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.

---

check out the rest of the Windows Live™. More than mail–Windows Live™ goes way beyond your inbox. More than messages

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?

---

Get news, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Check it out!

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

            

---

Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

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 

            

---

See all the ways you can stay connected to friends and family

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.
            

---

See all the ways you can stay connected to friends and family

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...

---

Add maps and directions to your party Show them the way!

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.