better than the one that's built into Windows Mobile. To join the beta program, send an email to support@festinger.net and a free registration key will be sent.

Features:

# Detailed information on each call .
# sorting by any column.
# 15 lines of calls per page.
# Copying a number.
 
Learn more at http://festinger.net/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=1          

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