Professor Pocket

Arachnids refer to eight legged creatures such as spiders, mites, ticks, and scorpions--bugs without antennae. To this list we can now add another species, the SpiderPodium. The SpiderPodium is an eight-legged device that supports small gadgets and can act as a travel dock.

I remember the good old days when every portable digital assistant came with a charging dock as a matter of course, but no more. Hence, you are stuck trying to prop up your device somehow so you can view it while tethered, charging and syncing.

According to Greek mythology, it all started with a woman named Arachne who boasted she could out-weave the goddess Athena. While an excellent weaver, Arachne eventually lost the contest, and Athena turned her into a spider who would spend eternity weaving webs. For this reason, the company that produces this item may wish to change its name from Breffo to Arachne.

What is a Spider Podium exactly? The name actually says it all. This gadget has eight bendable, wire legs coated in heavy plastic radiating from a central rectangular body with a slot in it. The idea is that you can bend the legs to hold any portable device in a viewable, stationary position. You can hold your camera, and it will serve as a tripod so you can include yourself in group pictures. It will hold your MP3 player and allow you to watch videos. It will hold your phone while it charges and syncs to the mother ship.

With a little imagination, you can make the pliable legs grab, support, and suspend any small device securely.

Not coincidentally, the slot in the center body of the Spider is designed to accommodate that pesky, bulky, Apple iPhone/iPod connector. (Why can’t Apple use a standard micro USB connector so you don’t have to take so many cables with you on a trip?) Anyway, when you have the iPhone connector inserted properly, it will hold the device sufficiently so that you don’t have to worry about having the legs hold it. I suppose you would want to secure it with legs on a bike or where there would be some bumping involved.

The really cool part of it that you can use some of the legs for a stand or you can use them for attachments. For instance, suppose you wish to use your phone for GPS navigation in the car, and you don’t want to spend $50 for a window mount. Simply configure the spider to grab on to something in the car such as a visor or a vent. I suppose you could get it to stand up in a drink cup holder as well.

Buy another one (they’re cheap), suspend it from a headrest and let the kids watch videos in the back seat. Use it to mount your phone/GPS to the handle bars of your bike or motorcycle. I even use it in bed to hold my phone so I can read ebooks. When I used it to watch TV or movies, I call it bellyvision. Use it on your bedside table and turn your iPod into a travel clock radio stand. They’re great for video conferencing too.

The functionality of this highly adaptable device is only limited by your imagination. You can use it everywhere. Use it while camping, on an airplane, in bed, on your desk, in the car, on a bus, on a boat, on your bike. It’s highly portable with its 3.5 inch legs.

This ingenious device is a must-have whether on your desk or on the road. Don’t leave home without it. I found them on Amazon.com for as little as $18.95. It’s available in white, black, and gray. There is a larger version called SpiderTablet.

I’m thinking about getting one for my home office, one for the kitchen so I can watch the news while fixing dinner, one for the bedroom to use as an alarm clock/radio stand, one for the family room to I can see my phone screen, one for the car for navigation, and one for my bike. That way I won’t have to remember how to bend the legs for the various functions. I can’t imagine life without at least one of these handy arachnids. Get one, and I promise it won’t bug you. In fact, if this bug bites you, you may become addicted to it.

I consider the Spiderpodium one of my best discoveries at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In fact, this gadget earned its developer a Design and Engineering Innovation award.

Dock it. Hang it. Grip it.

Keep connected!

Let’s Check out the HTC Evo Shift Android 4G

2011-02-12T09:54:00.001-08:00

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound—it’s the new HTC Evo Shift 4G. Are you ready to download at speeds ten times faster than 3G? If so, let’s take a look at the new Evo Shift 4G.

This Android 2.2 phone has a 3.6 inch touch screen, measures 4.625” x 2.375” x .625” and weighs in at 5.75 ounces. Its relative thickness accommodates a lateral, backlit, slideout, QWERTY keyboard that is tactilely pleasing to use.

Other notable features include a Qualcomm 800 MHz processor 512 MB RAM with 2 GB internal memory. It comes with a 2 GB micro SD card but will accommodate up to 32 GB. The 1500 mAh battery seems to have a reasonable life, but I have not been able to test it thoroughly. HTC Sense user interface enhances social networking, navigation, and customization. There is a 5 MPX camera and camcorder in the rear, but none in the front for HD quality capture and playback. It has proximity, motion, and light sensors. In addition to GPS, it offers stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that will connect up to eight other devices wirelessly.

At the top, you will find the power button and a 3.5 mm jack. The right side and the bottom have no buttons or ports. On the left side, there is a rocker volume control switch. Below that, toward the bottom is the micro USB port for charging and syncing. On the top front is a stereo speaker grill and a status light on the right. At the bottom on the front are four hard buttons with the following functions from left to right: Home, Menu, Back, Search. The Menu button is an added HTC convenience, for other Android devices only have three buttons, and you must access the menu through the home button.

This powerful unit comes fully loaded. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an array of applications included. Even though there are now over 100,000 apps in the Android Market, there is plenty already onboard to keep you busy for a long time. Look at this amazing list of apps that come pre-loaded:

Adobe Reader

Amazon MP3

App Sharing

Calculator

Calendar

Call history

Camcorder

Camera

Car Panel

Clock

Desk Clock

Facebook

Flashlight

FM Radio

Footprints

Friend Stream

Gallery

Gmail

Google Search

HTC Mobile Guide

Internet

Kindle

Latitude

Mail

Maps

Market

Messages

Music

NASCAR

Navigation

News

News and Weather

Peep

People

Phone

Places

Quickoffice

Search People

Settings

Setup

SprintFootball

Sprint Hostpot

Sprint TV

Spring Zone

Stocks

Talk

Teeter

TeleNav GPS Navigation

Videos

Voice Dialer

Voice Recorder

Voice Search

Voicemail

Weather

YouTube

To tell the truth, I’m a little disappointed in the camera as it is only 5 MPX. The quality is not as good as other phone cameras I have seen lately. It seems to lack sharpness and clarity. At 5 MPX, it is toward the low end of the scale these days compared to many phones with 8 MPX. It would be nice if it had a dual LED flash and a front facing camera as well for video conferencing, bumping, and a little FaceTime.

At 3.6 inches, the screen is on the small side, but perfectly clear with a nice picture. I might have trouble deciding on whether to settle for this format or a larger one of say 4.3 inches.

I like the feel of the slideout keyboard. Each key is clearly defined and helps in making fewer typing errors. However, I personally do not like the horizontal keyboard and rarely use it. First of all, it automatically makes the machine thicker. It is cumbersome to slide out the keyboard, and you must use two hands to hold it and type. I much prefer an on-screen keyboard that pops up when you need it and disappears when you are done. Of course, with the slideout keyboard you must type everything in the landscape view. One of the great Android typing innovations is Swype, which I thought came pre-installed in all Android phones, but not this one, which is a shame. I suppose for many folks the slideout keyboard is an absolute deal maker though.

I have no complaints about Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They both worked exactly as they should and connected quickly. Sometimes I have trouble connecting Bluetooth with various peripherals, but not on this unit, and that’s a big plus in my book. My only regret is that I was unable to test the power of 4G, as it doesn’t exist in my area, and I loathed the idea of going to New York City to try it out. So, make sure that you have a 4G signal in your area so you can take full advantage of this capability. I can’t wait to experience the power of 4G, which can be up to 10 times faster than 3G.

The Navigation program and Google Maps worked superbly so that it’s not necessary to acquire any third party software. It has audio, turn by turn navigation and reroutes quickly if you take a wrong turn. I really enjoy switching to satellite mode and watching the actual countryside go by as I drive and the seeing the actual buildings in town. It’s kinda cool to pull up in front of somebody’s house and show them a picture of the house. Of course, to use the Evo for navigation in your car, you should be prepared to purchase some kind of mount and a charger, which could set you back another fifty bucks or so.

In the final analysis, I found the HTC Shift Evo 4g to be a perfectly acceptable device with satisfactory functionality. However, if I were in the Sprint store, I would definitely put my money on the HTC Evo because of the larger 4.3” screen, front and rear 8 MPX camera with dual flash. While 4G is certainly an incredible phenomenon, it is still extremely limited in its distribution. If you live in a 4G market, you will certainly want to consider the Evo Shift.

Keep connected!

SanDisk: Adventures in Memory

2011-01-24T18:22:00.000-08:00

There are certainly lots of choices out there when it comes to memory media, but somehow SanDisk has always been my favorite. Over the years, I have amassed a small mound of SanDisk memory cards starting with the big CF cards, progressing to the standard SD card and then to the Micro and Mini SD cards and adapters. Let’s not forget the SanDisk flash drives that are also increasing in capacity.

It’s difficult to believe how much storage is available on a tiny micro SD card these days. It amuses me to think of all the old 3.5 inch floppies I had to shuffle in and out of the drive to accommodate a single document on a 1.44 MB disk. Can you imagine how many of those disks it took to back up files? Times have certainly changed.

I can hardly believe it, but SanDisk now has a 128 GB memory card created mostly for accommodating videos and photographs, which require a large amount of space. I can remember my first 1 GB hard drive. I paid $1400 for it and thought I would never run out of room. Ha!

The new 238 GB Extreme Pro compact flash card is a photographer’s dream come true with oodles of storage and rapid performance. Write speeds go up to 100 GB/s. It features Video Performance Guarantee for full HD quality.

In its never ending quest to improve and expand memory applications, SanDisk has some other new tricks up its sleeve. For instance, its new Secure Access software. This software protects your videos, photos, music, and data files in a private vault on your USB drive. You can drag and drop files into the secure vault online with 128 bit AES encryption for security. Your files are securely stored online up to 2 GB by Dmailer technology.

Even if your flash drive is lost or stolen, your files are still secure. Secure Access is available on SanDisk Ultra, Cruzer, Cruzer Slive, Cruzer Edge, and Cruzer Blade.

The new SanDisk Ultra USB flash drive will transfer files at speeds up to 15 MB/s. It comes in capacities of 8, 16, and 32 GB. It features password protection and encryption as well as up to 2 GB of free online backup.

Over the years, I have seen SanDisk’s MP3 players evolve. My MP3 player of choice now is the Sansa Fuze, which comes in 4, 8, and 16 GB capacities. Of course it has a micro SD card expansion slot so that the memory is really infinite. This device also plays, pauses, and records FM radio with scanning and presets for your favorite stations. It is also an audio recorder with a built in microphone for notes, music, lectures, etc.

Of course you can also enjoy videos, photo slide shows, podcasts, and audiobooks. You can even download free, unabridged audiobooks from most local libraries these days. Every night while I cook dinner I listen to the news on my Fuze that I have connected to an external speaker system for greater listening pleasure. When I’m on the road I enjoy hooking it up to my car speaker system and hearing my favorite tunes or an audiobook.

I also use it as a brag book and have pix of my grandkids in it to show anyone I can corner. It’s super bright 2.4” screen is perfect for photos and videos.

It can handle the following formats

Audio: MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV Audible, Podcasts

Photos: JPEG, MBP, TIFF, GIF, PNG

Video: H264, MPEG-4, WMV, Flip Video

Let’s not forget to mention the diminutive Sansa Clip MP3 player and the USB MobileMate Micro Readers for transferring data between a PC and a phone, camera, or MP3 player.

In the box, you get the MP3 player, ear bugs, micro-USB 2.0 cable, Quick Start Guide, and Rhapsody Software for music downloads and transfers.

If you don’t want to bother with downloads and creating libraries, you can pop in a slotRadio card that hold 1000 handcrafted songs on a playlist tailored to your taste, which is available from slotRadio.com.

The rechargeable battery lasts up to 24 hours for audio playback and up to 5 hours for video playback.

Another SanDisk innovation is its new Xbox 360 USB flash drive. Just plug it into your Xbox to save games, profiles, map packs, music, pictures, and videos and then take it with you on the road. It comes preconfigured for Xbox so that there is no setup required. It comes in 8 and 16 GB capacities.

SanDisk stands ready to help you expand and preserve your memory in a wide range of devices with its SDHC memory cards with capacities up to 32 GB and a wide range of other memory media designed for just about every digital device imaginable. The preservation of memory at an affordable price is a noble cause indeed. Two thumbs up for SanDisk.

HTC Introduces New 4G Phones

2011-01-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

At CES, I always make it a point to visit the HTC booth on my first day to see what they are up to because I have long considered this company to be the leader in smartphone innovation. I have several old HTC phones that were way ahead of their time. I can remember when they used to make nothing but unlocked phones when they were in search of a carrier. Now I imagine they can pick and choose whatever carrier they wish for HTC has more than proven itself to be on the cutting edge of handset quality and innovation.

HTC has already launched the first 4G phone in 2008 and the first Android 4G phone in 2010. At CES, HTC announced the introduction of 3 more 4G phones.

The Thunderbolt with Verizon is will spearhead Verizon’s venture into the 4G market. It will have Skype connectivity so the users may connect through voice and video taking advantage of its large 4.3 inch screen and front and rear cameras. The Qualcomm chipset will allow seamless switching between 3G and 4G networks. Thunderbolt will also have built-in GPS, digital compass, G-sensor, proximity sensor, and light sensor. It features a pull out stand, which is a handy feature I appreciate.

HTC has also partnered with AT&T to offer its Inspire 4G with the HSPA+ network. The phone will take advantage of THC’s Sense enabling users to find lost phones and wipe out data if necessary. It will have an 8 MPX camera with Dolby and SRA surround sound, active noise cancellation. The classy body design is machined from a single block of aluminum. This will also be an Android 2.2 phone. It will have a single 8 MPX autofocus camera with a dual LED flash. DLNA will be built-n for home networking. The screen size is 3.6 inches. The HTC Inspire 4G will be available in the first quarter of 2011.

The new HTC Freesyle is built on a seek aluminum unibody with a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen and HTC onboard. It offers a FriendStream social network interface, FM radio, proximity sensor, and GPS. This phone runs on the Brew OS. I do not have any experience with the Brew system yet, so reserve comment other than to muse whether we need yet another operating system.

The HTC EVO Shift 4G is another Android phone with HTC sense and a slideout QWERTY keyboard. Used as a modem, the phone will connect up to 8 other devices in a network. It has a 3.6 inch WVGA touch screen display with digital compass, g-sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor, and GPS. There is a 5 MPX camera with flash. It is sponsored by Sprint.

There are two other HTC 4G phones available. One is myTouch 4G running on Android 2.2 with a 5 MPX camera and a popout QWERTY keyboard. The other is the T-Mobile G2 Android phone with a front and rear camera for video chat.

The first 4G phone on the market was the HTC EVO 4G, which is still available running on Android 2.2 with HTC Sense, HD video capture and a 8 MPX camera. It features a built in kickstand for hands free viewing.

Clearly, HTC leads the way in mobile phone technology and has more 4G phones than any other manufacturer, most of which are in the Android platform. If I were forced to pick a favorite with a gun to my head, I would quickly select the Thunderbolt with Verizon because of its rich set of features, not the least of which is the front and rear camera arrangement for video chats.

TidySongs Will Clean Your Music Library

2011-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

We all probably have a flawed music library missing album covers, mislabeled songs, albums in the wrong categories, and artists missing or misspelled. We’ve probably vowed to fix as a rainy day project, but at the list of errors grows the task becomes more daunting and never gets done.

Enter TidySongs, a marvelous little application that you can buy at a retail store on a thumb drive for $39.95 or download it online. It will fix all the errors and omissions in your music library in a jiffy. So, if order , errors, and organization are important to you, this was send from heaven for it works fast, is user friendly, and puts your music house in order.

Not only does it fix misspelled song details, fill in missing artists, with years and genres, it also adds missing album artwork and removes duplicate songs.

It only works with iTunes, however. But it does work on both PCs and Macs. It’s all automatic; no typing required. Sweet.

While it’s push button simple, it also gives you complete control to retag genres and more. You can tell it what you want it to do or not to do.

So, if your music library is a mess and needs some housekeeping, you should put TidySongs to work for you. It costs $39.95 and you can get it at www.tidysong.com.

HTC HD7 Windows 7 Phone Review

2011-01-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Overview and Description

This HTC Windows Phone 7 is sleek and attractive with a black frame and gray body. It weighs 5.71 oz and measures 4.80 x 2.68 x .44 inches.

On the back, there is a little leg that folds out from the camera lens area to make a handy stand in the horizontal position. The stand surrounds the 5 MPX camera lens, dual flash, and rear speaker grill. At the top of the unit, there is a power switch. On the left side are two volume control buttons and lower down a camera button. On the bottom, is a micro USB port, a 3.5 mm audio output jack, and a microphone. On the front of the unit, there is a battery status light, above a 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen. Below the screen are three hardware buttons for Back, Start, and Search. There are two more speaker grills located at the top and bottom of the screen.

It is powered by a 1000 MHz processor with 576 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM on board. The build-in memory is 16348, but there is no storage expansion slot. It also has a T-Mobile SIMM card. The 1230 mAh battery has a 6.33 hour talk time with 310 hours standby. With a 3G connection, the talk time goes down to 5.33 hours. This phone operates on a 3G T-Mobile network.

Multi media support includes a music player supporting MP3, WMA, M4A, and M4B with a video camera and playback supporting MPEG4, WMV, 3GP, and 3G2. It also has an FM radio.

Internet browsing is available with HTML but Flash is not available for a full Web browsing experience. A Facebook application is built-in. Caller groups are supported with multiple phone numbers per contact. You may search by first or last name, It has picture ID, ring ID, and voice dialing. It also comes with a calendar, alarms, todo/tasks lists, document viewer, flashlight, calculator, and converter. You can do SMS, MMS, and it supports various email accounts. My Gmail contacts were imported automatically and were appeared before I knew it. This phone features Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11b,802.11g, and 802.11n. It also has an accelerometer and a compass.

What a pleasure to have a Microsoft phone that has office applications already installed for no extra charge, which, in this case, include Onenote, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Sharepoint. You can view, edit, and create documents in any of these formats and share them or collaborate with others.

However, I have to shake my head in disbelief. There is no way to copy, cut, and paste from one document to another with this operating system. I thought that the iPhone was a big joke because it couldn’t do that either for three generations or so. Why would Microsoft leave out this fundamental utility to make its applications work they way there were meant to work? Why didn’t Microsoft learn from Apple’s mistakes? It’s beyond me.

While we are at it, this system does not have the ability to capture screen shots either. Nor can it place a copy of the handheld screen on a desktop monitor for interactive data transfer between devices with a mouse and keyboard. These are all things Windows Mobile was able to do for years. It seems we’re going backwards here.

A nice feature of Windows 7 phones is the Hub concept in which you can place related items as icons in a single button on the home screen. Just scroll down if you run out of viewing space. On the home screen there is an arrow that you can tap or flick right, and it will roll to a screen containing all of your installed programs through which you may scroll vertically to select.

While the phone comes equipped with built-in GPS, the navigation program it offers actually costs $2.99 a month to use. That bugs me. The map program seems lame and takes forever to respond. There is no voice-turn-by-turn navigation, and the map is blurry. Google maps is far better, but not available on this machine.

All the incredible Google apps are free downloads in the Android store, but none of them exist for this phone. You will be missing out on such familiar apps as maps, gmail, docs, earth, goggles, talk, voice, reader, books, notebook, and so many others, especially developments from the labs. At least there is YouTube and you can get Picasa online, but again, it takes forever. I guess that may be one advantage of Google owning the apps and the Android system.

I found the screen to be bright and crisp. The scrolling was smooth and responsive. Programs that are stored on the device seemed to pop up in short order without delay. However, if a program must access the Internet to invoke, it can take for bloody ever. This is definitely a consistent negative feature of this phone. It would benefit immensely from a faster network connection.

In the Box

This phone comes packaged in a small box into which is tightly packed a micro USB charger cable, a 110v AC adapter, and a stereo headset. There is a small, printed manual, and some other informational material.

Getting Started

When I first took the unit out of the box, I couldn’t get it to turn on. Was there no battery installed? I couldn’t find a battery in the box. So, I opened the back cover and found a plastic insulator that must be removed for the battery to make contact.

When you plug in the micro USB connector to a computer, a box pops up notifying you that you need to get Zune software so that you can get updates, find apps, sync music, pix, and videos. What about files guys? Is this just another iPod touch with Zune instead of iTunes?

You can sign in with existing MSN or Hotmail account or get a new one. You are given the opportunity to become part of the Zune Social networking group. Now you can share everything you’re doing with your friends and who knows who else. You must create a Zune tag for the forums etc.

Now you can get a 14 day Zune pass to try out the services. After that, it’s $14.99 per month, $44.97 for three months, or $149.90 per year. You get unlimited access to download as many songs as you like and last as long as you are a paid subscriber. You can keep 10 or your favorite songs each month forever. Frankly, this plan does not appeal to me in any of its forms.

Now you can download the Zune software and plug your phone back into the computer. The Zune software allows you to sync your stuff back and forth between computer and phone. Zune offers free channels to subscribers for creating and updating playlists. This is also where you find the apps for Windows Phone 7.

Apps

I have been very curious about the quality and quantity of apps available for this very new platform and suspected that it must be sparse. The first thing I noticed, which isn’t surprising I suppose, is several apps for Xbox. Then there’s a list of top ten paid apps, which are all games. Going over to the free apps column, I see that there are some more serious apps there such as YouTube, Facebook, Adobe Reader, Amazon Kindle, Weather Channel, and Shazam, but the rest are games. How many apps are available anyway?

Like Apple, you have to sign in with a password to download apps. But unlike Apple, you only have to do it once, which I appreciate. Apple’s system is a bother. Of course with Android you don’t have to sign in at all.

Microsoft has probably exerted a valiant effort to have a variety of useful and entertaining apps available for their new phone platform. Recognizing that it is a brand new arena and that it will take time to mature and develop a larger corpus of applications, it is probably not fair to observe that the app store shelves seemed stripped bare with relatively few choices. Another observation is that there are surprisingly few free apps. When you visit the app store, you better have some jingle in your jeans. There no such thing as a free trial either. Some apps that are free in Android and iTunes stores cost money in the Microsoft market. Why would that be?

Traditionally, I suppose that Microsoft Windows Mobile users are accustomed to paying extremely high prices for software programs. Typically a program would cost from $15 to $30 and often more. But these applications were of high quality and worked seamlessly. So, if you are after quality instead of quality, maybe that is what is being delivered. But it would be good to have more choices, free trials, and more reasonable prices. Maybe the market will smooth all this out in time.

I was surprised that few of the developers with whom I have worked for years on the Windows Mobile platform have applications in the Windows 7 app store. Maybe it’s too early? Maybe the market is still too small to interest them? I hope they will soon appear however, because they are what made the Windows Mobile system so robust.

When you search the app store a strange thing happens. If there are no relevant apps to satisfy your search it doesn’t want to disappoint you so it brings up a bunch of music and Websites that may be relevant to your search query. Weird.

Jumping through hoops

Eager to put the new Windows Phone 7 through its paces, I loaded it up with some apps so that I could play games, watch TV, listen to music, create and edit documents, send email, sms, mms, photos and videos. In performing all of these tasks, the machine performed as expected. I particularly enjoyed the voice command feature. My only reservation would be that it seemed sluggish on the Web many times, and I don’t think it was my connection.

I appreciated the large screen and its clarity The smoothness of navigation when scrolling is perhaps even better than Android phones. I like its sleek look and how it nestles in your hand and wants to be yours. I like the fold out kick stand. I appreciate the integration of Microsoft office programs, which makes it a real productivity tool. I applaud the fact that Netflix comes already installed and works beautifully, but why not Hulu, Pandora, and other streaming apps? I like the fact that you can sync files between computers and the Windows 7 phone wirelessly.

A note on syncing

The Windows Phone 7 does a superb job syncing Music, Videos, Pictures and Podcasts, which makes it a super MP3 player. But when it comes to perhaps more important things like data, it falls far short of the old Windows Mobile sync interface. Remember how you could check boxes on what you wanted to sync such as notes, calendar, contacts, and files? Now you have to go through Windows Live online and it’s a precarious process. I could not drag and drop files either. We’re going backwards here folks. I could not even get the phone to come up as a drive on my desktop directory so that I could address it and exchange files manually.

Conclusion

What I find lacking and hope will soon be corrected are some glaring oversights, some cannot be avoided problems, and I have a wish list of missing features.

The biggest deal breaker for me is the unit’s lack of ability to copy/cut/paste. I just do not understand this omission. Of course, you will have to live with the paucity of apps, but I expect this to be remedied with time. I wish the apps were more reasonably priced and that there were more free ones. It’s too bad that none of the Google apps are available for this phone. I wish the camera had higher resolution as it is on the low end of the spectrum these days. Another deal breaker is that it doesn’t have a front and rear camera for video conferencing. I don’t like the navigation system and resent having to pay $2.99 a month for the one offered. This system does not support Flash for full Web browsing capability. The whole syncing process needs to be revisited, improved, and perhaps restored to Windows Mobile 6.5 functionality.

“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”

I have long awaited Microsoft’s return to the smartphone market as it seemed to be laying fallow for the past three or four years. While I applaud the Windows Phone 7 and consider it to be a worthy competitor for all its functionality, I am in the end disappointed. I do not see that it is substantially better than iPhone or Android. Somehow I expected it would be. If fact, I must say that in many respects it seems to be a step backward when you compare all the things a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone can do.

If you are an early adapter to the latest technology, you may wish to purchase one of these units and ride the wave as the improvements roll out and the apps become more plentiful. However, I think I would wait until it matures, works out some kinks, adds functionality and far more applications.

As usual, I think HTC has created a superb product that is appealing and functional. I only lament that the Windows 7 system it houses is not more robust and highly developed.

Viva Verizon

2011-01-24T14:48:00.001-08:00

One of the most impressive bigger than life presences at the Consumer Electronics Show this year was Verizon. It started in the press rooms and blogger lounges, continued with free delicious lunches every day, extended to a meaningful keynote speech by Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, and was further demonstrated in a behemoth booth in the South Hall of the Convention Center.

To get to the press room, you had to run a gauntlet of Verizon staff who were eager to tell you all about and demonstrate Verizon innovations. I was glad that I took the time to get acquainted with some of Verizon’s new technology, and I want to share it with you too.

Of course I was already keenly aware of and am eagerly awaiting the dissemination of Verizon’s new 4G network. Of course I will have to acquire a new Android 4G phone to take advantage of it, which is a downer for people who have recently acquired a new 3G phone—no firmware upgrades will be possible. L.

Seidenberg emphasized in his address the importance of faster and more commodious broadband as the key to connectivity and technological expansion. Hence the deployment of a 4G LTE based cellular network that will be 10 times faster than the current 3G standard.

In fact, Verizon’s 4G LTE network will be the fastest in America with speeds of 5-12 mbps. You can download a song in 4 seconds, 20 photos in a minute, a 10 MB presentation in 10 seconds, a TV show in 5 minutes, or an entire movie in about 20 minutes.

Another exciting development from Verizon I was glad to learn about is the new FiOS network with Flex View. Unfortunately, FiOS will only be available in select markets at first, but will eventually cover the entire country. It will offer an alternative method of acquiring television entertainment and give cable and satellite networks some much needed competition. Hopefully the consumer will benefit from lower pricing spawned by competition.

The FiOS network features Flex View, and that’s the exciting part. With Flex View, subscribers will be able to stream live or recorded content to mobile phones, laptops, and desktops. Signals may be shared among up to 5 devices simultaneously. It means you can enjoy the same entertainment in your living room or on the road. It means you can control your DVR remotely to view, record, or watch whatever you wish, whenever you wish, from wherever you wish.

Subscribers will have 70 GB of storage with each account. You can use this space for all your content including your own pictures and videos for viewing wherever and whenever you wish with Flex View.

Home Control is another feature bundled with FiOS. It allows you to monitor your home security system remotely with cameras, burglar and fire alarm systems, door locks, energy management, door locks, lights, thermostat, and more.

Also available is Umi by Cisco in conjunction with FiOS. Umi allows for teleconferencing and is designed to get families together as if they were all in the same living room at the same time over live video on your HDTV. Vidoes can be recorded and shared on YouTube, Facebook or email.

FiOS will have an On Demand feature as well. On Demand allows you to view first run movies on a pay per view basis. You can also watch a host of free movies and content on major networks and cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, and Starz. The glory is that the programs are already recorded so that you don’t even have to worry about programming them on your DVR.

Thank you Verizon for your pioneering, innovative efforts and results. I just hope you hurry to my neighborhood. I am looking forward to being an early subscriber to FiOS and taking advantage of 4G, Home Control, Flex View, and Umi. Thank you Verizon for all the delicious free lunches at CES and a comfortable place to sit to get a little work done with a WiFi connection.

I suppose another big news item than cannot be ignored is that iPhone will now be available on Verizon. Too bad iPhones can’t handle 4G, which as far as I’m concerned is just another reason to get an Android phone. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out with iPhone on Verizon. I know a lot of iPhone developers who are eager for the new customers it will represent.

At CES, Verizon unveiled 10, count them, TEN, new 4G Android phones such as the LG Revolution, HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola Droid Bionic and a Samsung Smartphone. In addition, there will be several new Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom. HP will offer Pavillion and Compaq notebooks for 4G consumption.

In my estimation, Verizon characterizes the most important theme of CES, which was innovation with convergence through cooperative efforts with other entities to bring beneficial results in advancing technology to improve our lives.

CES 2011: Impressions and Convergence

2011-01-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

If you’ve never been to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it’s an unimaginable extravaganza teeming with hordes of people streaming through the venues attempting to absorb all the latest technology on display. The super stars in the consumer electronics industry such as Microsoft, Samsung. Toshiba, Panasonic, Casio, HP, and more are all computing for your attention with blaring music, flashing lights, uniformed employees, dancing girls, live stage performances, robots, game booths, scads of HD and 3D TVs, and other gimmicks. It’s a total assault on the senses. Perhaps the most soothing was Microsoft whose entire exhibit area was bathed in blue light for a much appreciated nerve-calming effect. Purportedly there were over 130,000 attendees this year, which is a lot of humanity in any one place. That’s ten times more people than live in my entire town.

Big at this years’ show were 3D TVs, Smart TVs, Android Tablets, automated remote control home systems, new 4G phones, eBook readers, wireless chargers, digital automobile accessories, and iPad accessories.

There were so many 3D displays that I pilfered a pair of 3D glasses from LG and wore them on top of my head so that I could pop them on whenever needed, which was a good deal of the time. 3D technology is certainly here and ready for the market. I wonder who is going to pay for it though and how. The entertainment industry got stuck with the bill for switching over to HD with little improved revenue. Only the TV manufacturers came out ahead there. Most likely it will be the consumer who will foot the bill for 3D TV this time around. While 3D is nice, I certainly would not appreciate having to pay for all content. Maybe a movie here and there would be OK from time to time. It may be a while before 3D is in every home. Many folks just got a new HDTV and may not be willing to fork out a small fortune for a 3DTV so soon.

Not all 3D TV displays are created equal. Some are clearly better than others. Some have 3D depth within the screen, but few actually extend out beyond the screen.

Camera manufacturers such as Sony, Canon, and Olympus are beginning to offer 3D cameras, which I imagine will soon become a standard feature in all cameras. Panasonic has a 3D lens to accessorize some of its models. Be on the lookout for Casio’s sexy new Tryx camera with its unique pivoting features.

Another TV feature widely touted was Smart TV. This means that a TV set is connected to the Internet and can stream content from such providers as Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, interact with social networking sies, view pictures/videos, and surf the Net. You can already do this with third party devices such as Roku, but that can add another hundred bucks to the cost of your TV. I wonder what smart TV is going to do to Roku, Wii, Xbox, BoxyBox, and WiFi enabled Bluray players.

All the new TVs have a narrow bezel so that there is more screen viewing area. This is a trend I appreciate for I don’t like wide, ugly borders. I just bought a new HDTV that I wanted to fit in an antique armoire and had to settle for a much smaller screen size than I would have liked. Now it will be possible to fit a larger screen into the same space.

Portable storage cards continues to expand and become less expensive. Both Lexar and SanDisk now offer 128 GB storage cards to accommodate videos and photographs.

I lost count of how many new Android tablets were exhibited, many by unknown Asian electronics firms hoping to find sponsors no doubt. Suffice it to say that the Android tablet market is alive and well and poised to give the overpriced iPad a run for its money. Some of the new tabs are available for less than $100, but they will all be less expensive that an iPad.

I saw an abundance of new phones that will soon be available, most of them Android flavored. There are many new units ready for the 4G wave that Verizon and other carriers will be releasing soon too. I even saw some 3D phones. LG has one that doesn’t require glasses, and it looks pretty sharp.

I had a chance to play with several models of the new Windows 7 phone, and I must say that the interface is pretty slick. However, I will not take it seriously until it can copy and paste. You would think Microsoft would learn from Apple’s mistakes and not go through the same evolution. I would have expected the 7 phone to do everything the Windows Mobile could do and much more. I’m disappointed.

With respect to eBooks, my mantra is “eBooks rule; treebooks drool.” While I am happy to see the popularity of eBook readers, I will never understand the naïve acceptance of such a primitive device as the Kindle. I honestly think that people just don’t know any better or they would never give the Kindle a second glance. It deserves to be relegated to the trash heap of discarded memorabilia. Oddly, there are many Kindle wannabes out there that do not offer any of the great features that are possible to make ebook reading a rewarding experience. With these featureless ebook readers, you might just as well have a clunky treebook in black and white and turn the pages by hand.

Few of the new readers I saw even have color. Happily, the Nook reader is a welcome exception, and I applaud the improvements over the lowly Kindle. A decent eBook reader should have multi-language dictionaries, the ability to change fonts, sizes, and colors, background color, underline in a variety of colors, color highlights, copy/paste, annotation, instant lookups, indexed notes, multiple, indexed bookmarks, and drawing. Of course a good eBook reader would be able to surf the Web and download books over the air. As long as there is Internet connectivity, it may as well do email and texting. If it can do that, why not word processing, videos, photos, spreadsheets, and presentations. Whoops, I guess we would be talking about a tablet here.

The point is, why would anyone want to pay several hundred dollars for a unifunctional device that only does one thing, and it doesn’t even do it very well? Instead, why not get a device for the same price such as an Android Tablet that can do everything—a machine that is a real computer? Makes lots of sense to me.

I saw booth after booth dedicated to devices and components that allow you to control the various systems in your home remotely. A partial list of systems would include sprinklers, pool, hot tub, appliances, TV, windows, garage door, burglar and fire alarms, door locks, curtains and awnings. It’s certainly the wave of the future and I expect will be in most new homes. Homeowners can select the components they wish to automate and install them a la carte. Of course, all this can be controlled by a handheld device such as a phone from anywhere. I like it.

I also like the concept of wireless chargers for such devices as phones, cameras, and MP3 players. But I didn’t see any that did not require affixing some kind of tab to back of a device, which I don’t like and would not purchase any of these chargers for that reason. There is room for improvement in this area. Maybe next year there will be wireless chargers that are also devoid of ugly and cumbersome add-on parts.

Ford Motor Company had the most conspicuous presence at the show and its president was a keynote speaker. Ford has made a significant investment in making digital technology available with its onboard Sync system, which I welcome for it will reduce the need for makeshift peripherals and extraneous wires running everywhere.

Of course there were other car companies exhibiting innovations as well such as Toyota, Honda, Audi and BMW. More hybrids are making an appearance, and it seems that it won’t be long before affordable electric cars are available for mass consumption.

OnStar has long been an attractive feature for General Motors cars that helps you out of pickles when you get lost, stranded, or have an accident. Now, an aftermarket version of OnStar will be available for almost any vehicle. It’s all in a rearview mirror that costs about $300 and another $100 to install plus an $18 monthly subscription fee. This seems pricey, but if it could save your life, I suppose it’s a small price to pay.

Of course there were exhibits of ridiculous speaker systems and amplifiers that take up most of the car. I swear you could open the trunk lid and the sound would blow you down the street. There should be a law against these noise polluters. Come to think of it, there is a law against them where I live.

While CES is decidedly not Apple oriented, I couldn’t help notice that more of the members of the press were using Apple products. There were scores of booths dedicated to iPod, iPhone, and iPad accessories such as cases, covers, holders, mounting devices, keyboards, speakers, and more.

I was disappointed not to see much in the way of accessories for Android devices, but that’s the rub. There is just one iPhone, iPod, and iPad for accessory makers to worry about, and there is a myriad of Android products all requiring separate adaptations.

While I understand that sales of gaming consoles such as Wii and Xbox are disappointing, there were plenty of booths promoting game products and accessories. Microsoft had several see-through booths large enough to contain several people/players. But I tend to avoid gaming for fear of becoming addicted and didn’t spend much time on this aspect of the show.

Going green was a definite theme espoused by companies large and small. This is a healthy trend I have not noticed at CES before, and it seems to be catching on across the globe. How wonderful that companies are beginning to take responsibility for the eco-stewardship of our planet instead of the old exploitation model of times past. We are beginning to realize that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be destructive to the environment.

The pursuit of social networking alliances was more than ever evident with everyone wanting you to follow them on Twitter, like them in Facebook, join social circles. There were social networking workshops, and a CES Tweetup with over 300 attendees. On the first two days, there were over 20,000 Tweets tagged #CES. The CES Facebook group has over 12,000 fans.

One of the most gratifying trends I noticed was a new spirit of cooperation that I have not noticed before. It seems that the giant electronic companies are beginning to realize that they need to cooperate to create a better world instead of competing. You could see it everywhere with such examples as Skype and Toshiba, Verizon and Motorola, TV manufacturers and content providers, automakers and technology companies.

The spirit of cooperation has created a definite trend toward integration as well. Digital phones now do just about everything imaginable from photos to movies to TV to presentations, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, eBook reading, barcode scanning, online shopping, email, SMS, MMS, social networking, gaming, and a plethora of other functions as evidenced in the app providers. Smartphones in fact have become handheld computers that incidentally make phone calls.

Our automobiles, homes, and entertainment centers are becoming interactive and integrated as well as we evolve into the information cloud that is beginning to encompass us in an ever smaller world. Connectivity is almost taken for granted now with WiFi hotspots everywhere with faster connections that are able to stream more data. But, this should come as no surprise when we consider the difference between biological and cultural evolution. Biological evolution is divergent. More species are created through time. Cultural evolution is convergent though time as cultures become more integrated and start sharing more and more traits and features.

On a worldwide basis, what were once disparate cultural systems are becoming more uniform and integrated as they share more traits thanks to connectivity and electronics. Accordingly, if there were a theme for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, it was clearly one of convergence.

Android logs 300,000 registrations a day

2010-12-09T10:10:00.001-08:00

The buzz on the Net is that Android is now registering 300,000 new users per day. That’s 2.1 million a week and 9 million a month. What an incredible growth and demonstration of popularity and support.

This should give the fruity competition something to ponder.

If I were an IOS developer, I would certainly think about expanding my horizons to Android. It’s a serious market.

If I were looking for a new phone, I’d certainly give the Android platform my focused attention.

If I were an advertiser, I would want to make my products and services known to targeted Android users.

Twidroyd v4.2 with new functionality

2010-12-09T09:46:00.001-08:00

If you are addicted to Tweeting and Twittering, you can do it in style on your Droid with Twidroyd. Twidroyd allows you to use their tools and templates to create your own background or customize your own and share it with others.

Of course you can read and send Tweets through Twidroyd as well. It a full featured client that also includes postings, mentions, DMs with threaded view, integrated search, list viewing, URL shortening, geo-location support, multi-language interface, and background modifications. Bit.ly is integrated into this app for automatically shortening URLs. Plixi let you embed photos in tweets. Cool

An interesting new feature in v4.2 is “Mute.” It allows you to turn off tweets from anyone for a specified period of time. And then you can send a notification tweet that the individual has been muted. How humiliating.

When you go to landscape mode in Twidroyd it opens with LivePreview, which displays linked Webpages and media with tweets so that you don’t need to open a browser. It’s a more efficient way to read tweets.

There are three ways to acquire Twidroyd. Go to the android markt or Motorola store in the application menu. Search for “twidroyd,” and select either the free or Pro version. Install it, and you’re in business. Using your barcode scanner, scan this code and choose your version.

Or, you can text TWIDROYD to 95997 to receive the download link.

As far as I can tell, about the only difference between the free and the Pro version is that you don’t have to suffer pesky ads in the Pro version. Pro costs $3.99.

I’d say if you are a tweeter, you will probably want to install this app on your Droid.

Follow me @tshphd on Twitter. J

Who’s gonna have the fastest network?

2010-11-29T16:47:00.001-08:00

Verizon. That’s who. When Verizon’s new 4G LTE network is unleashed at the end of the year, it will deliver data ten times faster than 3G networks. That’s blazing.

4G will only be available in 38 major markets in the beginning. It will take a while to get to the boonies where I live, but it will be nice to have when I travel. It will also be available in some major airports.

Current 3G handsets are incapable of receiving 4G. There will no doubt be a rush to get new 4G capable handsets to market by manufacturers. I understand that there will be a half dozen or so units available to view at the Consumer Electronics Show, and I’m eager to see them.

I wonder about people who invested in a 3G unit. Will Verizon allow them to upgrade without penalty. I wonder too if iPhone and Verizon will finally get together as rumored.

Well, I guess with any new technology, there are always growing pains. In this case, I think it will be worth the effort. Way to go Verizon!

Droid X: Road Warrior

2010-11-06T10:19:00.001-07:00

When I go on an extended road trip, I like to take everything with me I need to be productive on the road without having to lug a lunky laptop. On a recent month long trip, I decided to use a Droid X as my mobile office to keep me productive and connected. I found it to be a super companion. It helped me process data, write, publish, communicate via email, sms, mms, and IM. It guided me and gave me valuable information along the way that made my trip more enjoyable. It also entertained me with music, eBooks, audiobooks, movies, and TV.

Getting Organized

Even before packing for a trip, I think it’s always a good idea to create some lists: things to do before leaving home, things to pack, places to be visited, and electronic items needed, including apps. If you look in the Android Store, there are many, many list apps. Some are better than others. My favorite has always been ListPro, but unfortunately, it’s not yet available. I hope it will be soon.

Among the many choices that I evaluated, I finally decided on the Springpad app, which is free. In my opinion, it’s the best available, even among the paid apps because of its robust features. It automatically creates a copy of all your lists, task, memos, and links that are stored on the Springpadit.com Website that is always available from any computer or handheld anywhere. It allows you to make notes, and check lists in various categories such as business, restaurant, wine, products, books, movies, tasks, music albums, shopping, packing, and recipes.

You can also add photos, webpages, emails, or snippets of text with hyperlinks and then send them via email or SMS. You can add media by taking a photo, scanning a product, using an existing photo, or making an audio recording. The latter is a great feature while on the road.

However, it has one serious shortcoming that I hope will be remedied soon: it will not allow you to sort items within a list, but strangely it sorts lists. Go figure. Accordingly, for large lists, you may wish to find another application that will sort items internally. For just my shopping list, I chose a Shopping List for this purpose. It does the job, but does not allow imports/exports or additions by voice.

Here is another good reason to have a packing list. When I was in Albuquerque, my car was broken into and a couple thousand dollars worth of items were taken. During the shock of the moment, it was difficult to remember what was missing for the police report. My list helped immensely. Albuquerque is an evil place…stay away.

Another important item to take along is some kind of secure electronic wallet. My favorite has been eWallet for many years. Luckily, it’s now available for Android. It syncs with your desktop data so you have a backup copy. This program has saved my life more than once. When I got my credit cards stolen, I was able to contact the companies, cancel them, and get new ones in no time, thanks to eWallet. It’s a free app that could save your bacon.

As long as we’re talking about security and lost items, I highly recommend installing a copy of Where’s My Droid in case you lose or misplace your device. This remarkable app allows you to send a text message to your lost device. You can either cause it to turn up the volume and ring for a set time or it will return a text message with its latitude and longitude (provided GPS is turned on).

Navigation and Guidance

During the first half of the trip I used my trusty Mio dashmounted GPS, but I was relieved of it in Albuquerque. Droid X came to the rescue. I used the built in Navigation program with Google maps and enjoyed the amazing 3D satellite pictures that show you actual photos of the landscape as you travel, including actual buildings. With this program, a window mount, you don’t need anything else to guide you on a road trip.

Navigating and communicating hands free is a good idea while on the road. For this reason, I tried out some apps to help me. I guess my favorite was already installed on my Droid X. It’s called Car Home. Large buttons on the home screen are for Navigation, Voice Search, Contact Search, and Maps. But, you can install other apps of your choice as well. There is an additional screen with six large buttons on either side of the home screen where you can place apps of your choice to access easily while driving.

At the top of the home screen, in large red display, are a speedometer, a digital compass, and a weather report, which never worked for me.

A similar application is Car Dock available for free in the Store. The home screen appears with six buttons for Calling, My Location, Music, Add App, Voice Search, and Close.

After I was relieved of my Window mounted GPS in the robbery, I reverted to my Droid X using the built in Navigation system with Google. It performed flawlessly, rerouted quickly, gave voice guidance, and the 3D photo background is amazing. As far as I know, no other application has this feature. Go Google.

I was delighted to find out that one of my longstanding favorites, CoPilot Live, is now available for Android. I couldn’t resist getting a copy. It is a real asset to road travel with all the features one would expect. However, it doesn’t have the nifty satellite photo background offered by Google, and it does not have a panel with such information as time of arrival, distance to go, and so forth. You can view this information, but it takes some tapping to access, which isn’t too cool while driving.

Travel Information

In most places along the way, it was possible to connect to the Web to search for information on sightseeing, history, geology, restaurants, accommodations, and so forth. A handy offline resource for tourist attractions is Travel America, which is free and well worth having.

If you enjoy geocaching as you travel, I recommend a copy of C:GEO. It quickly displays a list of caches near you organized by distance. It has a map and a compass for guidance to the site. There are others available in the app store, but this one is my favorite, and it’s free.

Accountability

If you track your travel expenses, it can be quite cumbersome with receipts piling up and tucked away in your glove compartment, pockets, suitcase, and so forth. My Droid X made it really simple with a free app called Expensify. Expensify lets you manually enter your expenses manually by category for reimbursement and tax purposes. You can even scan in receipts quickly. All records are backed up online and can be exported. It’s a great app.

There are many other apps in this category that you may wish to investigate some free, some not, but Expensify seemed to serve my needs the best.

If you are into keeping track of your vehicle performance, maintenance, and mileage there are apps for that as well. Try autoMOBILE for $.99.

Productivity

Whether traveling for pleasure or business, it’s always good to be able to travel lightly without being burdened with a bulky laptop and yet remain productive. With my Droid X, I was able to be just as productive as I wished to be without missing a beat. The most serious bottleneck to productivity with a handheld is an efficient means of inputting. The onboard keyboard just isn’t designed for productive inputting. I’m happy to report that with the Droid X it’s was possible for me to use my Freedom, full size, five row, fold-out keyboard connected via Bluetooth with the help of an app called KeyPro. KeyPro is available in the Market. You can download it and test it on your device for free. But, if it works, you will want to acquire the paid version at a cost of $9.95, a most worthwhile investment in your mobile productivity.

I’ll have to admit that I really struggled getting the keyboard to work. It was an ordeal of patience and persistence, but once I got the keyboard introduced to my Droid X, it was a perfect marriage. Once you get it set up, it is easy to connect. When I get time, I intend to write an article about the necessary steps to make it all happen quickly and easily.

Another drawback to non-Windows devices is that they are not able to read office documents. A partial solution may be to view items stored online in Google Docs. However, the key to true mobile productivity is the ability to not only to view, but to create and edit Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDF documents. What to do?

Luckily there is a marvelous third party app by DataViz called Documents to Go. The free version only allows you to view .doc and .xls file. To view, edit, and create .doc, .xls, .ppt, and .dof files, you will need the paid version, which only costs $14.99.

The new version 3.0 sports an all new user interface with many improved features. You can now access all the Google Docs and edit them. You can even create new ones.

This is a must have application if you want to be a serious roadwarrior. Don’t leave home without it.

There are times when it can be a matter of life or death if you need to access data from your home or office computer remotely. This happened to me more than once during my trip, and fortunately, there are apps for this. One I can highly recommend is PhoneMyPC. Take notice though, you must install it on your PC before you leave home. You cannot do it remotely. So, buy before you fly. It costs $9.95 and is another worthwhile investment in mobile independence.

With all the above productivity tools, you are ready to do battle and face any exigency while on the road and remain prolifically creative while traveling.

Entertainment

I will resist the temptation to talk about games because there are just too many and everyone has his or her own idea about suitable games. However, I noticed that a completely free full version of Angry Birds became available when I was on the road. I gave it a try and found it mindless but addicting. There is a companion program called Angry Birds Walkthrough that will give you a solution to every level.

One of the frustrations I face while in hotel rooms is that all the channels and times are different for my favorite programs. Even if I am lucky enough to find one I like, I still have to suffer through commercials, which I abhor.

My best solution is Slingplayer, which I’m pleased to report is available for Android. On my Droid X I am now able to access and control my home TV in HD and watch live or recorded TV from anywhere in the world with a Wi-Fi connection. It takes the pain out of traveling at the end of a long day. In order to use this marvelous source of entertainment, you must have a Slingbox installed on your home TV. Go to Slingmedia.com for details.

If you are hooked on viewing TV There are some free and paid apps that will allow you to view a limited number of selections. TV.com is a good one, free, but with few full episode available. You may wish to try the new paid version of Hulu for $9.95 a month. You may wish to check out SPB TV and Orb as well.

If you have already downloaded a bunch on your favorite tunes, you are all set to go for listening pleasure while driving or relaxing with the building player. Or you can download new tunes online. If you are really a tune freak, you may wish to carry an additional micro SD card full of music.

Of course there are all kinds of music listening opportunities from a plethora of online radio stations from all over the world. You should never be at a loss for music while traveling.

Hands down, my very favorite all time app is Pandora. It’s a free download and allows you to enter your favorite artists, albums, or tunes. It will find other similar music to play for your listening pleasure.

As it’s dangerous to use ear buds or Bluetooth headphones while driving, a better solution it to pick up a nifty little FM modulator at WalMart and elsewhere for ten bucks. All you do is plug your Droid into it and tune to an empty FM frequency on your radio to broadcast your phone’s audio over your car speaker system. This works great for audiobooks as well.

Speaking of audiobooks, if you don’t like the high price of purchasing audiobooks, which can be as high as $85 for unabridged editions, try Audiobooks for free in the Android store. I spent many pleasant hours driving listening to sold old classics. Audiobooks really make the time pass quickly and enjoyably. Be sure to use a Bluetooth speaker or FM modulator hookup though for safety.

If you’d rather curl up with a good book once in a while instead of watching the boob tube, grab a good eReader app from the store. Basically, you are all set to go because a copy of Kindle eBook reader comes installed on the Droid X. Kindle is semi-satisfactory but doesn’t begin to compare to readers I’ve known in Windows Mobile. There are other readers available in the Market, most are free. You can go to Amazon.com and download ebooks for pay for free. There are many other places on the Web with eBooks available. There are even some in the Android Market.

I don’t know about your library, but my local library features NetLibrary that allows you to download WMA and MP3 unabridged eAudiobooks. Of course, I can do this from anywhere while on the road, and it’s free. It worked flawlessly on my Droid X. Check it out at your library.

About the only time I would read a tree book would be if I were in prison. Thank goodness eBooks are available on the Droid. My mantra for years has been, “Ebooks rule; treebooks drool,” and I’m sticking with it.

Conclusion

I found no problem traveling with my Droid X instead of a laptop. I cannot think of anything I lacked in the way of productivity, entertainment, and making my trip efficient and enjoyable. It’s like having a concierge in your pocket at your beck and call. While I mentioned all the apps that made my trip more practical, there are probably many others that would contribute to one’s travel well being. I welcome your comments if you have any suggestions.

Slingplayer for Android=”Bellyvision”

2010-10-01T14:40:00.001-07:00

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Slingplayer. It’s nice to have this functionality again, which I’ve enjoyed for many years on my Windows Mobile devices. Now I am happy to report that it’s available for Android handsets.

In case you are not familiar with Slingplayer, let me introduce you. It’s all about the use of placeshifting technology, which enables you to stream video from your TV, DVR or other video source such as a DVD player or home security camera over a broadband Internet connection.

What this means is that you can view your favorite TV programs from your home TV on your Android phone. You can also view programs you have recorded on your DVR. If you have Comcast or Time/Warner with On Demand, you can also view these offerings.

In order to make this happen, you will need a Slingbox that connects to your home TV/DVR/receiver and then connects either through a cable or wirelessly to the router of your home computer. In my case, my Slingbox in on a different floor from my router, and I am able to connect wirelessly with two little Vudu units purchased separately. Of course, if your TV is near your router, you can connect with a standard Ethernet cable.

You have your choice of two models, the Slingbox SOLO for $179 or the Slingbox PRO-HD for $299. The basic difference is that you can receive HD quality video with the pro model.

Set up is usually a simple matter accomplished by connecting your Slingbox to a TV receiver with a set of RCA cables for standard video or an additional set of component cables for HD quality. You may wish to purchase a set of remote adapters if your router is not close to your TV.

Then it’s just a matter of a little fine tuning, entering your registration code, and you’re all set to go. If you have any trouble, Slingmedia maintains excellent free customer service on a 24/7 basis.

You can download the software for a desktop or laptop computer free from Slingmedia.com. Unfortunately, however, it will set you back $29 for the Android software.

Once you have installed the software on your phone, you can control your TV and DVR remotely for viewing list for recorded material. You can completely control your TV/DVR from anywhere in the world from your phone.

Navigation begins with a bar across the top of the screen with four options: Back, Navigation sidebars, Keypad for channel selection, and Misc. The Misc. button evokes an in-depth menu that includes Program Guid, My DVR$, Volume UP, Volume Donw, Mute, Channel Up, Channel Down, Power on/off, Menu, Last Channel, TV/VCR, Favorite, A, B, C, Help, HD Zoom, On Demand (for Comcast and Time/Warner), Stop, and Swap PIP--just like the big boy clickers.

It’s such a pleasure and a bit of a comfort to be able to access my favorite recorded shows when I’m on the road in a strange hotel room with different channels and program schedules.

Warning: Don’t leave home with our TV receiver turned off or you will not be able to receive any remote streaming.

Frankly, I was feeling deprived using a Droid until Slingplayer became available. Now I’m a happy camper. I cannot recommend this system more highly. It has given me hours of pleasure at remote locations around the world. It’s just so cool to be able to stream HD quality video into my trusty Droid. I call it my “Bellyvision”.

It works seamlessly on my Droid X, and it is compatible with all Android models. When you are ready, you can grab a copy of Slingplayer for your Droid from Google Market.

Droid “X” is for “Excellent”

2010-09-04T10:35:00.001-07:00

Motorola hits another homerun with the Droid X. I’m not certain what the “X” stands for, but I’m going to say that it must stand for “Excellent” because it is. Let me tell you why I have come to that conclusion.

Basic Specs

The first thing that will grab you is the humungous 4.3 inch touch screen, and its brilliant WVGA edge to edge display that supports up to 16 colors. Remember the old three and four color screens we used to get so excited about?

Its sleek, shiny black case measures 5.02” x 2.57” x .39”. It has a slight hump on the back presumably to accommodate the camera and flash—more about that later. It weighs in at 5.47 ounces. So, it’s not going to make your pants fall down if you put it in your pocket.

The Droid X runs on the Android 2.1 with the Motorola platform. Version 2.2 (Google Froyo) should be available soon. It features a 1.0 Ghz processor with plenty of hunk and 8 GB of internal memory. With a micro SD slot, you can get up to 32 more Gigs of memory. It comes with a 16 GB card installed.

A 540 mAHLi-ion battery is rated to provide up to 480 minutes usage time and 220 hours standby time. But, in practice, I found that the battery can become exhausted rather rapidly, especially if you are multitasking with additional services such as GPS, Wi-FI or Bluetooth. Keep your charger handy or a spare battery.

Let’s take a walk around the unit checking for buttons, inputs and outputs. On the top, we have a 3.5 mm jack for earphones, a microphone (one of three), and a power button. On the right side are two volume control buttons and a button to invoke the camera. There is nothing on the bottom unless you count the bottom of the screen in the front where there is another microphone plus Menu, Home Screen, Return, and Search physical hardware buttons. On the left side, toward the bottom is a micro USB port for a charging/sync cable. Below that is a HDMI cable port for audio/video output so that you can transfer content from the Droid for viewing on your TV. Nice. You can also output to a projector. On the back is an 8 MPX camera lens and a dual LED flash. On the bottom of the back is yet another microphone.

Camera and Video

The camera is to covet with its 8.0 MPX lens 1/1000 second mechanical shutter, auto focus, touch to focus, face recognition and panoramic modes features. The Droid X will share photos, video, and music with other DLNA compatible devices. (However, I didn’t have much luck with this feature.) The 720 p ND video allows slow motion capture, fast action, and quick uploads to YouTube. It features directional audio capture with is three microphones that enhance sound while tuning out background noise. With HDMI output, you can play your recorded videos on your HD TV. Unfortunately, a cable is not included. But there is still no way to take screen shots, which is a pity.

Entertainment: Music-Movies-TV-Radio-Games

If you enjoy listening to music on your phone, the Droid should please you with its standard 3.5 mm jack for headphones, Bluetooth, Android Music Player, ability to create playlists, access to the Amazon Music Store of MP3 downloads, and FM Radio. There is also a Verizon VCast store available for the purchase of music.

I found the sound quality to be acceptable with earplugs, external stereo speakers, and with Bluetooth headphones.

If you’re looking for video entertainment, the Droid X can deliver. It comes with an Interface app for Blockbuster video that allows you to stream videos. Of course, you must rent them. Unfortunately, there is no app for, nor could I even access Hulu on the browser to watch TV and movies. Fortunately, there is an app for Orb, which allows you to tune into your desktop computer remotely to access files, watch videos, and live or recorded TV. Also, I am happy to report that SlingBox now has an app for the Droid. It costs $29.95, and you must have a Slingbox installed on your TV, but it’s well worth the investment. Welcome aboard Sling Media. There are some other apps for viewing more limited TV channels as well that are worth exploring. I only wish there were an application for Netflix streaming videos. Maybe I’ll have to create one myself.

Droid X comes with an FM tuner that requires you to plug in ear buds that act as an antenna. There are many nice radio and music apps available as well. My favorite is Pandora, which is free. If you suggest a tune or a composer, it will create a playlist of similar items in the same genre and stream them to you. Nice.

If you are a gamer, there is a plethora of games in the Market for you to download. Many are free. The large screen, fast processor, memory and great graphics combine for a pleasant gaming experience. I haven’t tried it yet because I don’t have an HDMI cable, but I suspect it may also be possible to play games from the X on your HDTV or on a projection screen.

3G Mobile Hotspot

Another attractive feature of the X is that it can perform as a Wi-Fi router connecting up to five other devices using Verizon’s 3G network. Unfortunately, this service costs an additional $20 per month, and there is a 2 GB cap on usage.

Using the built-in Wi-Fi feature will generally give you a much faster connection to the Internet and save possible billable connection time via 3G.

Apps and Software

As Android is a Google platform, it offers many Google mobile apps such as Maps, Voice, Latitude, Calendar, Push Gmail, Talk, and integrated Google, Exchange, Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter contacts. Let me caution you though. Adding all your social networking contacts to your regular contacts can be overwhelming and bog down the system. It offers advanced Speech Recognition, IMAP, POP, Hotmail, and AOL email support. Other Google and Verizon apps may be installed from the Android Market along with around 50,000 other paid and free apps.

I am pleased to report that my Google contacts and calendar ported over seamlessly to the X and synced with my desktop Outlook information. You can access your Google tasks and Docs. Strangely, while you can edit Excel docs, you cannot create or edit any other Microsoft Office documents, which is not exactly a plus in my book. However, there is a workaround with a third party application from DataViz.

My Verizon, Backup Assistant, and CityID are some of the other apps that come preinstalled that let you keep track of your account, backup your device, and have a caller’s city appear on the screen. It also comes with a voicemail widget that I never could get to work properly. You can subscribe and pay a fee, for visual voice mail. But I much prefer Google Voice, and it’s free.

Screens and Navigation

After turning on the device and unlocking it with a finger gesture, a home screen appears sprinkled with apps and widgets. Navigation is accomplished with finger gestures. You can flick to six different screens that you can customize to suite your tastes. You can even customize the background with pre-loaded graphics or provide your own.

One of the six screens is set up for quick access to your favorite contacts. It did not work well for me. My first four contacts displayed with large photos, the next four with smaller photos, the next four would not display photos at all, just a blue box with a gear in the corner. Tech support was not able to resolve this issue.

Another screen is set up with a music widget for easy access to your favorite tunes and playlists.

At the top of another page is a widget that gives quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Phone, and GPS, which I appreciate.

Another page comes with widgets for news and RSS feeds already set up for you. Of course you can remove these if you wish or add more icons of your own choosing to any of the six screens.

Google Voice search allows you to take charge of your phone and tell it what to do. You can search on the phone for such things as contacts, tell it to call someone or pull up an app or file. You can search the Web orally or find a business or address and then navigate to it. If you have an urge to be dictatorial, here’s your chance to be the boss.

Keyboard

Unlike its predecessors, the Motorola Droid X does not have a slide out lateral keyboard. For me that it is plus. I do not like slide out keyboards, and I especially don’t like lateral ones. They are bulky, mechanical, and just something more to go wrong. I don’t appreciate being forced to use two hands to type if I don’t want to. I really like the onboard input panel for Droid X.

The X also comes with an onscreen keyboard that opens automatically whenever text entry is required. If you prefer a larger keyboard, just orient the device horizontally, and the keyboard will shift to a wider, horizontal display.

In settings, it is possible to turn on such options as keypress sound or vibrate, auto capitalization, auto punctuate, word suggestions, and autocorrect errors. You also have your choice between the standard Multi-touch keyboard, and a new innovative one called Swype.

The Multi-touch keyboard expands the touched character, which reduces typos. You can slide your finger to the desired character if you make a mistroke. Holding the key down brings up every available variation of the letter including foreign characters diacritical markings. Another nice feature of this keyboard is the voice option. Touch the microphone and speak the text you want to create. It is surprisingly accurate. As a test I said, “I want to say that this is a very accurate system.” The way it came out was, “I wanna say that this is a very accurate system.” Whoops, maybe it’s a little too accurate.

Swype is a pretty amazing keyboard option. You merely slide your finger around the screen from one desired letter to the next until the word is completed. When you lift your finger the word appears on the screen as if by magic. If there are other possibilities with the letter combinations, a list of choices to tap will appear on the screen. There is a tutorial to get you up and running. You can also use the speech to text engine with Swype, and there’s a emoticon directory too.

Now comes the most exciting part for me, and that is the X’s ability to connect to an external Bluetooth keyboard using an interface app called KeyPro. It works like a charm, and you are in the word processing, inputting business. There is a trial version to try before you buy.

The only problem is that there is no real word processing program available yet for the X. The work-around is to use Documents to Go by DataViz. It costs $14.99, but it’s a most worthwhile investment if you want to turn you PDA into a road warrior. It will allow you to view, edit, and create Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents. I consider this an absolute must have.

It would be an altogether perfect world if the Android Market had an application that would display a Droid screen on your desktop and allow interaction with file drag/drop, keyboard inputting, and mouse/cursor movement. Sometimes I really miss my Windows Mobile devices.

Another feature I appreciate is the you can tap and hold to make a string of entered text expand and the easily see where to place the cursor to correct a type. Nice.

Browsing

Browsing the Net with the big, crystal clear screen and fast processor on the X is a pleasure. The response time is snappy, and scrolling is smooth and fast. Enlarging the image with spread or retracted figure gestures works well. My only wish would be that there were an option to configure a Webpage to fit the screen as you can with a Windows Mobile device. This is a much better way to view a Webpage on a handheld device because you don’t have to scroll all over the place. I would put this option on my list wish for Droid developers.

There are many attractive features associated with the browsing experience. For example, you can tap on the star on the right side of the address bar to mark a favorite. It then appears on the favorite screen for easy access. The favorites screen lets you view the bookmarks in a list or image view showing the home page. There are also tabs for Most Visited and History. You can even place a Webpage on one of the home screens for instant access.

By the way, you can watch YouTube in high resolution by tapping HQ on the lower right of the screen.

Syncing

By connecting your X to your desktop or laptop via the supplied micro USB cable, you can transfer files, videos, and pictures. With downloadable Media Manager, you can also purchase, store, and listen to music from the Verizon store. Unfortunately, the Media Manager only supports 32 bit systems. So, if you have a 64 bit system, you’re out of luck. However, you can still connect to the X as if it were another drive and transfer files that way.

Accessories

The X comes in a pretty bare bones box with just a charger, a micro USB cable, and a mini quick start guide. To take full advantage of this marvelous device, you may wish to accessorize it more fully with a 32 MB micro SC card, an HDMI cable, a windshield mount for navigation, a charging/docking station, and perhaps a case to protect your investment. I plan to write reviews of some of these items in subsequent articles.

Conclusion

The Motorola Droid X is a supreme powerhouse of functionality with its big, high definition screen, 8 MPX dual flash camera and HD camcorder with an HDMI port for output to TVs and projectors. While it may not have as many apps yet as the iPhone, there are certainly enough to keep anyone busy, productive, and entertained while more are being developed for this relatively new platform.

There are several things I wish the X could do and hope they will be forthcoming. I wish it were possible to take screen shots. I wish it had the native capability to handle Office docs. I wish there were an app to place an interactive X screen on a monitor. I wish there were an option to configure Webpages for single column viewing without having to scroll sidesways. I wish there were a Netflix app for viewing movies, which would be much better, in my opinion, than Blockbuster.

I could go on with my wish list, but I feel confident that the Droid platform is a serious contender now and developers with place a lot of energy into creating new and wonderful applications to make it even better. I fear, however, that as an open platform in which every manufacturer can put its own twist on things using all different screens, processors, and resolutions, that it will be more difficult for developers to create apps that work across all Droid models and they will become discouraged. That is a problem iPhone developers don’t have as much.

The hump on the back reminds me of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and makes the device appear to be top heavy. It’s too bad that it doesn’t come with an HDMI cable and a case to protect it.

In any case, I am very pleased overall with the Motorola Droid X from Verizon, and I wish to give it my very highest recommendation. It is worth your serious consideration if you are looking for a new device. I would even encourage you to trade in your current model for this beauty.

Is the Microsoft Kin 2 Worth Kinsideration?

2010-06-11T11:55:00.001-07:00

The Kin 2 is a three way collaborative effort involving Microsoft, Sharp, and Verizon. The result is a new approach on the way to Smartphone telephony that for me was disappointment piled on disappointment. It seems strange somehow that while the Windows Mobile operating system is ready for a serious redo, this Microsoft device has nothing to do with WM OS.

Right out of the gate, the most profound and amazing letdown is the fact that it is not possible to add any applications to this unit. You must accept it as is. So there’s no use complaining about the lack of an app store, for there are no apps. Unbelievable.

You cannot even add things like Google Maps. Of course there is no GPS and not even a way to add third party functionality with an antenna because you cannot install any software.

While you can access Google Docs and Notebook you cannot edit or create new documents. If you want to access other Microsoft applications such as Word or Excel or PowerPoint you can forget about it. There’s not even a way to take notes or to record audio notes.

I could go on about how it won’t make 31 flavors of ice cream and it won’t stop a missile attack, but it was never intended for these things. What was the intention? Apparently the developers have isolated a target market for this device among the younger generation and its preoccupation with music, photos, texting, and social networking. But what about gaming? Sorry, no games—not even solitaire.

The programs that come pre-installed on the device facilitate the above functions, and that’s about it. The installed apps include the following: Phone, Music, Help, Alarm, Browser, Settings, Email, Feed Reader, and Search. By the way, the search function only applies to items on the phone, not the Internet, and there is no voice search.

All these apps appear on one of three panels that can be rotated into view when the device is turned on.

Two more panels are available with the flick of a finger (yes, it is finger friendly—but the scrolling is slow). One of the screens contains posts from your favorite social networking sites such as My Space, Facebook, and Twitter. This page is called the Kin Loop. The remaining page contains your favorite contacts with pictures if you wish and access to all the rest of your contacts.

These would be handy functions for many people. You can add more content to the apps page as links to your favorite Websites, which is nice. But you are still limited to only three pages.

An innovative feature that goes along with the teenie bopper crowd that this device is apparently aimed at is the ability to share stuff. There is a little blue button at the bottom of every screen. This is called the Kin Spot. All you have to do is drag something to it and you can share it with your pals. It can be a file, a Website, a picture, a video, a tune, an email, a text message, whatever you want, however you want to send it. This is nice.

Another innovative feature of the Kin 2 is that everything is backed up online to the Kin Studio so that you never have to worry about losing your data. There is no syncing as such, but you can connect to your online account wirelessly and remotely to transfer files back and forth. I like this feature, but I fear that it may add to the cost of the account.

I was able to import all my Gmail information and contacts. I was also able to access my calendar from Gmail as well as my tasks.

Thank goodness for Google. Without Google, this device would be less useful. While I can edit and add items in calendar, tasks, and notebook, I cannot edit or create new docs in Google Docs, which is a shame. At least Notebook gives me the ability to take notes, a functionality that is otherwise lacking. However, I understand that Google has discontinued the support of Notebook and that if you don’t already have an account, you cannot get a new one. Too bad.

As an aside, there are some good alternatives to Notebook available such as Evernote and Zoho Notebook. I prefer the latter because of its collaborative features.

I am happy to report that Google Voice works with the Kin 2. If you’re not familiar with Google Voice, I recommend applying for an account. Voice not only records your voice mail, it transcribes it and allows you to scroll through your list of voicemail so that you don’t have to listen to every message. It also compiles a directory of all your messages in one place so that you can instantly review your email, texts, IMs, and voice mail. It notifies you of incoming activity too.

But that’s not all. Voice also gives you a free Voip phone number that you can use to make free phone calls over the Internet. People can also call you on that number. You can use it for free texting as well, which makes it a great money saver and convenience.

Browsing on the Kin 2 at first seems to be just fine with the initial screen fitting the device perfectly and with little tabs along the top. You can drag down the address bar to type in a new address or to go back to a previous screen.

You can scroll with a finger gesture, but it doesn’t glide as well as other devices I’ve tested. You can also use a finger gesture to expand or contract the image on the screen. However, when the image is enlarged, you must be prepared to scroll around for it does not wrap to the screen, which I find annoying and inconvenient.

While my first choice of a keyboard is in the vertical position, I must say that the slide-out QWERTY, horizontal, backlit keyboard on the Kin 2 is very nice. The keys are round and elevated for a good tactile quality that makes it easy to type without mistakes.

I found the sound quality on the phone to be satisfactory as well as the audio playback on the FM radio and stereo music player. I did miss calls repeatedly because the phone simply did not ring for incoming calls even though the volume was at the highest level. Media playback formats include AAC, MP3, WMA for audio; h.264/AVC, MPEG-4, WMV for video; JPEG and PNG for images. There is a 3.5 mm jack for stereo audio output and built-in speakers.

As far as music goes, you can import your own but this device is an extension of Microsoft Zune, and you are encouraged to join the Zune music streaming service for $15 a month, which adds considerably to the monthly cost.

Kin 2 has a nice 8 MPX camera on board with video, auto focus, digital zoom, and flash. Pictures are automatically geotagged if within range of cell towers for triangulation. I found that this feature rarely worked.

This device comes with 8 GB of internal memory which could get filled up fast with tunes and pix. Unfortunately, there is no expansion slot. I suppose that’s a good reason to take advantage of Zune’s streaming media so as not to use up valuable storage space.

With a 3.4 inch display and a 320 x 480 resolution, the Kin is not the brightest kid on the block. It measures 4.25 X 2.5 x .75 inches and weighs 4.7 ounces.

Its 1390 mAh Li-ion battery has a suggested standby time of 232 hours. I found that the battery drains fairly rapidly under normal usage and I would have difficulty getting through the day without a recharge. At least the battery is replaceable so that you can carry a spare.

Connectivity to the outside world is accomplished by means of 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi with WEP, SPA, WPA2 encryption as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. There is no infrared and no GPS. Localization is accomplished by means of cell tower triangulation, which is referred to as GPS.

The Kin 2 is capable of sending both SMS and MMS messages. It supports POP3, IMAP, and Push email (exchange).

There are built-in sensors for an accelerometer and ambient light detection. Additional features include flight mode and TTY/TDD accommodation.

Kin 2 costs $199, but you get a $100 rebate with a two year contract bringing the price down to $99. A contract will cost in the neighborhood of $69 per month for text, phone, and data. Add another $15 for streaming Zunie tunes.

Conclusion

The Kin 2 has some innovative features such as wireless Web syncing and automatic backup of data online. The Kin Spot for sharing is also a creative idea unique to the Kin. I suppose the Zune tune streaming approach is a good idea too, if you want to pay for it. It has a nice 8 MPX camera, and you can easily send video clips via email or MMS. The slide out horizontal keyboard is a pleasure to use. I hope the Kin will appeal to the intended audience with its orientation to social networking.

However, the Kin 2 impresses me more as a novelty phone than a serious productivity tool. I would never consider the Kin 2 personally because I can’t hook it up to a Bluetooth keyboard for travel and meetings. I cannot access, create, or edit my Office documents. It has no means of taking screen shots. I wish it had a memory card. Navigation with GPS would be nice too.

I could go on and on about what it doesn’t do but that’s not fair because it clearly was not designed to be a workhorse for a road warrior who wants to leave his laptop at home. It’s more of a toy for teens who are attached to Twitter, text, and tunes.

The biggest deal breaker for me is the fact that there are no apps available for it, and it is incapable of downloading common apps out there such as Google Maps. This is really inconceivable this day and age with iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre Plus competing for market share with bazillions of cool apps. And what about the intended audiences’ penchant for game playing? No games. Big mistake.

I have heard a rumor that Microsoft may eventually integrate the Kin with Windows Mobile 7 when it is released and then it would be possible to add apps to it. But for now the lack of apps is a highly negative factor.

While the Kin 2 does not measure up to my expectations for a device I would want in my pocket, it may very well suit the needs of the intended audience if the interest is indeed focused on social networking, pics, tunes, and text.

The New HTC Droid is Incredible

2010-05-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

Yes, the new HTC Droid Incredible is no exaggeration. It’s a keeper as it naturally cuddles in the cup of your hand insinuating itself like a heat-seeking puppy looking for a new master. I have fallen hopelessly in love with it under its enchanting spell. I guess I have to say it was love at first sight. Frankly, I’m not a bit surprised that Droid is now outselling iPhone.

Why would I be swayed so compellingly? What about after the honeymoon?

Preliminary Attractive Features

It’s appearance is sleek with a shiny black case thinner than the iPhone and yet with a larger screen. It measures 4.63 x 2.3 x .47 inches and weighs 4.59 ounces.

Under the hood it has a powerful GHz Qualcomm Snapdrogon processor and a 3D chip for amazing gaming experiences on a 3.7 inch AMOLED 480 x 800 screen. The 8 MPX autofocus camera with dual LED flash is another huge plus. While I was surprised that it only has 8 MB of onboard memory, it also has a micro SD slot that can handle up to a 32 MB card for a total of 40 MB storage capacity. There is 748 MB of ROM. At the bottom of the screen there is an optical joystick.

This phone is the product of a three-way marriage with Google, HTC, and Verizon with each making a solid contribution to bring a superior product to market.

Google contributes its mobile apps in enhanced form and the Android 2.1 operating system. One of my favorite Google/Android innovations is Google voice search, which works remarkably well, and is a major convenience that obviates typing.

HTC contributes its manufacturing expertise and the Sense user interface that allows pinch/zoom with an amazing Web browsing experience. When viewing Web pages at any zoom level, the text wraps and conforms to the screen size so that there is no sideways browsing required--what a pleasure. If you’re a social network junkie, there’s Friend Stream that conflates Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr into a single screen as if they were one program with a range of views possible.

There are seven home screens where you can store widgets and apps for easy access. HTCs Sense allows you to pinch the screen to display miniature cards of all seven screens. Then just tap on the one you want.

HTC has loaded several worthwhile widgets and so has Google.

Of course Verizon offers what is arguably the best mobile network with the widest, most trouble-free coverage.

Kicking the Tires

Taking a walk around this beauty reveals an economy of external features. On the top is a power/phone options button. Next to that is a standard 3.5 mm ear plug jack. The right side is unencumbered with any pesky buttons to push inadvertently that may make your machine go crazy when you don’t want it to. The same is true for the bottom except that there is a small microphone hole and a slot for removing the back cover. On the left side is a volume rocker switch and a micro USB port for charging and syncing. The back has an free form like three-tier battery cover. The camera lens in the upper left corner is flanked by the dual LED flash to the right. There is a small opening for the speaker.

Flipping off the battery cover reveals a shocking red interior with a red battery to match. You have to remove the battery cover to gain access to the micro SD storage slot, which is a bit of a bother.

I have already mentioned that large screen with its magnificent, bright resolution. There is a charging light at the top of the screen. Below the screen are four useful hardware buttons. From left to right there is a Home button, a Menu button, a Back button, and a Search button. Double tapping the home button invokes the Sense seven-card screen mode. A quick tap brings up a Google text search screen. Tapping and holding activates Google voice search, which is a Godsend as far as I’m concerned.

It used to be a big deal to be able to say a phone had Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more recently GPS. Now, however, that’s pretty much taken for granted, and I’m happy to report that the Incredible has all of the above.

Speaking of GPS, Incredible users will benefit from an enhanced version of Google Maps for navigation and positioning in many applications. The navigation system is a turn by turn voice driven app with satellite and photo views. The rerouting is the fastest I’ve ever seen, and it is usually spot on with up to date data and traffic notifications.

There are some excellent geocaching apps available too that take all the old drudgery out of the process. It’s truly a pleasure to geocache with this device.

What’s in the Box?

The Triumvirate cannot be accused of not sparing any expense, for the box was pretty bare bones with a quick start guide, an AC charger and USB cable that works on the wall outlet as well as in a USB computer port. When connected with a computer, you can transfer files as well as charge the unit. There was no carrying case to protect this jewel, and there wasn’t even a micro SD card. It might have been a nice gesture to include at least a 2 MB card. Many applications will only install to a storage card, which could render the unit less functional until you can obtain a card. So, no extra points there.

Software Included

The Incredible comes with a variety of useful applications already installed. Here is a partial list:

Calculator, Calendar, Call History, Camcorder, Camera, Car Panel, City ID, Facebook, FM Radio, Force Close, Friend Stream (did not work—caused forced close), Internet, Mail, Maps, Market, Messages, Music, PDF Viewer, Peep, People, Phone, Photos, Quickoffice, Search People, Settings, Setup, Talk, Text to Speech, Voice, Voice Dialer, Voice Mail, Voice Recorder, Voice Search Weather, and YouTube. There are a variety of widgets offered by both HTC and Android. With lots more available.

The Android platform cannot compete yet with the depth and range of applications offered in the iTunes store, which I think is approaching around 200,000 now. In the short time that Android has been extant, it has already accumulated about 40,000 apps available in its store and elsewhere. Many are free, and the fee based apps are relatively inexpensive; many are in the one dollar area, which makes them highly affordable.

Unlike Apple, Google, at this point, doesn’t seem to be interested in controlling everything. For instance there is no music in the Google Market and users are on their own to acquire and install music. The music player has a nice interface that flips album covers and delivers a satisfactory listening experience.

I appreciate the installed YouTube app, which saves going to the Web first. I also enjoy the installed FM radio app. Of course there are many other radio apps available in the Market.

There are some TV apps as well with limited programming. What I’m waiting for is SlingMedia to make an app available for the Droid. Then I can tune into the programs recorded on my DVR at home, watch live satellite TV, and control my home TV remotely from my Droid. I tried the Orb app, but I could never get it to work.

It seems strange to me that there is no built in file explorer so that you cannot find files stored on the storage card or in main memory. You have to find a third party app for this, and some are less than satisfactory.

The QuickOffice app is only for viewing files. You cannot create or edit files with this program, and there is no app that I could find available in the Market. This severely limits the device’s functionality as a power productivity tool for road warriors. I happen to know that there is a third party app available for Android that allows creating and editing Office files, but apparently it’s not available yet for the Incredible. I hope it will be soon.

As a side note for those concerned with productivity, It is possible to connect a portable Bluetooth keyboard to the Incredible for efficient inputting on the road, which is a huge plus. Put that doesn’t do a lot of good without the ability to create and edit documents. At this point I suggest using Google Docs as a partial solution.

Peripherals

As this device is so new, there is not much available for it yet in the way of accessories. However it is easy to make do with cases, headphones, earplugs, and other stuff that can be repurposed for the Incredible. I did find it surprising that there were not even any earbuds in the box. I wish there were a set with a mic for use when driving or just for pleasurable listening. You’ll have to find your own set.

A brief comparison to the iPhone

I suppose somehow the iPhone has become the measuring stick by which phones can be compared these days, which I find amusing because the iPhone is still lacking so many desirable features. Anyway for those into comparison shopping, here are a few quick comparables.

· Battery Life

o Capacity: iPhone 1219 mAh; Incredible 1300 mAh

o Talk time: iPHone 300 hours of standby; Incredible 149 hours

· Camera

o iPhone 3 mpx with autofocus but no flash or manual controls, 640 x 480 video.

o Incredible 8 mps with dual LED flash, manual adjustment controls, 800 x 400 video (same resolution as screen)

· Carrier

o iPhone AT&T—many complaints about speed and coverage; this may change with 4G

o Verizon is arguably a more dependable system with greater coverage and more economical subscriber plans.

· Display

o iPhone 3.5 inch screen with 480 x 320 LCD display

o Incredible 3.7 inch screen with 480 x 800 resolution on OLED display, which is much brighter than the iPhone display.

· Memory

o Up to 32 GB built-in; no expansion slot

o 8 GB built in with up to 32 GB expansion slot for total of 40 GB

· Processor

o iPhone 600 MHz

o Incredible 1 GHz

· Software

o 185 applications in iTunes store

o 40 applications in Google Market

And the winner is clearly the Incredible as it beats iPhone in every category but software and battery life. So, unless battery life and software are key issues for you, the Incredible is the better choice.

Spec List

1 GHz Snapdragon processor
Google Android 2.1 with HTC Sense 2.5
3.7 inch WVGA OLED touchscreen display
QWERTY Virtual keyboard
8GB internal memory and microSD card slot (up to 32 GB)
8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and adjustable controls
Video up to 480x800
312 minutes talk time / 149 hours standby
Dimensions: 4.63 x 2.3 x 0.47 inches and 4.59 ounces

· Push Gmail and Exchange

· Speakerphone

· Advanced Speech recognition

· GPS/e911

· TTY compatible

· Hearing aid compatibility=M4/T3

· Bluetooth with stereo capability

· Wi-FI 802.11b/g/n$199.99 with 2 year contract3.5mm headphone jack

Accelerometer512MB ROM / 512MB RAM
Dual-band EV-DO Rev. A
HTML browser with Flash Lite 4.0

Pricing

The full retail price of the Incredible is $529.99. For that price I would expect an unlocked unit, but that’s a moot point. You pretty much have to acquire it from Verizon with a contract and connectivity plan. A two year contract is $299.99 with a $100 discount online for a total cost of $199.99. If you buy the Incredible you get to select another free phone, which also requires a two year contract. There are a number of plans available that seem to start at $39.99 per month. Unlimited text/data/talk is $89.99 per month. But I guess that’s still cheaper than the iPhone.

After the Honeymoon

After the rush of love at first sight with time to get comfortable and settle in, there are some foibles I’ve discovered, and a wish list I’ve developed for the Incredible.

I noticed that the battery life is not very satisfactory. In my experience the battery wears down very rapidly. Two hours of phone conversation, and it needs recharging. If you leave Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, or GPS running, the battery drains rapidly. You’d better have a charger or extra battery handy if you want to do geocaching, Bluetooth communication, or connections by Wi-Fi. When using the unit for navigation in the car, I have to keep it connected to the charger or it will go dead in short order. At least it’s possible to change batteries, unlike the iPhone.

I found it frustrating that the beautiful screen so brilliantly rendered inside all but disappears and turns into a black hole outside in the sunlight--so much for working at the beach and in my garden.

I wish that the Incredible would have cards for each open application like the Palm Pre Plus so that you can easily flick back and forth to reinvoke the app of your choice. A workable alternative might be a screen devoted to open apps for easy access.

I was surprised that there is no built-in file explorer program so that you can view and manipulate files and move them around between main memory and storage card. There is third party software, but it only seems to address the storage card. Developers?

Of course I’m upset about not being able to create and edit my Office documents on this device. I hope that will be remedied in short order for it is a serious short-coming that could cause me not to purchase this phone.

Another problem is that there is no unrooted application that will take screen shots, and that’s why you are not treated to them in this article. Come on developers. Here’s a need.

For the price, I think it would have been nice for the sponsors to include at least a small micro SD card to get you started. It would also have been nice to include a set of earbuds with a mic. Would a case to protect your investment be too much to ask as well?

Conclusion

While there are some growing pains as the platform and devices mature, to be sure, there’s lots to like with the HTC Droid Incredible. It is clearly the Droid of Droids, simply the best available at this time. It is also superior to the iPhone in many respects with an 8 MPX camera with dual LED flash and manual controls, more storage, larger screen with twice the resolution, replaceable battery, and a larger, more powerful processor. You cannot go wrong with this truly incredible device that indeed lives up to its name.

This puppy gets two thumbs up! It’s an A dog.

There is a lot to like in the new Palm Pre Plus

2010-04-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

There is a lot to like in the slick new Palm Pre Plus. With the WebOS operating system, it is a radical departure from the Palm and WM operating systems of other familiar Palms. With the new OS, come some welcome and innovative features. This phone is only available through Verizon.

Perhaps the first thing to note is that this platform supports multiple applications being open at the same time. The home or launcher screens of the Palm Pre Plus (PPP) display all the available applications. In the beginning there are three screens, but more can be available as they fill up with launching icons. You can use the screens to organize your apps if you wish.

Navigation is accomplished by a set of gestures (tap, swipe, drag, flick, pinch) with the screen smoothly gliding and scrolling. It’s really a pleasure to use as there is not the slightest hesitation or sluggishness.

An upward finger gesture removes any open application from the screen and reduces it to a small card. You can rotate among all the open applications represented by small cards on the screen with the flick of a finger, which is very convenient.

A task bar across the bottom displays your favorite applications such as phone, contacts, messaging, calendar, and launcher. Even when not present, this bar can be dragged into view from the bottom of the screen for easy access.

The large 3.1 inch HVGA screen is a big improvement over some of the former Palms with a small screen that accommodate a keyboard. This Palm has a nifty vertical slide-out keyboard that does not interfere with the screen. What I like best about this KWERTY keyboard is that it is easy to use with one hand so you can text while you drive (just kidding).

With domed, discreet keys, the keypad is easy to use without making typos. Some keyboards I have tried lately are completely flat without individual key definition, which makes accurate typing difficult. My personal preference is a vertical keypad rather than a horizontal one. I just find it easier to use. The horizontal layout usually requires two hands to operate. I find this cumbersome in comparison.

I was a little surprised to find a three megapixel camera instead of five, which is common these days. But the pictures and videos are certainly sharp and clear, so no complaints really. It’s easy to attach a photo or video to an email or multimedia message. There is a nice LED flash too.

With a sleek, curvy design and rounded black body, this cuddly device feels good in your hand and weighs in just under five ounces. There are few visible external controls. On the top of the unit is a power switch top right with a ringer/vibrate on/off switch next to it. Top center is a 3.5 mm headphone jack. A volume control rocker switch is on the left side. A micro USB port is on the right side that serves for charging and syncing with a mother ship.

Other nice features include 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS all built-in and ready to go. Another brilliant aspect of the PPP is that you can use it as a modem to connect up to five other devices wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network. See, I told you there was a lot to like.

But wait, there’s more. Web browsing is a pleasure as you flick and scroll, pinch and expand with your fingers. The system creates a screen displaying the most recently viewed Websites for easy future access, which a like a lot. You can even add your own favorites.

With the Doc application, you can view files in DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSX, PPT, and PPTX formats. But you cannot create or edit any of these documents, which is most unfortunate. It also comes with a PDF document viewer.

I was disappointed not to be able to access all of my Outlook data from my desktop. To get around the contacts, calendar, and tasks problem, I simply used my Gmail account. I synced my calendar, contact, and task data from Outlook to Gmail and then imported these data into the Palm with no problems, and it became a non-issue.

The PPP uses a USB micro cable to connect to a desktop or laptop. When connected the unit will charge, and you can transfer files back and forth. However, there is no syncing as you would with a Windows Mobile device or with the Palm OS.

In an attractively designed box containing the Palm Pre Plus, you find a USB cable that can be plugged into a computer or directly into a wall charger that is also included. There are some quick start manuals and a nice velvety carrying case with orange accent.

Unlike the iPhone, there is a removable battery, which is a good thing. It is difficult to assess battery life, but it seems reasonable under normal conditions, and I have no complaints. The specs suggest 5.5 hours talk time and 350 hours standby.

Wish List

As a new platform, the PPP has some gaps to fill and some maturing to do to bring it up to the level of a workhorse productivity tool that I am accustomed to with a Windows Mobile device.

For instance, without seamlessly being able to create and manipulate documents that everyone uses everyday, it’s usefulness is limited.

I wish there were a way to hook up a Bluetooth remote keyboard for inputting efficiency while on the road or in meetings. I have grown accustomed to being able to travel without a laptop because my Windows Mobile device will perform all the functions of a laptop. The PPP does not have that kind of productivity yet.

I wish there were a more robust GPS program built-in. Yes, it is possible to use a minimal version of Google Maps for navigation, but it lacks all the features one finds on a Droid for instance such as voice commands and rerouting. However, the automatic photo geo-tagging feature is very nice. There is an application available for an extra $10 a month that will provide a more full-featured GPS experience, but all these monthly charges begin to add up quickly driving the price beyond what many would consider reasonable.

One function I miss sorely is the ability to display the handheld screen on my monitor so that I can type from my computer keyboard to input on the small screen as well as drag and drop files back and forth. I wish some enterprising developer would come up with such an application.

Frankly, there is a dearth of applications available for the WebOS platform. But this is not surprising as it is relatively new, and it takes time. As I understand it, the developer kit is very user friendly, so hopefully we will be seeing a flood of new apps soon.

One surprising and serious lack is that there is no word processing program, not even a note taking program available so far for the PPP. My solution has been to use Google tasks for list making, and Google Notebook for notes. There is a little sticky note Memo program that comes with the unit, but it’s not exactly what you would want to use to write a novel.

While there is a generous amount of memory available at 16 GB, I wish there were an expansion slot that could be used for photos, tunes, and videos.

Finally, I wish there were a way to record voice on this device. It seems inconceivable that there would not be, so let’s hope it appears in a future version. Look at how long it took for iPhone to get such features as cut and paste and video, and a host of other things that are still missing.

Conclusion

As I said in the beginning, there is a lot to like in the PPP. However, it is still in its infancy and has a way to go before it can be considered a heavy duty workhorse with all the productivity of a Windows Mobile device. I feel certain that these issues will go away as the platform matures and more applications and peripherals become available. For people who want a fun phone with some great, user friendly features, the PPP is an excellent choice. To tell you the truth, I have really grown fond of the little fellow.

Specs

Size

Dimensions 3.96 x 2.34 x 0.67 inches (100.5 x 59.5 x 16.9 mm
Weight 4.89 oz (138 g)

Battery

Type
- Li - Ion
Talk

5.5 hours (330 mins) of Talk time

Standby
- 350 hours (15 days) of Stand-by time

Main Display

Resolution
- 320 x 480 pixels
Type
- 16 777 216 colors, TFT
Physical Size
- 3.10 inches
Touch Screen
- Capacitive, Multi-touch

Camera

Resolution
- 3 megapixels Resolution
Features
- Flash: LED; Geo tagging

Multimedia

Video Playback
- MPEG4, H.263, H.264
Music Player
- MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WAV, AMR

Memory

Built-in
- 16384 MB

Software

· Smartphone

o WebOS 1.3.5

Input

· Predictive Text Input

o Yes

· Keyboard

o Full keyboard (QWERTY)

Connectivity

· Internet

o HTML, WAP 2.0

· USB

o microUSB

· WiFi

o 802.11b/802.11g

· Bluetooth

o 2.1, Stereo Bluetooth

· Headphone connector

o 3.5mm

Other Features

· PhoneBook

o Capacity depends on system memory; Ring ID, Picture ID, Multiple numbers per contact

· PIM

o Alarm, Calendar, To-Do / Tasks, Calculator, Notes, Memo

· Voice

o Dialing, Commands, Speaker Phone

· Email

o IMAP/POP3/SMTP/Microsoft Exchange/Microsoft Direct Push e-mail/Push e-mail

· GPS

o GPS

Documents to Go—a must have for da Droid

2010-02-02T21:54:00.001-08:00

I saw an immediate problem when I opened the Motorola Droid for the first time. My first response was almost to put it back in the box and send it back for the same reason I was never interested in the iPhone when it first came out. It had no built in software for handling Microsoft Office files such as Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint, not to mention PDF files. A serious PDA user interested in mobile productivity needs to be able to access, edit, and crate programs in these formats on the go.

What is the solution? Don’t buy anything but a Windows Mobile device? Well, there are some note taking programs that will allow you to do word processing after a fashion. There are some programs that allow you to view various kinds of documents, but you cannot edit them or create new ones, which make them next to useless.

There is, however, one magnificent solution, and that is Documents on the Go. It is the only program that will allow you to view, edit, and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. It also lets you handle PDF files.

If you want to try it out before you buy, or if you only need Word and Excel documents, try the free version, which doesn’t expire. With the trial version available in the Market on your Droid, you will have full access to all the features of this product for both Word and Excel.

Should you need the full version with the additional ability to process PowerPoint and PDF documents, you will need to purchase the full version, which normally sells for $29.95, but for a limited time, it is available in the Market for only $14.95. My advice is the grab it now while the special is still in force.

The Word module allows you to view, edit, and create Word documents including .doc and .docx formats. What I particularly appreciate is the ability to edit docs and track changes and even email them to other contributors while you are on the road. You can literally do almost anything in the Documents to Go program that you can do on your desktop version with some exceptions that wouldn’t matter to most users. The original formatting is preserved when you send or open a document in your desktop.

Sheet to go is Documents to Go’s version of Mircosoft Excel. It will open, view, edit, and create new Excel documents right on your handheld device. It supports both .xls and xlsx versions of Excel. I am amazed at the power of this portable document processor. It can crunch your numbers, update values, insert functions, and monitor your data on the go.

Slideshow to Go is the functional equivalent of Microsoft PowerPoint that, as you may expect by now, view, edit, and create actual PowerPoint docs. What a great tool to have in your pocket on the road when you need to tweak a presentation or quickly create a new one. No, it doesn’t have all the features of the desktop version, but it will serve most of your needs in a mobile environment. It could really save your bacon. You can use it to review slide notes and monitor your timing. It handles both .ppt and .pptx files.

The quadruple suite of document processors is completed with the ability to handle Adobe .pdf files. While you cannot edit or create new .pdf files, you can view them, specify screen format rendering, zoom, rotate, create bookmarks, and search for quickly finding what you need. You can also select, copy, and past text from a .pdf doc. It also lets you deal with password protected files. Now you can manage files in this popular format while you are at home or away with your handheld.

Documents to Go will allow you to open password protected files in all formats, as long as you know the password.

For your convenience, its file manager lets you open recently opened files and gives you the ability to browse files and folders in main memory or on the expansion card.

You can send files as an attachment with your Gmail account or through Road Sync, another DataViz program.

Here is an excellent video on the capabilities of Documents on the Go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iicDyaCrk14

My recommendation

If you are in the least bit interested in mobile productivity, you should not leave home without Documents to Go on your non-Windows Mobile device. It is the only application available that allows you to view, edit, and create Microsoft documents on an Android unit. Do take advantage of the half price offer now in effect before it disappears. It’s available in the Android Market on your mobile device or visit www.dataviz.com .

You’ll get a charge out of this

2010-01-27T17:26:00.001-08:00

It seems that one of the clear themes at CES this year was the advance of wireless technology, particularly with respect to wireless charging. Proporta.com has just announced that it has thrown its hat in the ring of wireless chargers now available on the market.

The WildCharger Pad comes bundled with eight different connectors that will accommodate most popular devices for the perfect solution to wireless charging, including Android devices.

It will charge up to 5 devices simultaneously, a feature I notice that is lacking in some of the other chargers.

The Wildcharger automatically gets down to business as soon as contact is established with the device to be charged. There is a sleep mode that conserves energy when not in use.

Wild Charger Pad comes with the Universal PowerDisc set of connectors although both items are available separately.

Price $84.95. Check it out at http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4916&t_mode=des.

New Eye-Fi Pro X2: simply the most powerful memory card ever made | Eye-Fi

2010-01-26T09:50:00.001-08:00

New Eye-Fi Pro X2: simply the most powerful memory card ever made | Eye-Fi

Posted using ShareThis

Premium SMS Program Generates $27 Million for Haiti | Text Message Blog

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Premium SMS Program Generates $27 Million for Haiti | Text Message Blog

Get a free phone from Google

2010-01-24T11:19:00.001-08:00

No, you can’t get a free Android phone, but you can get a free phone number to make free calls. Google never ceases to amaze me in its output of exciting new products, most of which are free. If you’re not aware of the new Google Voice application, listen up.

Basically, what Google Voice will do for you is allow you to have all your phones (work, home, mobile) route to a single number to simplify your life and that of your callers as well

You must apply and be accepted for a free Google phone number, but it’s worth the effort when you consider all it will do for you. I think it took about two weeks for my application to be approved. I don’t know what criteria they use, if any, but I think everyone gets approved eventually. I imagine that they just don’t want to swamp the system while it’s still in its infancy. Maybe Android users get preference?

Not only will it corral all your phone calls coming in from various numbers and put them in one central inbox for convenient access, it will also let you make free phone calls and send free SMS. You get email alerts with an actual audio and text transcription of incoming messages. Sometimes there are redaction errors, but it’s surprisingly accurate for the most part. Voice integrates seamlessly with your mobile phone’s address book

What I appreciate about the transcription service is that you can quickly scan the content of a voice message without having to dial up voice mail and listen to a whole batch of messages to get to the one you want. This service is a real time saver. If, for some reason, you don’t want this feature, you can deactivate it. You can still listen to messages, if you wish. The text words are highlighted as the audio voicemail plays. Of course, you can pick up your voice messages by calling your Google phone number.

Here’s a little video on how it works: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oFVXAqFNgic&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oFVXAqFNgic&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Another nice feature is that you can vary voicemail greetings to identify various callers. You can receive voicemail notifications as email or SMS or both. You can share voicemails by forwarding, embedding, or downloading them. Go here to watch videos of these features in action:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8727D4DE55C89E05

Of course you can give out your new Google number for people to call so that they only have to deal with one number for you. Or you can reserve it as a very private number you only give out to your best pals. On you mobile phone, you can switch to your Google number to make free calls and send free text messages. You can have Google call any of your phones and connect you for free.

On your desktop, you can log into your account inbox and make calls and send text messages as well. There is even an option that allows you to clip the HTML code of a phone call so that you can embed it in a Website if you wish to share it. You can block callers totally, which is really handy for pesky telemarketers. Or you can send the caller an email or send the caller’s message to another party via email (Gmail).

The program labels your incoming messages accordingly to type: SMS, email, voicemail, recorded, placed call, received call, missed calls, starred, and unread messages. Remember that all your messages come to one central repository, which is a huge convenience. You can archive and search them as you would emails.

Voice makes it possible to create and manage groups from your contacts file, which is another useful feature.

Call widgets represent yet another connectivity feature. You can embed a “Call Me” widget on your Website or blog. When a visitor clicks it, Google will connect the party to your Google number, and it will ring on whatever phone you designate, even with a unique tone if you want. Your actual number is kept private so the caller never sees it. You may create as many Call Me widgets as you wish, each with different settings.

Just as you can access your account on your desktop Web browser, you can do the same on your mobile phone by going to www.google.com/voice/m. It will remember your login information for future visits.

For Android phones, there is a free Voice app available that gives you instant access to all the features and settings.

Google Voice allows you to make International calls at a fraction of the standard rates offered by major carriers. You can also easily access Google’s Goog-411 free directory assistance, which can save you charges of up to $2.00 per inquiry.

Note that if you ever change your phone or company, you can take your messages with you.

Conclusion

Google Voice is a must have phone application that will put all your various kinds of incoming messages into a central inbox and allow you to manage them. You no longer have to go through the laborious process of listing to all of your voice messages. You can simply scan the transcriptions as you would email.

Here is a video that summarizes the major features of Google Voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HvRu9bVH14&feature=player_embedded

My recommendation is to apply for a Google Voice account at your earliest convenience. I am confident that you will be glad you did. You will be even happier if you have an Android phone.

This is where you go to apply: http://www.google.com/mobile/voice (from desktop). From your mobile phone, go to http://m.google.com/voice.

Best of all, it’s free, and it will save you time and money—a great combination in today’s economy!

Eye-Fi Fo Fum

2010-01-20T15:57:00.001-08:00

Eye-Fi Fo Fum

The words in the title were not uttered by Thunderdell the giant, but Google the giant has a killer deal I’d like to share with you. It concerns Picasa and a free Eye-Fi card.

Picasa is Google’s free photo organization and storage service. You can download the program for free and use it to edit, organize, and turn your photos into albums, slide shows, and videos. You can then post them online to share with others. However, you only get 1 GB of free space, and that’s not a whole lot when you are an avid photo buff.

One of the exciting new features of Picasa is that it will search all of your photos and use sophisticated face identification technology to label all the folks in your people pix. It works surprisingly well and can save you untold hours of manual identification.

Accordingly, to accommodate an expanded storage plan, Google has made an offer that seems to be too good to be true and too good to turn down. If you expand your storage plan to 200 GB for $50, Google will give you a free Eye-Fi card that costs $99. So, for a hundred bucks you get a $99 Eye-Fi card and 200 GB of storage.

What an Eye-Fi card you ask? Well, it’s a standard size SD card with 4GB of memory that you put in your camera. It also has a built-in Wi-Fi transmitter that connects to your computer and uploads your photos automatically. All you have to do is turn on your camera, it connects, and starts uploading your photos seamlessly. You can connect to 32 different networks.

Eye-Fi will also upload your photos to any of the popular photo storage services online such as Flickr and Picasa. You can control the photos you want to share and with whom. You can even upload to your Facebook account and automatically share photos with friends. By the way, it sends both photos and videos so that you can upload to YouTube as well.

But, that’s not all that Eye-Fi will do for you. It also geo-tags each photo before uploading it. It doesn’t work with GPS but rather with cell phone tower triangulation. So, if you are in a poor cell-phone reception area, your geo-tags may not work too well. But so far, it has been an incredible tool that can save hours of manual labor.

Normally, Eye-Fi charges an extra $15 a year for the geo-tagging service and $10 a year for the upload service to online storage facilities. However, this is all free with Google’s amazing offer. These services will continue to be free as long as you maintain your minimum 200 GB storage agreement with Google.

All you need to take advantage of this offer is a Picasa account and an SDHC compliant camera. If you’re not sure, take a look at the list of compatible cameras. If your camera uses an SD card, it will probably work with Eye-Fi.

There are many different Eye-Fi cards available that range from $49.95-$149.95 and from 2 GB to 8 GB that you can buy in retail outlets such as WalMart, but you won’t get the deal offered in the Google Picasa storage bundle. To secure your free Eye-Fi card, go to http://www.eye.fi/google.

Note that the card you will receive is the 4 GB Home Video version. It may take a couple of weeks for it to arrive in the mail, so you have to be patient.

Not surprisingly, as Android phones are a Google enterprise, there is a free application that allows you to upload photos from your camera to your Android phone. The app is called Eye-Fi Droid. Learn more about it at the developer’s Website: http://eyefidroid.leshak.com where there’s a video of the upload process in action.

I highly recommend the Google Picasa/Eye-Fi bundle. It’s an amazing bargain, a real no-brainer. But you should take advantage of it ASAP, as it’s a limited time offer.

Mobile Marketing: Why This Method Of Advertising Is Working | Cellflare News

2010-01-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

Mobile Marketing: Why This Method Of Advertising Is Working | Cellflare News

Draping the Droid

2010-01-15T14:58:00.001-08:00

Whenever I get a new pocket pal, one of the first things I do is search for a suitable suit of armor to protect it from the nasties lurking in my pocket and in my gadget bag. But it can’t be just any old suit off the rack. I detest holsters or anything that attaches to and dangles from the belt. I like something that is form-fitting and sleek without any bumps, clips, or extraneous protuberances. You’d think it wouldn’t be too difficult, but there are some really clunky cases out there with flaps, magnets, Velcro, clips, pockets, swivels, zippers, and snaps.

As the Motorola Droid is relatively new, there are not a whole lot of accessories for it on the market yet. I realized I would probably have to be content with a sort of generic case or maybe just a tube sock from WalMart. But after a fairly thorough search without much success, I came to my favorite case place, Proporta.com. Lo and behold, I found the perfect case; it fit all my specifications as listed above. Ecstatic, I was getting ready to place an order when my wife handed me the mail.

Now you’re not going to believe this, but in the bundle of mail there was a package from Proporta. And guess what. The very case I was about to order, which was still up on the screen, came tumbling out of the package. How did they know?

Talk about spontaneous serendipity and convenient coincidence. It makes me a true believer in the Law of Attraction. But sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for because you just may get it. However, in this case, it was the perfect case, and it was a perfect fit.

By the way, did you know that Proporta’s logo is the armadillo? Proporta is in the UK, and, as far as I know, there isn’t an armadillo within 5000 miles. They don’t even exist on the continent of Europe, but I suppose they must be in zoos there. They are strictly a New World species distributed from Texas to South America. In Texas they are called speed bumps.

Did you know that, as a defensive mechanism, armadillos can jump up to four feet in the air? I think this is why they are such common road kill in Texas, not that people purposely run over them all the time. Did you know that armadillos mate in the missionary position? Ok, that’s probably more than you wanted to know about armadillos.

So why is the armadillo a logo for a UK company that supplies digital accessories? Actually, it’s a pretty good name for a company that offers cases to protect digital gadgets. In Spanish, armadillo means the little armored one.

In Mexico, they make little guitars out of armadillo shells. Maybe Proporta should import them and start selling armadillo guitars. Just to be up to date, they could offer electric armadillo guitars. Then they could even offer cases for them too.

The handsome cases that Proporta presents for the Droid come in three colors: tan, black, and pink with suede-like contrasting interiors. Constructed of high-quality, soft, imitation leather, this Maya II case has a lifetime warranty and measures 65 x 120 x 15 mm. On the back is a small, flush metal ring that can be used with a lanyard (sold separately for $3.95).

At $20.95, it is not the least expensive case on the market, but I think it is a good value compared to other bulky cases that can cost more than twice as much. Delivery is fast, reliable, and inexpensive. Check it out at http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4863&t_mode=des.

Case closed, the Droid is armored.

Red Cross Raises $800,000+ for Haiti Through Text Message Campaign | GoSocial.dk - Social Media Marketing

2010-01-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Red Cross Raises $800,000+ for Haiti Through Text Message Campaign | GoSocial.dk - Social Media Marketing

2010-01-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

I really don’t want to waste a lot of time in a review of the new Verizon Motorola Droid comparing it to the iPhone. Let’s get that topic out of the way by listing a few of Droid’s killer features that should catch your attention and put iPhone on the alert:

· Droid has a bigger screen than iPhone

· Droid has infinite expandable memory

· Droid has a lateral, physical, slide out QWERTY keyboard

· Droid is integrated with all the Google mobile apps including Google Voice

· Droid has a removable/replaceable battery

· Droid has a 5 MPX camera that can take pictures in the dark

· Droid has an open source OS

· Droid on Verizon is a better network than AT&T

· Droid desktop is totally customizable with widgets, applications, and folders

· Droid notification bar alerts to every kind of incoming data, e.g. email, Twitter, Facebook, SMS, RSS, etc.

· Droid is multi-tasking: you can have more than one application open at the same time

· Droid offers free Google voice navigation with voice search and street view

As far as I’m concerned, these features leave iPhone back at the starting line. Yes, I know that there are 100,000+ apps available for the iPhone, but most of them are junk compared to Windows Mobile programs. (Except, of course, for my son’s Mixology iPhone app :-)) Even in its infancy, the Droid platform already has 20,000 apps and growing—most of them are free. Unfortunately, you sometimes get what you pay for, but that’s a whole other discussion best left for a later blog entry.

Now, let’s forget about the iPhone and take a look at an exciting, new product on the market that you may want to call your new pocket pal. The Motorola Droid comes loaded with the latest iteration of the Google Android 2.0 operating system. Before we take a look under the hood, let’s walk around the chassis and kick the tires.

First a quick word about packaging and what’s in the box. This will be a short discussion because the Droid comes barebones in a box that barely covers it. Nothing fancy here. You get a phone, a charger, a USB cable, and a 16 GB micro SD card plus a quick start pamphlet and warranty information—not even a CD.

I remember the good old days when no self-respecting PDA would come without some CDs, a printed manual, a cradle, a charger, sometimes a car charger, a sync cable, an extra stylus, and a carrying case. Those days are long gone.

External features
The first time I picked up the Droid, I had just put down a Palm Treo Pro. The Droid was noticeably heavier at 169g or about 6 ounces. Well, being the he-man that I am, I think I can handle that. The slide out keyboard is the culprit here for the added weight. Its metal construction also adds to the weight. Overall, it’s a shiny black, squarish, but sleek presentation. Even with the keyboard, the overall dimensions are a trim 60 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm.

On the top, we have a standard 3.5 mm audio jack, which is good instead of a goofy, proprietary clunker adapter that takes up half the real estate. On the right top corner is the power switch that will, when held down, allow you to power off completely, run in airplane or silent mode, which is a handy feature.

Right side top sports the volume control rocker switch. I find this protuberance a bit annoying because you have to be careful not to hit it with your thumb when also engaging the power switch or when just holding the device. This can result in turning off the volume inadvertently and missing calls. Placement could be better or at least less sensitive. Also, it is kind wobbly and flimsy plastic, unlike the rest of the presentation. Why not give it a more classy appearance like the substantial camera activation button below it, which is a flashy gold guy?

There’s nothing on the bottom edge. On the left side, there is a port for the micro-USB cable. It bugs me that the developers chose to use a non-standard adapter instead of the more predominate mini-USB port. It means that I have to take yet another cable and charger with me when I travel. What a bother.

On the back, we have the impressive 5 MPX camera lens with dual LED flash and the battery cover. There is no little mirror for self portraits, which would have been welcome as I indulge in so many self-portraits. :-) The battery cover easily slides off to reveal the 1400mAh battery. In fact, the battery cover slides off all too easily. I have found it separated from the phone in my pocket. You must remove the battery to insert the micro SD card, which is another bother. It comes with a 16 MB card--nice. Also on the back is a gold colored speaker grill just south of the battery cover.

The face of the Droid sports an ample 3.7 inch touch screen (854 x 480). Note that the iPhone screen is 480 x 320. I can already hear iPhonies chortling that the Droid doesn’t have two-finger pinch zoom or whatever they call it. Well, my immediate response is who cares? Nose mining iPhonies need two fingers to perform something that can be done with the tap of a single finger on a Droid, which I consider twice as efficient.

However, if you must have two-finger zoom on your Droid, no problem. Just install the free app called Dolphin Browser, and you’ve got it. But now zooming becomes not just a two finger operation, it is a two handed operation. Try holding your PDA and zooming with two fingers in one hand. Ha!

One problem with this touch screen as far as I’m concerned is that you cannot use a stylus for precision pointing like you can on a Windows Mobile device. This is unfortunate, and I wish it were an option.

You can set the screen to shift automatically from portrait to landscape when you tilt the screen or slide out the keyboard.

I found the screen to be brilliant, crisp, clear, and a joy to behold for all viewing situations.

Below the screen are four flush buttons that light up when needed. To the left is a Back button that takes you to the previous operation. Next comes a menu button, which is context sensitive. After that is the Home button that will take you to your Home desktop screen from anywhere in any application for easy navigation. Finally, on the right, is the Search button.

Let me note that a single tap on the search button brings up a Google search box with recent search listed below it for convenience. When you tap on the search box, the screen keyboard automatically pops up whether in portrait or landscape mode. The on screen keyboard does not pop up if you already have the physical keyboard out. Holding down the search button brings up the speech search screen.

Under the Hood
All right, let’s take a peak under the hood. Perhaps the easiest way to handle this is with a list of all the specifications for your reference:

Network

o CDMA dual band (1900/800 MHz)

o 1xEV-DO rev.A

o 3G Capable

Size

Dimensions
o 4.56 x 2.36 x 0.54 inches (115.8 x 60 x 13.7 mm) Size Compare

Weight
5.96 oz (169 g)
Battery

Type
Li - Ion, 1400 mAh
· Talk

6.41 hours (385 mins) of Talk time
Standby
270 hours (11 days) of Stand-by time
Display

Resolution
480 x 854 pixels
Type
16 777 216 colors, TFT
Physical Size
3.70 inches
Touch Screen
Capacitive, Multi-touch
Camera

Resolution
5 megapixels Resolution
Video
720x480 (DVD)
Features
Flash: Dual LED; Autofocus, Image stabilizer, Geo tagging, White balance, Scenes
Multimedia

Video Playback
MPEG4, H.263, H.264
Music Player
MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WAV, AMR, OGG, MIDI, Album art cover
Memory

Memory Slot
microSD/microSDHC
OS/Processor/Memory

Smartphone
Android 2.0
Processor
TI OMAP3430, 600 MHz
Memory
256 MB RAM / 512 MB ROM
Input

Predictive Text Input
Yes
Keyboard
Full keyboard (QWERTY)
Connectivity

Internet
HTML
USB
microUSB
· WiFi

802.11b/802.11g/802.11i
Bluetooth
2.1, Stereo Bluetooth
Headphones connector
3.5mm
Other Features

PhoneBook
Capacity depends on system memory; Ring ID, Picture ID, Multiple numbers per contact
PIM
Alarm, Calendar, To-Do / Tasks, Calculator, World Clock
Voice
Dialing, Commands, Recording, Speaker Phone
Email
IMAP/POP3/SMTP/Microsoft Exchange
GPS
A-GPS, GPS
Keyboards
The input panel screen keyboard for the Droid is very nice. I like the way it pops up and enlarges a key when struck so that it makes typos less likely. If you hold the key down, all the possible diacritical markings appear and allow you to select the one you want, which is super convenient for typing foreign words. If you hold down the period, a grid emerges with 14 different punctuation possibilities. Nice. There is even a smiley face that, when depressed, will offer 15 different Smileys covering a wide range of emotions. Fun.

Pushing the 123 key brings up a numerical keypad plus a whole slew of punctuation marks. Pushing the Alt key brings up a panel full of symbols for your convenience.

In the horizontal orientation, the keyboard is even bigger and easier to use. I have to say that, in comparison, the iPhone keyboard is a total disaster. What I really do not like about the on screen keyboard on the Droid is that there is no way that I have discovered to backspace without deleting characters, which is a major annoyance when you need to correct typos. It’s a good thing I never make any mistakes. Remember that there’s no way to use a stylus like you can with a Windows Mobile device for precision pointing.

On the pullout physical keyboard, it is easy to back up to correct typos or make insertions because it has a five-way navigation button. The pullout keyboard works pretty much the same way the on screen keyboard works including the hold down key for diacritical markings. I can attest that it works great for German, French, and Spanish, and do doubt many other languages as well.

The search button on the keyboard allows you to search the Web for the term you just typed in context. Wow!

What I don’t like about the pullout keyboard is the problem of discerning one key from another. The keyboard is completely flat so that it is difficult to differentiate one key from another. This unfortunate feature makes typos more rampant because it is easy to depress more than one key at once. It drives me crazy. But then I do tend to have bear paws and a more delicate fingered person may not have any difficulty. It will take some getting used to for sure, but I do appreciate the option.

I find I make more mistakes trying to use the pullout keyboard in my hands. I make fewer mistakes when I lay it on a flat surface. Frankly, I actually prefer to use the onscreen in-putter at this point. I also like to be able to use just one hand sometimes when making short entries.

Sidebar for ladies and guitar players
If you like to cultivate long fingernails, you may be in trouble using the keyboards on a Droid (on an iPhone too for that matter). Long nails tend to preclude use of the physical keyboard keys, and it is difficult to use your fingertips. You cannot use your nails as a pointer or stylus on the screen keyboards either—you have to use your fingertips. I suppose you could use your nose, but unless you are a witch the precision may suffer and typos abound.

Some Test Drive Comments
Google Mobile Apps

Being a Google product, the default search engine is Google, but with some nice advantages. The entire mobile suite of Google products is tightly integrated into the Droid. These applications include Search, Gmail, Maps, Talk, News, iGoogle, Photos, YouTube, Calendar, Reader, Earth, Book Search, GOOG-411, Docs, Notebook, Blogger, and Tasks.

In my preliminary testing, all the apps performed as expected with a few exceptions worth noting. For instance, In Photos or Picasa, I was unable to get any of my movies or slide shows to play, yet YouTube and other videos performed admirably. This was disappointing.

One of the first challenges in setting up any new machine is to get all your contact and calendar or PIM data ported over to the new device. If you are connected to a Microsoft server through your company, this is no problem on a Droid. For those of us who are not hooked to a server, there is a challenge. I solved it by setting up my Gmail and Google calendar to sync with my Outlook data. Then it was a simple matter to get Droid to sync with my Gmail accounts, and all the data pours in automatically and continually.

Google Maps is so good that I will not even miss some of my favorite third party navigation applications now that there is turn by turn voice and self-correcting navigation should you make a wrong turn. You can turn on satellite view to see actual pictures of where you are as you travel. You can layer data such as restaurants, gas stations, and cultural attractions. Note, iPhone users, that this is a completely free service—no fees required.

There is even a brilliant little app you can download from the Google store (Market) called Google Goggles. This fun but functional software allows you to search by taking a picture of what you want to find whether it be a monument, a book, DVD, landmark, logo, business card, product, barcode, or just some text.

Of course Google maps will get you to the place you search for if you wish. If it’s a business you don’t even have to take a picture, just point your Droid at the business, and it will pop up on the screen with all the particulars. Brilliant. Pretty soon it may even work with people. Heh…

Google Search is totally integrated into Droid from anywhere. You can use the traditional text input box or you can simply talk and it will find whatever you wish. It really works, and it’s not only useful but fun. I have to keep reminding myself to use it. I’m amazed every time I do.

I really like the fact that the new Google Tasks is integrated into the Gmail menu now. However, I was disappointed that Google Docs will not allow editing of Word Docs although it is possible to edit Excel spreadsheets. I wish this could be fixed.

Microsoft Office and PDFs

Speaking of documents, I am disappointed that there is no possibility of integrating Microsoft Office Suite directly with Droid. Fortunately, there are some third party applications that allow you to view and edit office docs and PDFs. I have yet to try these and will review them when I do. I have high hopes because without this functionality, the platform would have limited appeal for me.

External Bluetooth Keyboards and Mouse

Another must have for me is the ability to hook up to an external Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I’m still exploring this possibilities with high hopes. I like to leave my laptop at home when I travel but need an external keyboard to perform serious inputting. I’ve written books on my Pocket PC using an external keyboard and expect to do the same on a Droid. I’m hoping to use my Freedom Universal Bluetooth keyboard. It’s nice to be able to use a Bluetooth mouse on a PDA too.

Software

I was surprised that the Droid seemed to come with so little software installed. About all it comes with is software for photos, minimal PIM apps, SMS, maps, browser, and integrated Googleware. It does have a cool widget on the home screen that gives you instant access to all your all your phone communication systems such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Syncing as well as brightness control.

Then I tapped on the Market icon on the desktop, and a whole new world opened up to me. It is Google’s answer to the iTunes store where there are already over 20,000 applications in almost any category you can imagine waiting for you to download. Most of them are free. Those that cost money are more than reasonable. Many are only $.99. I’m used to Windows Mobile applications costing $25 to $50, but maybe you get what you pay for. In truth, I’ve experienced some apps that do not perform as expected and have very poor technical support. But most work admirably.

What a lot of fun I’ve been having discovering new apps and installing them. It’s an entirely different experience for me than what I’m used to in a Windows Mobile environment. Apps from the Droid store download instantly and install seamlessly directly into the device. With Windows Mobile you usually download the app to the mother ship and then sync your device to the desktop to install, which is a lot of bother in comparison.

The Market is restricted to software applications. For tunes, Droid has a deal with Amazon where you can go with a tap of a widget and get instant downloads for a fee. However, there is software available that allows you to sync your iTunes playlist and other media already on your hard drive including photos to your Droid. Downloads from Amazon are over the air and convenient.

Camera

The 5 mpx camera is impressive as is its ability to take pictures in the dark with the help of a dual LED flash unit that paints the subject with light for focusing in the dark before taking a flash picture. I must say that the camera seems to have some difficulty focusing, and as a result sometimes the pictures can be blurred. I love its ability to record the location of a photo using GPS and Google maps. I like the way you can zoom in and out by just tapping the screen. I found the high resolution video camera to perform very well with more than acceptable results.

Unlike most digital cameras, the Droid screen doesn’t turn into a black obsidian mirror in the sunlight. You can still see an image quite well for framing a shot. Way to go!

I have found no acceptable method of taking screenshots on the Droid. This is lamentable and critical for a reviewer, and I need to find a solution without having to hack the operating system. For instance, I would have liked to share some screen shots in this review. Any suggestions?

Synchronization

Once set up, the Google apps such as Gmail, Task, and Calendar are automatic over the air. You do not have to link with your desktop. If you do wish to transfer data, you can mount your SD card and hook up via USB cable to your desktop computer to transfer files.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find an application that will display the Droid screen on my desktop and allow screen capture, file transfers, and the use of the mouse and desktop keyboard on the Droid.

Perhaps I haven’t discovered this missing app yet, and I would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. Otherwise, here is a great opportunity for any aspiring developers out there.

Bar Code Reader

My Droid came with a Bar Code reader installed. Just imagine being able to scan a bar code to find out the price of the item and where you can buy it. It’s great for comparative shopping and for saving money. However, I am disappointed that it is only successful about half the time and the scanner seems to have difficulty focusing. I hope it will improve with time as it is a handy application to have.

Home Screen Desktop

One of the first things I do when setting up a new Windows Mobile device is to install a desktop program that will give me instant access to launching my favorite programs. Droid has taken care of this with a great triptych screen approach. There is an additional screen to the left and right of the main screen that you can glide back and forth to with the flick of a finger. On these three screens, you may place any widget, application or folder for quick access.

I got really excited with the possibility of adding content to folders as a means of organizing applications and files and saving screen space. However, I discovered that the items you put in the folder count as items you would put on the screen. Boo hoo.

It’s very easy to place and remove icons on the home screen. To put an item on the screen, simply press on a blank area where you want the icon to appear and select it from a list that pops up. To remove an item, press it to highlight it and then drag it to the slider tab at the bottom of the screen, which turns into a trash can.

At the bottom of the screen is a tab that you can slide up to reveal a scrolling screen containing all of your installed applications. It is similar to hitting the Programs button on a Windows Mobile device.

Notification Bar

Always visible for constant access on the top of screen is the Notification Bar, which contains time, battery and connectivity status along with open app icons. You can slide this bar downward, and it will reveal notifications of incoming messages of all sorts such as email, RSS, SMS, software updates available, Twitter, Facebook, and more. It’s a great tool.

Battery

I found the battery life to be no problem when mindful of what’s running in the background. One should take care to turn off applications that consume power when not in use such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Otherwise the battery gives satisfactory service.

It’s always a good idea to pack a spare battery, which I highly recommend. I’ve already noted that the battery cover tends to slip off easily and could be a tighter fit. It’s nothing that an ugly piece of duct tape won’t cure, but I hope Motorola has a better solution.

In the future, I would like to see an SD card slot that is accessible without having to remove the battery.

Mine Fields

When first getting acquainted with the Droid, it was like walking through a mine field for I would be constantly frustrated with unwanted screens popping up all over the place for no apparent reason. The reason became apparent when I realized that the various buttons are very sensitive and will respond if you even breath on them. I had to train myself to be very mindful what I touched and where I put my fingers, and then everything was fine. But, first-time users beware of the sensitivity of the buttons. Learn where to place your clumsy fingers or you will have the home screen or the camera or the sound bar and more popping up and unwelcome.

I would prefer next time around that the touch buttons on the touch panel at the bottom of the screen be actual physical buttons so that they are not so easily and accidentally depressed. While we’re at it, the volume control should be more substantial and not so easily activated.

One last thing

I saw an iPhone commercial on TV the other night that boasted about being able to talk and surf the Web at the same time. It laughed at Verizon customers because they couldn’t do it on their phones. Well, obviously whatever genius put that commercial together never used a Droid. Of course you can talk on a Droid and surf the Web simultaneously. I’ve been doing that for years on Windows Mobile devices. What a strange thing to brag about, but I guess that when you don’t have a multi-tasking product, you have to find something you can puff your chest out about, but that didn’t do it iPhone. Sorry.

Conclusions
Is the Droid an iPhone basher? You will have to make up your own mind, but I would certainly rather have a Droid than an iPhone. Yes, there are some things I would like to see improved, which I’ve pointed out below. But, I think the collaboration of Verizon, Google, and Motorola is a winning combination that will benefit the consumer. What a powerhouse.

The things I would like to see improved or added to the Droid include the following:

· Make the battery cover tighter fitting

· Fix the camera focus

· Allow unlimited items in desktop folders or at least don’t count them as desktop icons

· Make Word Docs and PDFs viewable and editable in Google Docs

· Integrate with Microsoft Office

· Make it possible to make screen captures

· Make it possible to view movies and slide shows in Picasa

· Make the bar code reader more reliable

· Make the keys on the slide out keyboard more distinct

· Create an app allowing interactive Droid screens to appear on a computer screen

· Screen keyboard needs a backspace key

· Give access to the SD card without having to remove the battery

· Replace the micro-USB with a mini-USB adapter

Now this is a relatively short wish list. I remember when the iPhone first came out, I had a list of over 40 things it couldn’t do compared to a Windows Mobile device with such unbelievable deficiencies as the ability to take videos, send pictures, and copy/paste. I’d say the wish list for the Droid is far less serious and more easily remedied. But, these things take time. The iPhone is now three generations old, and it still has room for improvement, but it keeps getting better and that is nothing but good for the consumer.

All things considered, the Droid with its 2.0 operating system is an attractive alternative in the marketplace. I hope the competition it creates will benefit us all. I certainly think the new Droid is worth your consideration. Above all, it is a great phone with a fist full of fun and productive features. I will make a place for it in my pocket anytime knowing that it will just keep getting better and better over time.

Yes, iPhone should indeed dread the Droid.

Unlock your iPhone 3.0 2G, 3G and 3GS - Unlock software for ALL iPhone versions including iPhone 2.2, 2.2.1 and 3.0

2009-09-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Unlock your iPhone 3.0 2G, 3G and 3GS - Unlock software for ALL iPhone versions including iPhone 2.2, 2.2.1 and 3.0

Mobile Buzzed on Starbucks : Mobile Marketing Watch - The Pulse Of The Mobile Marketing Community

2009-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Mobile Buzzed on Starbucks : Mobile Marketing Watch - The Pulse Of The Mobile Marketing Community

Tim Hillebrand on Mobile

2009-09-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Tim Hillebrand on Mobile

Google Mobile App

2009-04-24T10:24:00.001-07:00

I never cease to marvel at the Google’s prolific development of new applications. The latest one to come to my attention is simply called Google Mobile App. It is a plugin that can be placed on your Today Screen for easy access or invoked from an icon in your Programs menu. Alternatively, you can program it to run from a hardware button.

Not surprisingly, it has a text input box for Google searches as well as two icons on the main panel bar. I suspect a larger screen or landscape screen would reveal more icons on the panel, but this is how it appears on my Treo Pro square screen. The two icons are for Gmail and Google Maps. Tapping on the plus symbol brings up a new screen with more icons.

The popup screen has an array of 12 icons that will give you access to many of Google’s popular applications such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube, News, Picassa, Calendar, Reader, 411, SMS, Orkut, Docs, and Blogger.

In case you are not familiar with all of these great services, let’s review them briefly so you will appreciate the usefulness of this nifty little application making them so easily accessible.

Google Search: the most popular search engine on the Internet. The nice thing about this search box is that you don’t have to wait to pull up a browser to initiate a query.

Google Maps: a great free mapping program that will find and call your favorite pizza parlor or give you turn by turn directions to it. If connected to GPS, it will track your progress on a map.

YouTube: Recently acquired by Google, YouTube is the most popular video posting service on the Web.

News: a nice news aggregator that compiles headlines from over 4500 English-language news sources worldwide and groups similar stories according to your interests and specifications—kinda like building your own customized newspaper

Picassa: This versatile photo application allows you to organize, edit, and turn your photos into movies (if you wish) and post them online.

Calendar: represents an online calendar most useful for collaborative synchronization of events and appointments that can be accessed and edited by specified others.

Reader: an application that lets you get and organize the latest news and updates from your favorite sites and share it with others via email or blog.

411: tired of paying up to two bucks for calling your phone company to get a phone listing? Use 411 for free.

Docs: Everyone who engages in collaborative writing projects should use this great application so that all participants are all on the same page at all times. It’s a great way to share documents or publish them online. It accepts Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

SMS: the greatest and quickest instant access to information from weather to sports scores, from measurements to definitions, from finding businesses to movies and theaters, from postal codes to stock quotes, from directions to flight schedules, from Q&A to area codes and more. Just text 466453 (GOOGLE) to a set of keywords found here: http://www.google.ca/mobile/sms/index.html

Orkut: yet another social networking site that has not really taken off in the U.S. but most popular in Brazil for some reason—named after a Google employee Orkut Byuykkokten

Blogger: allows you to post photos and text directly to your Blogger- built blog sites from your mobile phone.

Conclusion

Clearly, the functionality of this application is a boon to mobile efficiency, and you would be well advised to make it part of your toolkit. The good news is that it is totally free, as are all the applications it connects too. You must have a Google account in some cases to enjoy the bounty, but that’s free too.

Download Google Mobile here: http://tinyurl.com/epfz3. There is a version for almost any mobile platform, even iPhone. You can get it on your phone over the air here: http://tinyurl.com/clmz64. Or, visit m.google.com on your phone’s browser.

I’m surprised that other popular Google applications such as Talk, iGoogle, and Notebook were not included. Perhaps they will be in future iterations. What would be really nice is if you could add or subtract your favorite applications.

CellForce Blog » Blog Archive » Grab a Cup of Coffee - See How Mobile Works for Starbucks

2009-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

CellForce Blog » Blog Archive » Grab a Cup of Coffee - See How Mobile Works for Starbucks

New Mobile Shell 3.0

2009-04-21T10:34:00.001-07:00

If there ever were an application that I would recommend above all others to install on your pocket pal first it would be SPB’s Mobile Shell. Apparently this is not just my opinion, for the program has received an abundance of accolades. However, with a program so brilliantly conceived that does so much for organizing and giving you access to the depths of your machine, it is a hard act to follow.

Yet, the SPB developers have managed to make meaningful changes, add features, and offer improvements in version 3.0. If you have gotten used to using 2.0, you may balk at first and wonder why bother with any improvements and having to learn a new and more robust system. While there may be a bit of a learning curve, I think you will find it worth the effort.

Frankly, I liked everything just the way it was, but I have to admit that after becoming familiar with 3.0 and its enhancements, I am delighted with it and amazed at its functionality.

New Features

There are so many new features, I hardly know where to begin. Perhaps it would be best to list the major ones and then discuss those that are not self-evident.

· The most noticeable new feature is widgets, which have become popular on most desktops these days. These are evident on the Lifestyle Home Screen and in Photo Contacts.

· 3.0 integrates with Facebook. This is largely so that you can grab pictures of your friends and put them into your favorites and contact folders.

· You can even edit contact photos with cropping and rotating

· There’s a new Media Player widget you can place on the home screen

· You can place a wireless manager widget on the Home Screen too

· There’s a new launcher format—I’m not sure this is an improvement however

· The program is extremely finger-friendly throughout with kinetic scrolling

· There is an inbound indicator for voice, email, and sms with a counter widget

· The task manager has definitely been improved

· A 3D screen carousel view rotates every available screen for quick access

· There is a similar carousel view of photo contacts

Remember the old Professional vs Classic layout in 2.0? Well, 3.0 has expanded the concept to Professional and Lifestyle layouts that you can switch between at will. The professional layout packs in more information in a constrained screen space, while the Lifestyle layout is more fun with widgets you can scatter around the screen to give you the information you wish.

Chances are, users may not even recognize the installation of Mobile Shell 3.0 from one machine to another because of the endless possibilities of customization of features, backgrounds, and wallpapers.

It The new version supports multiple email platforms and accounts. A powerful algorithm places the email account with the most unread mail first in line for convenience. If there is no unread mail, the last one to have email will be the first in line.

Version 3.0 pays a lot of attention to contact management. The innovative approach of Facebook integration allows users to drag and drop photos and even crop them. You can also drag and drop contacts into the Favorites panel and then move them around as you please with your finger. The 3D contact carousel is a fun feature too. MS allows you to set unique ringtones for your favorites if you wish.

When you select a favorite, a new screen appears giving you the choice of calling home/work/mobile or sending SMS or MMS messages. There’s a nice photo log of phone calls as well.

I’m not quite convinced that the new launcher and the SPB Menu are an improvement over the old system in which you had 12 of the most recently launched applications in small icon format above the six Menu folders. You could make any of the twelve items appear permanently for convenience, and you could edit the content of the Menu folders or create your own folder and content.

Now there is a Launcher with your three favorites at the top in simple mode and any number of recently used applications displayed in order of usage below. It appears that you could have the whole Program folder in here. In the advanced mode, you can easily add or remove programs to suite your purpose. The recently used function will still operate below the favorites panel.

Remember that SPB offers an integrated suite of applications along with Mobile Shell such as Traveler, Weather, Netflix Manager, and Plus. These all work more seamlessly with version 3.0.

Version 3.0’s developers created the application with Windows Mobile 6.5 in mind so that it will work flawlessly in that environment too when it is released.

Conclusion

While Mobile Shell 2.0 was a superbly conceived application that made using your pocket pal a dream, version 3.0 has managed to enhance it with many new features of functionality and navigation. Perhaps the most striking features are the carousels and widgets. Again, I have to rate Mobile Shell 3.0 as a must-have application.

It costs $29.95, but you can try it for free and upgrade it for 50% off the retail price. Please visit www.spbsoftwarehouse.com to check it out and get your own copy. I think you are going to be quite pleased with Mobile Shell 3.0.

Senate introduces legislation to block unsolicited SMS - Mobile Marketer - Legal/privacy

2009-04-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Senate introduces legislation to block unsolicited SMS - Mobile Marketer - Legal/privacy

Wireless industry will help reverse recession: CTIA keynote - Mobile Marketer - Carrier networks

2009-04-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

Wireless industry will help reverse recession: CTIA keynote - Mobile Marketer - Carrier networks

Become a Fan of Facebook Pages With a Text Message | GroupHelp.NET - Easy everything!

2009-03-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Become a Fan of Facebook Pages With a Text Message | GroupHelp.NET - Easy everything!

TECH ZONE: Mobile Marketing and Mobile Advertising At The Click of a Mouse

2009-03-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

TECH ZONE: Mobile Marketing and Mobile Advertising At The Click of a Mouse

Use Your Windows Mobile Device for Forex Trading to Make Serious Money in a Tanking Economy

2009-03-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

With economic doom and gloom surrounding us and the world’s economy going down the drain, let me share with you a surefire method of making serious money using your Windows Mobile device. Forex trading or the foreign exchange money market will make you money whether it goes up or down.

I have been playing around with it now for a couple of months. At first there can be a steep learning curve with some costly lessons if you make mistakes through manual placing of orders. You have to know when to get in and when to get out. You can lose your shirt very quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing.

However, it doesn’t have to be like that. Let me share with you an amazing little secret that you will thank me for the rest of your life. It involves what are called Expert Advisors or EAs. These are automated trading programs that do all the trading for you. They are little robots that make money for you while you sleep. They recognize profit opportunities, place orders, whether long or short, place stops for safety, and exit almost always with a profit.

The good news is that you can use your little pocket pal to place and track orders. Mostly all you have to do is check up on your robot to see how your profits are doing.

Note that the markets are open 24 hours a day Monday through Friday so you can relax on the weekends and enjoy your profits for the week.

This past week I made $1837.40 on a $5000 account in five days of trading. On another $5000 account, I cleared $1560.11. Friday I opened another $5000 account and made $351.51 for the day before the markets closed in just 8 hours of trading. Projected over 5 days, that would be $1757.55 for the five day week. So, the total profit would be over $5000 for the week or $20,000 for the month on a $15,000 investment. You can do the math for a year. Not bad in a sagging economy.

Let me tell you what you need to get started. First you must find a Forex trading brokerage to work with so you can open an account. There are oodles of them available. Just Google Forex. Firms I have used include I-Trade Forex, Forex.com, and lotusbrokerage.com.

Next you will need to sign up for an account. I strongly recommend that you sign up for a demo account first. Trade for at least a month before you go live or wait until you are confident and know what you are doing.

Then you must download the trading software. There may be several choices depending on the broker you select, but you should select MetaTrader 4. In my opinion, it is the most sophisticated yet easiest to use. Besides, it is the only one that offers a Windows Mobile version so you can conduct this business on your PDA.

Download and install both the desktop and handheld versions.

Now comes the magic. I strongly recommend that you download Maestro. This is an expert advisor that will completely automate your trading. Just plug it in, let it run on autopilot, and watch your profits soar. It will cost you $167, which is the best investment you’ll ever make. There is similar software out there that costs much more but is not nearly as effective. This EA really works like magic.

Another hugely important consideration in my opinion is not only that the software works, it is all set up and optimized for you right out of the box. You do not have to tweak the settings, which can be a continual bother. Just follow the simple installation instructions, and you will be making money in no time. It’s truly amazing.

You have nothing to lose because there is a 60 day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied, and I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be, you can ask for a full refund no questions asked.

To get your copy, go to Maestro where you can pay, download, and be in business in a matter of minutes.

You can forget about the wimpy stock market, tanking real estate, and every other pathetic form of investment. If you’ve been wondering where to put your money that will give you a decent return and recover your losses, the Forex market with Maestro is the place. And what’s really great, is that you can do it with your little pocket pal from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t cost a fortune to get involved either. Start with a little as $300 and watch it grow to $3000 before your eyes, in your hand, on your Windows Mobile cachinger.

Don’t Buy FAPTurbo Forex Trading System: Giant Rip Off! Total Scam!

2009-03-13T19:38:00.001-07:00

This is a warning. Be aware of a Forex Trading system called FAPTurbo that is being hyped all over the Internet, which is supposed to double your money every month. It doesn’t! I could never even get it to work. After tweaking and tweaking, I got a couple of trades out of it, never made a profit, and then it just quit working altogether. I religiously followed the instructions and set all the parameters perfectly as recommended in the manual.

In the sales hype, they tout the excellent customer support. Well, let me tell you, it’s non-existent. They do not respond, leave you high and dry, and keep your money.

There is supposed to be a 60 day guarantee no questions asked money back refund. Well fergetabout it. No one answers the phone. The voice mailbox on the answering machine is always full. No one ever returns calls. No one ever responds to email.

I have been trying to get a refund for weeks without any success. In desperation, I spent the money to send a registered refund demand letter to the New York City address listed in the Website. The post office returned my letter as undeliverable. Someone wrote on the envelope “The person and company have never been at this location.”

All I can conclude is that the entire operation is a flim flam Internet scam. Do not invest in this software. It did not work for me, and I doubt if it will work for you. There is no customer support. They do not honor their guarantees, and they do not exist at the address listed on the Website. Do not get involved as an affiliate either, for you will only be perpetuating the scam and will probably never see any compensation for your efforts.

Spread the word: FAPTurbo is a scam and a rip off. Steve, Mike, and Ulrich the supposed geniuses behind this fraud should all be in prison. Maybe the law will catch up with them, and you can help.

E-mail marketing + more: The ASPCA uses SMS text message marketing to increase donations

2009-03-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

E-mail marketing + more: The ASPCA uses SMS text message marketing to increase donations

Find Friends Fast in MySpace with FriendBlasterPro

2009-03-06T17:26:00.001-08:00

If you are into social networking for its powerful marketing potential, then the more friends you have, the greater your market reach. The trick is to attract a circle of followers who are kindred spirits who share interests similar to yours. Finding friends one by one could take a considerable amount of time before you have a decent group.

Enter FriendBlasterPro a brilliant friend-finding application to save the day. This program more or less automates the process and takes all the headaches out of it for you.

Here’s how it works. After installing, run the program, and log into your MySpace account from within FriendBlasterPro. Locate groups, forums, and classified ads that are related to your area of interest. Alternatively, conduct a search on the topic you wish. When the results page appears, click on the Gather ID’s [sic]. You can then instruct the program to collect just from the current page or all pages. Normally, you would want to harvest all the pages. By the way, you can gather friends from a Google search as well.

Depending on the size of the group, this operation could take a few minutes. The result will be a list of names displayed in the center panel of the FBP screen. You should save these data to a file for future reference. These files can be 10, 20, 30 thousand depending on the size of the interest group.

Next you will want to start requesting friends from this list of potentials you have just generated. Click on the Friend Requester tab. There are a couple of settings you will want to adjust. First is the Friends per day box. I recommend that you set it for 200 per day. Any more than this and you will risk having your account suspended by MySpace because they tend to frown on wholesale friend prospecting on a mass basis. This conservative setting will keep you well under the radar.

The second setting is important too, and that is the time delay. I recommend that you set it for 12 seconds so that it doesn’t appear as if you are blasting away like a machine gun. This will keep you under the radar as well.

There are many other powerful features in FriendBlasterPro. You can send out bulletins at a set time to a list. You can invite a list of friends to an event. You can accept friends automatically. You can send out comments and messages to a list. You can even filter your list for people, bands, comedy, film, gender, age range, last login, and location or multiple locations. The filters can be turned on or off for gathering or for sending. Are you beginning to see the power of this program? Just imagine what you can do with this amazing tool.

While this application is designed to be an autobot running happily along on its own steam, MySpace has thrown up some road blocks. Every once in a while the routine will halt and wait for you to input a Captcha code just to make sure you are a human and not a bot. There is no set number of records before this appears; you just have to live with it. If it weren’t for this minor annoyance, it would be a close to perfect program for putting your home business on autopilot.

I only wish that the developers would create a FriendBlasterPro for all the other social networks out there. We are fortunate to have it for MySpace at least, and you should be taking advantage of it to improve your marketing outreach.

Here’s the deal: You can download it and try it free for a limited time. You can purchase it for one MySpace account for $29.95. Unlimited MySpace accounts usage is $59.95. Upgrades from one to unlimited accounts is $30.00. To get your copy go to <a href="http://tinyurl.com/b9fzol. ">FriendBlasterPro</a>.

How to forward text messages to your email inbox

2009-03-05T17:03:00.001-08:00

When I was asked to review TxtForward, I had to stop and think about why I would want my text messages forwarded to my email inbox. Isn’t text messaging handy enough without cluttering up an already overburdened email inbox?

TxtForward is an application that will automatically forward your text messages to any email address you specify. You can determine if you want inbound, outbound or both forwarded.

Scratching my head, I began to ponder the possible benefits of forwarded text messages to an email address. The more I thought about it, the more benefits I conceived. Let me share with you the results and invite your comments if you see other uses.

First and foremost, I think the major benefit would be as a backup record to important texting exchanges as in the case of a legal transaction for business arrangements or travel plans. There is a log of text messages created in the Windows folder, but it can only be read in the client that created it. Having an email backup is more useful and makes more sense.

I’m playing around with the idea of creating a novel or a play based almost entirely on text message exchanges. I think it would be a hoot. Can you imagine a play that would have two people texting back and forth never saying an audible word to one another? The scenes would change from home to office to car to restaurant and so forth throughout the day, but texting would be the only interaction. The audience would be treated to two huge screens each representing the actors’ cell phones.

The problem my collaborator and I discovered was that some of the messages had been inadvertently erased. Some of the dates were screwed up and out of sequence when the machine was reset unwittingly and the date not adjusted. An email backup would have saved the day.

Besides backup, this utility could have a whole range of stealth applications. For instance, what about cheating spouses? The program could be surreptitiously installed in the unsuspecting suspected spouse’s phone and programmed to route an email to your lawyer, private eye, or perhaps to the other guilty party’s email. It’s also a way to make sure your kids are where they are supposed to be and with whom they’re supposed to be. When I was young, I used to go to the library a lot, or at least that’s what I told my parents. I wonder if kids still do that. Parents would probably just tell them to look it up online.

I must say that when I’m sitting in front of my computer working, it’s nice to have my text messages streamed in with my email so that I don’t have to deal with my phone. I use a program called True Connect from raspberry software.com the places a tool bar on your Outlook ribbon that allows you to create and answer SMS messages. This brings up a wish list item for TxtForward, and that is to be able to reply to messages from an email client.

Another nice feature of TxtForward concerns those of us who have a whole stable of phones. As a writer/reviewer, I am always juggling several phones at any given moment. Some people have a private phone and a work phone. Wouldn’t it be nice if all your SMS messages could be directed to one depository, your email. Of course, with TxtForward this is no problem.

Another plus is that if you change phone numbers or get a new phone or SIM card, with TxtForward, your SMS records remain intact.

Now let’s look at security issues. Unfortunately, email clients that I’m familiar with do not allow the encryption of folders, files, and messages, so if your communications are sensitive, you are at risk. About the best you can do is password protect your whole email program, but this is a bother and isn’t really all that secure. Another suggestion is to create an obscure email account that you can password protect and use that for your messages with security issues.

I have another approach. First you will need to get a copy of Resco Explorer, which is an amazing program in itself basically for Windows Mobile devices. It’s actually a whole suite of useful utilities. But of interest here is the fact that it places an item on your desktop right click menu button for encryption of files and folders. With this application installed on your desktop, you can then create a page in Word and simply drag your text message email over to the Word page taking care to keep them in order. You can annotate them and organize them. After you have saved the page you can encrypt it and password protect it. How’s that for a creative solution?

By the way, you have the choice of forward messages from the developer’s server or directly from you phone. Note that some services such as Gmail will not show messages sent to yourself. In this case, you would want to use Electric Pocket’s server or send them to another email account. Electric Pocket swears that you can have complete confidence and that they do not log, monitor or record messages on their server.

In conclusion, it seems that the usefulness of this application is only limited by your imagination. It should have a premium edition capable of sending to multiple email addresses. It would be nice if Electric Pocket addressed the issue of security too. TxtForward would be even more useful if you could respond to messages directly from the email program.

Take it for a trail run or make it yours for a mere $7.95. It’s available from www.electricpocket.com.

If you can think of any more helpful uses of this application, please share.

Sprint and Palm Announce Upcoming Availability of Treo Pro on 3G Network

2009-03-05T10:06:00.001-08:00

Sprint and Palm Announce Upcoming Availability of Treo Pro on America’s Most Dependable 3G Network

Elegant Windows Smartphone Supports Blazing-Fast 3G Data Speeds, First Palm Phone to Offer Internet Explorer Mobile 6

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 4, 2009 – Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) and Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced the upcoming availability of the Treo™ Pro smartphone for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15.

Treo Pro will be available through all Sprint retail channels, including www.sprint.com/treopro, 1-800-SPRINT1 and Sprint retail stores, for $199.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement (after a $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate, with an Everything plan with data or a $30 per month or higher data add-on). It also will be available through the Palm Store (www.palm.com/store) and Palm’s B2B sales organization beginning March 16.

Treo Pro is a sleek, full-function smartphone offering users the ease of use and robust features they demand while providing the reliability and manageability IT departments require. With the EV-DO Rev. A speeds of Sprint’s Mobile Broadband Network, Wi-Fi, GPS and Windows Mobile 6.1 capabilities, Treo Pro helps busy professionals stay connected on the go so they can structure their lives around their priorities without sacrificing work productivity.(1)

“Business decision makers require a product that not only integrates seamlessly into their existing IT infrastructures, but one that’s also cost-effective,” said John Traynor, vice president, business products, Palm, Inc. “Treo Pro delivers just that – a feature set that IT managers need to support their mobile work force.”

Treo Pro is the first Palm phone available with Internet Explorer Mobile 6, with options for either a mobile-optimized or desktop-like Internet browsing experience on America’s most dependable 3G network.(2) It blends a high-resolution color touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard with a removable battery that packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user’s needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience. Palm’s Wi-Fi hardware and software innovations on Treo Pro make it easy to get online fast and manage network connections and power usage. The one-touch Wi-Fi button provides a clean, uncluttered Wi-Fi experience that gets Treo Pro users rapidly connected at home, in the office or in Wi-Fi hotspots.

“The combination of Sprint Mobile Broadband with EV-DO (Evolution - Data Optimized) Revision (Rev.) A technology and Windows Mobile 6.1 on a Palm smartphone creates a mobile solution that meets the needs of today’s mobile professionals,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product & technology development for Sprint. “For years, Sprint, Microsoft and Palm have worked together to provide businesses large and small with an affordable mobile experience that is second to none, and Treo Pro continues that collaborative tradition.”

Sprint EV-DO Rev. A, Exclusive Content and Services

In 2008, Sprint revolutionized unlimited pricing in the wireless industry by moving beyond its competitors to deliver more features for a flat monthly rate of $99.99. Sprint’s Simply Everything(SM) plan is ideal for smartphones that can extensively leverage wireless data applications and provides unlimited nationwide calling, messaging, email, Web browsing, GPS navigation and much more – all for the monthly rate of only $99.99.(3)

Treo Pro offers integrated GPS, enabling Sprint Navigation with turn-by-turn directions, maps and point-of-interest searches for locations such as restaurants or stores. Additional Sprint-exclusive content available on Treo Pro(4) includes:

• Sprint TV® – Allows Treo Pro users to watch TV or video-on-demand or catch the latest news, sports, weather, entertainment and movie trailers on the go.

• Sprint Music – Enables users to wirelessly download digital music tracks to Treo Pro and choose from hundreds of thousands of full-length songs from virtually every genre.

• Pocket Express – Retrieves customized, up-to-date Web content such as sports, weather, news, money and movie information with the push of a button.

Treo Pro users can easily stay in touch with family and friends using Sprint Messaging, offering threaded SMS, and the ability to share pictures and video with MMS seamlessly in one application. It also offers Sprint IM with access to Yahoo! Messenger, AOL’s AIM® service and MSN Messenger.

With an open network platform, Sprint is able to offer customers new business applications created through Sprint’s Professional Developer Program. A robust community of application developers that previously focused on desktop services is now finding it easier to generate services that can perform on both the desktop and mobile devices.

The Palm Experience on Windows Mobile 6.1

Treo Pro supports Microsoft Direct Push Technology(5) for up-to-date email, contacts and calendars. With the deployment of Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, Treo Pro can deliver increased security, easier smartphone management, and access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals can confidently manage large Treo Pro deployments the same way they manage PCs.

With Internet Explorer Mobile 6, Treo Pro brings users a new, full-featured, high-quality browsing experience. Users can choose to browse in a mobile-optimized mode or in a desktop browser mode. Microsoft brings a mobile Web-browsing experience on par with what end users and developers have come to expect from their desktops – the ability to easily view Web pages and multimedia on the Web and best-in-class capability to complete transactions, from banking to checking in for a flight. Treo Pro helps optimize business processes by mobilizing users with several Palm specific enhancements to the Windows platform, including:

• One-touch Wi-Fi button -- Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).(1)

• Ringer switch – Silences the device immediately.

• Clock and date screen saver – Lets users know at a glance – without turning on the device – what date and time it is and whether they’ve missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.

• New voicemail indicator – The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.

• Dedicated email and calendar buttons – Fast one-button access.

Sprint also launched Ready Now, a revolution in the wireless retail experience, in all company-owned Sprint stores last fall. With Ready Now, Sprint has trained and committed its retail associates to work one-on-one with customers to personalize phones, set up features and demonstrate how phones work – before customers leave the store. Treo Pro customers can work with Sprint retail associates to learn more about how they can fully leverage the strengths of their device on Sprint’s Mobile Broadband Network.

Pricing and Availability

Treo Pro will be available March 15 through all Sprint retail channels, including www.sprint.com/treopro, 1-800-SPRINT1 and Sprint retail stores, for $199.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement (after a $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate, with an Everything plan with data or a $30 per month or higher data add-on). It will be available through the Palm Store (www.palm.com/store) and Palm’s B2B sales organization beginning March 16.

NOTE: Photos of the Treo Pro smartphone for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network are available from Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5909453) and Palm’s Multimedia Library (www.palm.com/mml).

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 49 million customers at the end of the fourth quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company’s products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm® Treo™, Pre™ and Centro™ phones, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com.

iPhone eBook Readers Still Stone Tablets

2009-03-03T16:44:00.001-08:00

Zealot’s interesting iBook article published on the Mobility Site has compelled me to make a few observations about iPhone eBook readers. While I am pleased that eBooks are a growing and popular download item, I am disappointed with the iPhone platform. I have been a long-time champion of eBooks and have developed some strict requirements for a decent eBook reader. I am afraid that there simply is not a decent eBook reader for iPhone yet. Sadly, iPhone users do not even seem to know the difference. It appears that as long as you can turn the page with your nose-mining finger, that’s all that’s required. The Earth’s flat, and that’s that.

By all measures, Stanza is by far the best, preferred, and most downloaded eBook reader for iPhone and iPod. It receives good marks for being able to handle a wide variety of eBook platforms and even convert them for iPhone consumption. But, it apparently loses formatting in some cases. It has a nice interface for finger-friendly page turning, but it lacks an autoscroll feature for faster and lazier readers. It also earns points for its ability to change fonts, font sizes, font colors and page background colors. This all contributes positively to the eBook reading experience.

However, the eBook reading experience can be so much more powerful. What turned me on to eBooks and won me over instantly way back before the turn of the century was being able to tap on a word in any language and having the definition pop up on the screen. That was way cool and converted me to eBook reading and abandoning treebooks forever. Can’t do that on Stanza on an iPhone. What a pity. But then, maybe iPhone readers have such extensive vocabularies and are such polyglots that this feature is simply not necessary and is beneath their dignity.

Other features lacking in even the best iPhone reader as exemplified in Stanza include the ability to annotate text, index the annotations, and search them. Speaking of searching, apparently Stanza will only allow searching within chapters, not globally.

What about the ability to make drawings, sketches, and handwritten notes in your choice of colors on pages without destroying the book as you would with a treebook. Nope, not on an iBook.

What about highlighting text in your choice of color coding? No can do on an iPhone.

What if you want to copy and paste text from an eBook into another application for research purposes? Sorry, iPhone is anti-academic on this issue. Wouldn’t it be nice too if it automatically referenced the source? Actually, as I understand it, you can’t copy and paste anything on an iPhone, so it’s not surprising that this feature is lacking in eBooks as well.

Another problem is that there is a lack of up-to-date material on the iTunes site. You cannot download any New York Times best sellers for example. None of the popular authors are represented. Clearly, it must be a matter of digital rights issues that Apple has not yet resolved. Of course the same thing applies to audiobooks and the lack thereof for this platform.

It is sad that iPhone and iPod users cannot take advantage of the marvelous free eBook and audiobook download programs available at almost all public libraries these days because of DRM issues and incompatible formats.

Ebook reading remains a far superior experience on Windows Mobile devices. However, I am pleased that iPhone people are discovering eBooks. Perhaps when they learn the difference they will demand that developers bring readers up to speed. EBook reading and readers will benefit greatly, and that is what matters. Maybe, if the demand justifies it, there will even be some decent material available to read on iPhones that still has a copyright.

National Public Radio (NPR) goes mobile

2009-03-03T16:18:00.001-08:00

I’ve had a love/annoyance relationship with NPR over the years. There’s lots to like about NPR, for it has some great content and unique programming along with being one of the few sources of classical music. I like Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, and Car Talk with those zany brothers. I appreciate Fresh Air, All Things Considered, and the news.

On the other hand, NPR has some serious negative features in my opinion. On the weekends, it has that awful Celtic music, which is repetitive, boring, and banal. Who would choose to listen to that stuff? And yet it goes on and on, year after year. There must be some heavy-duty, deluded sponsor who keeps it going. Certainly there could be far better, more creative programming to fill that slot. For a supposedly commercial-free platform, I grow weary hearing about their sponsors incessantly, and solicitations for more sponsors.

An improvement I would suggest is broadcasting scrolling text for the music being played and the composer/artist. I certainly appreciate this feature when listening to satellite radio and many other AM/FM stations. News can be broadcast this way as well while multi-tasking with other programming. I suppose it could also be used for mentioning sponsors. Perhaps this will change when stations begin HD broadcasting. But then how many people will have radios capable of receiving HD signals?

Another problem with NPR is that it seems every time I turn it on there is a fundraiser going on and on and on. While it bugs me, I usually fork over a donation every year because I want to support what I do like. However, it is usually a major inconvenience to make a contribution. I would be much more inclined to do so and more regularly if it were possible to do on my mobile phone or with PayPal instead of having to write a check, find a stamp/envelope, go to post office—fergetaboutit. Dropping everything to call on the phone and digging out a credit card isn’t much better. Get with it NPR—go mobile.

Actually, NPR has gone mobile with a truncated version of its full Website. You can access it at www.mobile.npr.org. You’d think they would have used www.npr.mobi instead. There is a decent array of offerings there including “Local” News, Most Popular Stories, Story of the Day, Music, Politics, Business, Health and Science, Movies, Books, Interviews, Commentary, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me! Quiz. Opening each of these headings brings up mostly text stories, but if the word “call” is next to a story, you can get a recording.

There are some 35 “local” stations representing only the larger markets. If you want to listen to one of these stations, you can place a “call” to connect. This could cost serious money if don’t have the right data plan. Hasn’t NPR ever heard of Wi-Fi? You can search for a station in your area by zip code or city name, but chances are it will not be online if it’s in a smaller market. There is also an opportunity to donate to your “local” station. But, again, it’s only the large market stations. The joke is that they give you a phone number to call. NPR just doesn’t get it and is losing out on the power of mobile phones as a tool for charitable contributions.

I think they need to retool their entire money-raising machine. It’s outmoded and annoying. I recently sent our regional NPR fundraising representative a proposal for an innovative approach to fundraising that would have generated a sustainable residual income. She didn’t even have the courtesy to respond. It’s a good thing she doesn’t work for me; she would be looking for another job without a recommendation.

What amuses me is that the mobile version does not even mention RSS feeds, Podcasts, links for iPhone/Blackberry, text only site, API archives, Newsletters, MobiRadio, or Mspot. What about Windows Mobile?

NPR seems to be totally unencumbered with any knowledge of the interactive possibilities of mobile technology. There isn’t even an opinion section on the mobile version, nor are there any blogs. NPR needs to hire someone knowledgeable in Web 2.0. NPR is missing so many opportunities. It should have a presence on all the social networks. It should be Twittering away with timely Tweets. It should be texting and allowing its sponsors to have contests, sales, promotions, conducting surveys, texting coupons, sending out optimized mobile sites, and MMS messages as well. What an incredible waste not to be building an opt-in subscriber base for fundraising and communication purposes. Shame on NPR. Does NPR stand for Neo-Paleolithic Radio?

I suppose congratulations should be extended to NPR for offering a mobile version, but it is so lacking in mobile technology features that it is pathetic. One does wonder in what century the mobile site was built. While it is certainly a start in the right direction, there is much room for improvement, which I hope will be forthcoming before the next ice age. Meanwhile I shall restrict my NPR experience to listening via satellite radio over Wi-Fi.

ASUS Raises the Bar for Mobile Web Surfing and Multimedia Enjoyment with P835 WVGA PDA Phone

2009-03-02T10:42:00.001-08:00

Taipei, Taiwan, February 27, 2009 – ASUS, a leading producer of innovative handhelds, today launched the P835, a PDA phone that delivers an Internet browsing and multimedia viewing experience without equal. Designed for business-savvy professionals who appreciate a screen as big as their ambitions, the P835 is equipped with a large 3.5” touchscreen that runs at WVGA resolution—offering five times the number of pixels of most phones and delivering the best document, photo, movie and website viewing experience possible. Apart from being able to display more of a webpage onscreen, the P835 boasts features that greatly enrich users’ online experience, including blazing fast HSUPA 7.2Mbps download speeds, a responsive trackball that makes scrolling effortless and Opera Mobile, a user-friendly and full-featured Web browser. It wraps all of its impressive functionality in an elegant touch-optimized interface which is intuitive, interactive and attractive.

Unparalleled Internet Browsing Experience
The ASUS P835 is designed to help users get the most out of the Internet. It is embedded with Opera Mobile, a fast, user-friendly and rich-featured browser that brings a complete Web experience to the P835. Users will be able to perform the full breadth of online tasks—from hopping onto their social networking sites and updating their blogs, to checking email and viewing streaming video. The P835 also enables users to switch between 12-key, half-Qwerty and full-Qwerty virtual keyboard modes, allowing them to choose an input method that best suits their current task. A responsive tracking ball significantly improves scrolling, and the phone’s large 3.5” display ensures every webpage is displayed crisply and vividly.

Crystal Clear 3.5” WVGA Touchscreen
The P835 is equipped with a large 3.5” touchscreen that runs at WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) resolution—offering five times the number of pixels of most phones—thus rendering the P835 capable of delivering unprecedented clarity and screen real estate. Regardless of whether it is used for watching movies in full screen, browsing through photos, perusing documents or surfing the Internet, the P835 will provide visual enjoyment on the mobile platform like never before.

New Glide: The Best Mobile Interface, Now Even Better
The P835 features an updated, streamlined and enhanced iteration of ASUS’ exclusive Glide—the most innovative, intuitive and interactive mobile user interface available today. New Glide has been given a significant facelift over its predecessor, boasting new icons that take the beauty and interactivity of the interface up a notch—making the best even better. Subtle, bold, modern, swanky or sweet—the P835 has a theme that will appeal to everyone.

Doubles as a Wi-Fi Access Point
The P835 has the additional ability to function as a Wi-Fi Access Point. It can share its high-speed HSPA cellular data or Internet connection over Wi-Fi with up to 10 devices, such as laptops or other PDA phones. Connecting devices is a simple affair thanks to the P835’s user-friendly interface, and dropped connections are automatically restored.

Specifications

Networks
HSPA (DL: 7.2Mbps, UL: 2Mbps), UMTS 900/1900/2100
EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900, Class 12

Operating System
Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.1™ Professional

Color
Black

Form factor
Bar type

Dimensions
115mm x 59mm x 13.8mm

Weight
148g (with battery)

Standby Time
350hrs with 3G and 300hrs with 2G*

Talk Time
6hrs with 3G and 7hrs with 2G*

Display
3.5” TFT, 65K-color Touchscreen, WVGA (800 x 480 pixels)

Processor
Qualcomm 7201A 528MHz

Memory
4GB Internal Storage + 288MB SDRAM + 256MB ROM

Expansion Slot
MicroSD with SDHC support

Connectivity
WLAN 802.11b+g , USB v2.0, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

WAP Browser
HTTP / WAP 1.2.1/2.0

Messaging
SMS / MMS / Email / MSN / Push Email

Battery
1100mAh Lithium

GPS
Yes (AGPS supported)

Business Applications

PIM
Word (editor), Excel (editor), PowerPoint (viewer), Adobe Reader, Windows® Live, MSN, Voice Commander** and Push Email (Exchange Server).

Other Features
Opera browser, Wi-Fi Access Point, YouTube, Flickr, ASUS Virtual Keyboard, Anytime Launcher, ASUS Today, EziMusic, EziPhoto, Google search and RSS Reader.

Multimedia and Entertainment

Camera
5 Megapixel Auto Focus

Video
Record: MPEG4/H.263
Playback: MPEG4/H.264/H.263/WMV
Video Call, Audio/Video Streaming

Picture Format
JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP

Audio Format
MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR, AAC and AAC+

Ringtone
Polyphonic (MIDI, 128CH), MP3, WMA and WAV

JAVA
J2ME (CLDC 1.1 + MIDP2.0)

* Talk and standby time are dependent on the network environment and on phone usage.
** Subject to region availability.
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Please visit www.asus.com for more details.

Back

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than ten thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company’s revenue for 2008 was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek’s “InfoTech 100”, and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years.

Texting with Tatango

2009-02-26T15:50:00.001-08:00

Recently, I published an article in which I maintained that text message or SMS marketing is the future of advertising. I even went so far as to declare that there has never been a more powerful marketing tool ever invented.

Today let me share with you a great way to get started in mobile marketing or just keeping in touch with a group through texting. Allow me to introduce you to Tatango.

Tatango was invented by some fraternity brothers who needed a way to keep the brethren apprised of meetings and activities which was always a daunting task. They came up with an application that allowed them to send out a text message to all the guys’ mobile phones simultaneously, and it worked like a charm.

Now, a few years later, the system has been funded by venture capitalists, and it is available for public consumption. The good news is that it is free, so it makes a great way to get started with the power of texting.

It can be used simply as a group communication tool for a soccer team or a church group. It can also be used my MLM junkies wanting to keep in touch with their downline. It can also be used as a recruiting tool by allowing people to text into the system requesting to be included on the distribution list.

There are two elements to SMS or short message service communication. First is a short code consisting usually of five digits instead of ten, making it easier for users. The second aspect is a keyword used for identifying the group and the appropriate response for the server to send back. Accordingly, suppose you were a realtor and you had a texting panel on your for sale sign. It would say something like “text mls12234 to 34567.” This instructs a prospective client to send a message to 34567 with the code mlm12234. This tells the computer to include this customer in the database and to return information about the particular property in question.

The beauty of SMS marketing is that that customer must request to be sent information on an opt-in basis. Recipients may opt-out at any time by merely texting the word STOP. They are automatically removed from the database. Ideally this is how it works and is mandated by the FCC. However, there have been instances of abuse by foreign servers over which the FCC has no authority. There will always be some people who abuse the system.

There are four ways for people to join your group. You can send an email invitation to an individual or list with instructions. You can send a text message to a mobile phone number with instructions. Tatango offers a widget that can be embedded in social networking sites such as MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, a blog or Website that enables people to sign up for your group. This is a terrific tool for expanding your marketing list.

As I mentioned, this is a free service. However, the free service is supported by advertising. This means that each message contains a short ad from a sponsor. This may be tolerable for members of a team or a social group looking for an inexpensive but efficient means of communication. But it would hardly do for a professional association or for business marketing efforts.
Accordingly, Tatango has different levels of service ranging in price for varying numbers of ad free messages ranging from 200 for $9.95 to 3000 for $99.95.

You receive from one to 5 keywords depending on account level. Keywords may be used to identify different groups or different marketing campaigns. For instance, suppose you owned a pizza restaurant, and you wanted to identify vegetarians from meat lovers so that you could segment future marketing strategies. You could offer different specials with keywords identifying each group.
While Tatango is a great way to get started with texting for a group for free, I would not advise using the free service for a business. You will turn your customers off with the ads in the messages. If you want to use this service for your business, you would certainly use a paid plan that is ad free. The only ads you want in a message are yours.

Check out Tatango at www.tatango.com. Get a free account to see how it works. See if Tatango’s paid services will suit your needs. Keep in mind that there are other, more sophisticated service providers available that you may wish to investigate before making a commitment to a sustained mobile marketing effort.

If would like to learn more about mobile marketing, please visit my SMS Blog.

Undelivired Thoughts: Text Messaging Provides A Burst of Marketing Opportunities

2009-02-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

Undelivired Thoughts: Text Messaging Provides A Burst of Marketing Opportunities

Auto Social Bookmarking Site Submitter Toolbar

2009-02-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Check out this nifty little toolbar that will submit your articles automatically to a wide array of social bookmarking sites.

CONSULTAJURIDICA DE CHILE. LA CONSULTA PREVENTIVA: Posted on February 4, 2009 by Larry Bodine Twitosphere Drawing in a Steady Stream of Twittering Lawyers

2009-02-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

CONSULTAJURIDICA DE CHILE. LA CONSULTA PREVENTIVA: Posted on February 4, 2009 by Larry Bodine Twitosphere Drawing in a Steady Stream of Twittering Lawyers

Spb Weather 2.0—Don’t leave home without it

2009-02-08T16:22:00.001-08:00

Clearly, weather plays an important role in our lives and can sometimes be a matter of life and death. Therefore, it is important to have ready access to these data, and what could be more convenient than having it in the palm of your hand on the Today screen of your Windows Mobile device?

Spb Weather 2.0 offers many attractive features in addition to the basic weather stats. It has a 3D globe, satellite images, temperature forecast movies, sky forecast movies, and an improved integration with Spb Mobile Shell and a finger friendly animated navigation approach.

You can add up to 10 favorite cities, which can be easily swapped or removed. While there is an onboard database of 10,000 cities, I found it lacking for my preferences. For instance, I was born in Santa Barbara, CA and like to keep track of the weather there. I was surprised that it was not in the database even though it’s the largest city in the county and the county seat while Santa Maria, a much smaller city was included. I now live in the state of Idaho where only two cities are listed for the entire state. Yes, it is possible to search for cities by zip code, airport code, or name and add them to the database. However, when I did this, no weather data were displayed, which was a disappointment.

Curiously, the weather city list that comes with Spb Mobile Shell does have my missing cities such as Moscow, ID and Santa Barbara, CA. And, the weather does display for these cities. So, go figure. Obviously the two weather programs are independent of one another with Mobile Shell’s being superior as far as the database is concerned.

Of course you can change the units of measurement and choose your favorite view. There are three weather sources available, and you can select your own, if you wish, from a list of 40 source templates that you can install for free.

The Today screen plug-in is a handy way to display your weather the moment you turn on your device. You can choose the display mode and determine what data will appear. The display can be in a multi-line view, or if you want to save screen space, you can have each city tabbed. Tap on the city displayed for a popup of even more detailed information and forecasts.

I was a little bit surprised that the Weather icon in Mobile Shell takes you to the set up panel instead of the today screen display.

While Spb Weather may not be the most robust weather program available, it is certainly more than adequate and worth your consideration. I am, however, concerned about the glitch in data lacking for cities added that are not in the existing database and hope that this will be corrected.

Grab your copy at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com. The registered version costs $19.95. You can try it free for 15 days. Owners of the previous version may upgrade for only $9.95.

Spb Wallet 2.0--a must have

2009-02-08T14:57:00.001-08:00

I’ve probably said it before, and I’ll say it again: everyone should have an electronic wallet in which to store proprietary information in a single, secure location. Spb’s new electronic wallet will allow you to consolidate all your important information such as credit card numbers, bank accounts, insurance accounts, online accounts, passwords and other private information.

It will make it double secure with AES 456encryption and password protection. Wallet supports an auto lockup feature with clipboard cleanup and phishing safeguards. With a desktop version, it’s possible to sync between several machines such as desktop, laptop, and handhelds The desktop engine also syncs with Google mail and integrates into Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Another great feature that casts the winning ballot is the login auto-complete utility. You can pay $40 for software that does this, and it’s included free with SPB Wallet! Your login info stored in Wallet will automatically sign you into sites online with Internet Explorer or Firefox.

One of the things that has held me back from switching to a new Wallet is the problem of porting over the old data to a new format. Spb Wallet takes care of this problem with its import wizard. So don’t be bashful about trying out this new Wallet using your old data.

You have to appreciate the active fields feature too, which enables you to hyperlink to Websites, make phone calls, send email and text messages. You can also cut and paste data into and out of Wallet using its clipboard. This feature also works with handheld devices as well.

The visual aspect of Spb Wallet is superior with its look like the real thing credit cards, logos, and other free artwork to enhance the appearance of each record. There is a 7000 item database of templates. If you don’t see the template you need, you can order others free from Spb’s Website.

Free trails are available for 15 days. The registered version costs $29.95. Go to http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/wallet/download.html to download your copy.

SPB Wallet is available for Window Mobile touch and non-touch screens, Symbian, and soon for iPods and iPhones.

Spb’s new Wallet 2.0 is clearly a must-have application that everyone should pack, and one of the finest of its species.

Slingbox revisited

2009-01-29T19:46:00.001-08:00

As far as I’m concerned, Sling Media is a company that has rocked the world, at least my world. I’ve been a champion of Slingbox since the beginning in 2004.

What will a Slingbox do for you?

A Slingbox is a small, sleek unit that connects directly to you TV or DVR. It makes it possible to watch live or recorded TV on your computer, laptop, or mobile phone from home or anywhere in the world. Anything you can do with your remote control at home, you can do with Slingbox on your computer remotely. You can record, playback, and send clips via email.

Technical Support

When purchasing a new product, especially when you are just getting starting and setting it up, it is important to know that there is good technical support available. I am happy to report that Sling Media’s customer support is superb. Phone support is available from 7AM to 7PM PST, seven days a week. Online support is available through email and live chat. It doesn’t get much better than that. I have found technicians to be knowledgeable and helpful.

Sling Media Products

My first Slingbox was a plain vanilla AV that worked without flaw for at six years, and then it developed some kind of a connection problem, but it was time to upgrade anyway. I have recently acquired a more powerful HD Pro capable of transmitting HD data and a much better resolution picture. It goes for $299.99. HD Pro lets you control and watch your home TV on multiple devices.

The Slingbox Solo only costs $179.99 and will stream a single standard or high-definition video input to a remote device.

The SlingCatcher is a digital video data amalgamator that brings entertainment to your TV set. With SlingCatcher, you can display data from a Slingbox, your computer, or any other data source available, including the Internet or from a storage device. This universal media player costs $199.99. You might think of it as a reverse Slingbox that displays video on your TV instead of displaying TV video on your remote devices. One drawback for the moment is that it will not sling HD content. It doesn’t work on MACs either.

If your router is in a different location than your TV and DVR, you don’t have to run a hardwire connection. Let SlingLink Turbo come to the rescue. Turbo boxes plug into ordinary power outlets in your home and use the wiring in your house to transmit data from your Slingbox to your router. All you have to do is plug Ethernet cables in from Turbo box to the Slingbox and from the Turbo box to the router. SlingLinks come in single port ($79.95) and four-port models ($49.95).

Software

The most recent version of Slingplayer software gives you an onscreen remote control that looks just the one at home so there is no learning curve. You can also display a complete TV lineup from your TV source complete with program descriptions. Slingplayer software for desktops and laptops is free as are updates. Display of remote and guide data is optional and you can select placement options for where it appears on the screen.

Updates for SlingLink and and SlingCatcher are available as free downloads.

Slingplayer software for mobile devices is not free and costs $29.95. You can try it free for 30 days. After that, a registration code is required. Slingplayer for mobile devices is already available for Windows Mobile, Symbian, and even Blackberry. It will soon be on iPhones as well.

Observations

I cannot even imagine leaving home without Slingplayer software installed on my mobile phone and laptop. The great thing about it is that it really works, even with HD TV, and there is no monthly fee.

News Flash: Dish Network recently acquired Sling Media. It will be interesting to see how this relationship unfolds. I first learned of this acquisition by the curious appearance of a four minute recording on my DVR. It was a nice little commercial for Slingbox at the end of which viewers learn that Dish had purchased Sling Media. It reminded me of AT&T spamming their customers with unsolicited text messages. I wonder if this is a portend of things to come with cable and satellite companies pounding their customers with SPAM. Shame on Dish.

However, we shall soon see the first favorable outcome of this new relationship. Echostar, the parent company of Dish, has already combined Slingbox technology with its new Echostar 922 DVR with 1 terabyte of expandable storage. This amazing device that won best of show in CES will be available soon.

A must have accessory

2009-01-19T11:34:00.001-08:00

Proporta.com, the case place and purveyor of great gadgets and peripheral PDA paraphernalia has come up with a nifty, new gadget I think you will want to have too.

Do you ever get tired of those suction cups falling off your windshield and your GPS, MP3, or PDA goes crashing on the floor while in the middle of a traffic jam? That sucks. Well, here’s another solution that doesn’t suck.

It’s so simple that it makes you wonder why it didn’t appear long ago instead of the suction cup solution.

The Proporta magnetic dashboard mount is a little over 3 inches long and a shade over an inch wide. It attaches firmly to wherever you place it on your dash with a super strong adhesive on the back. Just peel off the protective covering and stick it on.

It also comes with a round detachable metal disk about the size of a quarter. Remove the disk, and attach it to whatever device you wish by means of the stickum on the back. It’s so thin that it is completely unobtrusive.

Now you just place your mobile device of choice on the dashboard unit. It attaches firmly magnetically, and it guaranteed not to fall off and turn your PDA into a laptop computer. Proporta recommends not using it for objects weighing over about four ounces. Many of my PDAs weigh around six ounces, but I haven’t had any trouble with them.

Check it out at www.proporta.com. One could be yours for only $12.95, which is way cheaper than a suction window mount for which you can easily pay $50. The Proporta Website says it comes with two disks so that you can use it for more than one device, but mine only came with one disk. I guess Proporta owes me a disk.

Who Isn’t Texting These Days « THE COUNTRY DOC REPORT

2009-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Who Isn’t Texting These Days « THE COUNTRY DOC REPORT

Twitter away your time for fun and profit

2009-01-03T19:55:00.001-08:00

When I first heard of Twitter, I was amazed and amused that it was spreading like wildfire in a frenzy of popularity. It’s all based on a message limited to 140 characters that tells people what you are doing at the moment. My first reaction was, who cares? But apparently people do, and folks are not bashful about sharing what they are up to with others. So, why not use this proclivity to visit for word of mouth advertising or for spreading the word for a worthy cause? Your posted messages, by the way, are known as Tweets. Isn't that tweriffic?

Twitter is a social networking application that is also a mini-blogging service, which limits posts to 140 characters, even smaller than a 160 character text message.

As long as you are tweeting away telling others about what you are doing, why not tell them about your business and use this system to bring in some bling?

The first thing to do is to sign up for an account. It’s free. Go to www.twitter.com. Watch the video for a nice overview of how it works. Then signup by entering your name or email address and password. That’s all there is to it, and you can began to Twitter and Tweet by following your friends and making new ones. You’ll be surprised at how fast you will start attracting followers.

Be sure to fill out your profile and post a picture of yourself. Try to make your profile compelling. If you are promoting a business or a cause, you can add a one line bio and a URL for followers to view.

If you are away from you computer and still want to Twitter, you can do it on your mobile phone; it’s easy to set up. Sign in to your account. Click on Settings at the top of the page. Then click Devices where you will enter your mobile number. After verification, you will receive text message instructions on how to use the system from your mobile device by texting your Tweets to the short code 40404.

There’s even a mobile Website set up for Twitter. Check it out at www.m.twitter.com.

Now, here’s a little advice on how to go about marketing with Twitter. First of all, don’t abuse the system by indiscriminately spamming your followers. In fact, I would strongly advise against any sales message whatsoever in your Tweets. Simply offer worthwhile information. I suggest that you write a blog article, give the title, and a link to your blog or Website in your Tweet.

Some links may be overly long for the 140 character format. To truncate them and save space, try TinyURL at www.tinyurl.com. Here you can type in the long form and receive a much reduced form that you can include in your Tweet. You can also put a TinyURL button on your browser. Once the button is in place, all you have to do is click it, and TinyURL will create a short URL for the currently viewed page.

Another thing you can do is put a link on your blog or Website asking people to follow you on Twitter in return for following them to create more followers.

Don’t overlook the tools that come with Twitter for gathering followers. Click on Find People at the top of the page. Here you will be able to search for individuals by username, first, or lastname who are already Twitter members.

Click on Invite from Other Networks, insert your email address, and Twitter will search your contact list for current Twitter members on your list. A list of contacts is also generated of people who do not yet have a Twitter account. You can have Twitter send an email inviting them to get an account and follow you. The only problem with this is that it only applies to free email accounts such a gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.

However, you can click on Invite by Email, and a box will appear that allows you to enter a comma separated list of contacts to whom Twitter will send an email message inviting them to sign up and follow you and tells them a little bit about Twitter.

This is what the message looks like:

From: tshphd

Subject: tshphd wants to keep up with you on Twitter

To find out more about Twitter, visit the link below:

http://twitter.com/i/deafe017142140db7044566433da2c1d176ca9b9

Thanks,

-The Twitter Team

About Twitter

Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or the Web and the responses are shared between contacts.

Remember too that you can sign up for RSS feeds in Twitter so that you can follow others and they can follow you, which represents an additional marketing opportunity.

Yet another way to spread the word is that you can share your Twitter Tweets on your Facebook account so that all your Facebook friends can see what you’re up to as well.

Finally, go to the bottom of a Twitter page and click on API where you will find some Widgets that allow you to use Twitter even more creatively. If you want more, there are additional Widgets on the Twitter Fan Wiki (http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps). Don’t forget to check out the desktop applications for Windows at the bottom of the page. You are invited to write your own widgets using API. The list is impressive and so is the array of creativity, which clearly demonstrates the enthusiasm for Twitter. Apps are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android,WM, and Blackberry environments.

In conclusion, Tweeting is a great way to twitter away your time profitably by using this social networking phenomenon as a powerful marketing tool.

Now, if you want to follow me, please go to www.twitter.com/tshphd, click on Follow, and send me a Tweet. I’d love to hear from you; maybe we can sell each other something. But, I have to warn you that I don’t do MLM. What I’m looking for is a residual income of about $20K a month that requires that I don’t have to do any work. J

SPBOnline expands TV lineup

2008-12-29T09:10:00.001-08:00

I recently reviewed SPB’s new Online product. My concluding remarks were as follows:

Conclusions

The presentation of SPB Online is slick with its colorful, finger-friendly interface that is easy to use and gives access to some worthwhile free content. On the other hand, there seems to be an excessive focus on a lot of stuff that costs money, in which case I wonder about the wisdom of charging $30 for the program. I think too that while the TV functionality is exemplary, the content is extremely limited and users should be able to add selections from the Internet. There may be some restrictions that I’m not aware of, but if it’s possible on the radio, why not TV?

Perhaps the SPB Online is in its infancy, but, as it matures, I would certainly expect to see the possibility of adding more content buttons like other similar programs have.

********

As I had hoped or predicted, the TV aspect of the program is continuing to develop. In fact, it has now increased to over 40 channels in 11 languages. The good news is that it is still free unlike some other carrier based premium subscription services. It offers a TV guide and an option for setting Outlook reminders.

In addition to TV, Online also offers Radio, Online Gaming, Weather, News reader, and an On-Device Catalog.

Online costs $30 and is available from the developer at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com.

Carriers Caught Ripping off SMSers Big Time

2008-12-29T08:39:00.001-08:00

Check out this article that appeared recently in the NY Times that reveals a cover-up on what amounts to anti-trust pricing fraud on the part of all U.S. phone companies. As it turns out, while prices have doubled for texting in the past few years, it is the most profitable aspect of the telco business. Why? Because the tiny amount of data in a text message virtually rides along in a free packet, which translates to pure profit. Apparently, the Senate Anti-Trust Committee is looking into the matter. Accordingly, we may see some relief and possible retribution.

Here’s the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/business/28digi.html?_r=4&partner=rss&emc=rss

Short codes may save traditional media « Daniel Durazo’s Blog

2008-12-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

Short codes may save traditional media « Daniel Durazo’s Blog

Text Message Blog

2008-12-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

Text Message Blog

Stocking Stuffers 2008

2008-12-21T15:33:00.001-08:00

For the past several years, I have offered suggestions for stocking stuffers that you can use for your digitally addicted friends. Or, if you are so afflicted yourself, you may wish to drop a few hints based on the ideas herein.

How about a new phone? There are so many choices out there that it’s difficult to know where to begin. First of all, if you are productivity oriented, and need to create, edit, and process documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and databases, your only real choice is a Windows Mobile device. Next you must consider whether you want a touch or non-touch screen. I recommend a touch screen. If you just want a phone with consumer features instead of a productivity device, you would probably be happy with an iPhone or Blackberry.

Within the Windows Mobile arena, there are dozens of choices. You certainly cannot go wrong with anything produced by HTC. You may also want to consider a new kid in the U.S. market, MWg. Give the snazzy Zinc II (pictured) a looksee. You might also want to check out the Palm Treo 800w, which snuggles in your hand with lots of nice features.

For peripherals, there are some great headphones and headsets. My favorites are made by Jabra (www.jabra.com), but there are certainly lots of others to choose from. You may want a headset that fits over your ear for use with your phone, but try to get one that also plays music. Headsets usually hurt my ear after a while. I prefer Bluetooth stereo headphones that fit over both ears. An incoming call stops the music and allows you to talk on the phone with a build-in microphone. A push of a button, and you can resume the music.

Another welcome peripheral is an external Bluetooth keyboard. With the demise of the iGo keyboard, which was always my first choice, the playing field is narrowed. Some phone manufacturers offer their own species specific keyboards, but it may be better to get a more universal one such as the one produced by Freedom. It has five rows of keys, folds in half for portability, comes with a removable device stand, and easily connects to most Bluetooth devices for about $100. I would avoid the fabric rollup keyboards. I haven’t had good luck with them, and they lack the tactile quality of a real keyboard. I would also eschew the infrared projected keyboards. While they have a certain wow factor, they are weird to type on.

I f you have a Bluetooth keyboard, you may also wish to obtain a Bluetooth wireless mouse for your pocket pal. It may sound silly, but it’s quite an amazing experience to use a mouse to navigate around your little mobile screen. You will be surprised at how much it will increase your productivity. It’s also great for game playing. While iGo may have given up trying to create drivers for the keyboard, it still makes the greatest little BT mouse in the house. Get one at www.igo.com for $79.95. It may seem a superfluous novelty, but it’s truly a productivity booster.

Many phones come with built-in GPS these days. The two I mentioned above both have it. But, if you want a dedicated GPS for navigating in your vehicles, I recommend the Mio line, which you can check out at www.mio.com, but there is no end of choices. I suggest that you buy one with Bluetooth capability so that you can link it to your phone and use it as a hands free device while you’re driving for safety sake. Many GPS models are multi-functional allowing you to view photos and videos as well as play music with an expansion card. You could even listen to an audiobook while you drive.

Speaking of music and audiobooks suggests a nice little MP3 player. If you are interested in Audiobooks, be sure to get one that is capable of bookmarking. Two I recommend are made by SanDisk, the Sansa Clip and the Sansa Fuze. Both have 8 GB capacities, but the Fuze has a micro SD expansion slot for even more memory. The Fuze displays pictures and video while the Clip doesn’t. Both play music, have FM radios, and digital recorders. Check them out at www.sandisk.com, but they are readily available in retail stores such as WalMart.

Prices range from $39 to $119 depending on model and capacity.

If your car is not set up for you to connect your MP3 or phone to your radio speaker system, you may want to consider an FM modulator. You simply plug the device into the cigarette lighter socket and then tune it to an empty FM station. Plug your output device into it and it will broadcast an FM signal like a little radio station. Your car radio will pick it up and play it over the speakers. It works great unless you have a ton of FM stations in your area. Try to find one that has an optical display. I recommend the VR brand that comes in various models and colors. You can buy them at most electronics stores. They are even available at WalMart for around $30.

Now here’s one that should be in every stocking if you want to save money on your phone bill. It’s none other than MagicJack, which is USB plug and play hardware about the size of a match box. You can plug it into any PC anywhere in the world and start making VoIP calls. It costs $39.95, which includes unlimited local and long distance calls in the U.S. and Canada for the first year. Thereafter, it’s $19.95 a year-- a year--not a month. Clearly, it’s the best deal going. You can plug any phone into it and make calls as you normally would. It works like a charm, and is clear as a bell. Check it out at www.magicjack.com. It works on PCs, MAC intel machines, and will soon work on Unix boxes. Say goodbye to monthly phone bills.

If you’re looking for cases for your handheld devices, Proporta.com has got you covered at www.proporta.com where you will find a host of other peripherals. If you are looking for a new case, consider getting a universal one so that you don’t have to throw it out every time you get a new device. Proporta has a nice line of universal cases that come in three sizes.

One of my favorite accessories from Proporta is the portable recharger that can save your bacon on the road. There are several models available. Don’t leave home without one. Another cool peripheral is the keychain GPS receiver.

Speaking of chargers, I love my CallPod sextopod charger, and I think you would too, for it can charge six of your devices at the same time. It costs $39.95. Extra adapters are $9.95 each.

Spares are a good thing to have. Ask Santa for some extra styli, batteries, and expansion cards.

I won’t bother to get into software because that’s all downloadable and difficult to stuff in a stocking. Unfortunately, I could not find any online software vendor that offers a gift certificate. How strange.

If you haven’t tried any of SlingMedia’s products, ask Santa for a Slingbox or one of its cousins. With this ingenious device, you can broadcast your home TV live or recorded over the Internet and watch it anywhere from another PC, a laptop, or Pocket PC. Prices vary from $179 to $299 depending on the box you buy. You can download the software free for your desktop and laptop, but, for some inexplicable reason, you have to pay $24.95 for the Pocket PC version. However, it’s well worth it. Imagine being able to control and watch your home TV live or recorded on your phone. It’s now possible to capture snips and email them.

If you enjoy photography, you probably have the problem of identifying photos and where you took tem when you get back home. A VisionTac VGPS-9000 GPS logger will solve this problem for you. All you have to do is sync the clock on your camera with this tiny, portable GPS unit. It will record your entire trip. When you get home, load the photos into the log file, and it will sync your photos and plot them on a map. While there are many similar logging devices, this is the only one that allows marking waypoints and voice recordings so that you can describe a photo or location, and it will be keyed to a map location as well. The only problem is that only works in metric units. Go to www.visontac.com to check it out. It also serve as a Bluetooth GPS receiver for your phone. You can program it to sound an alarm if you go over the speed limit, so it can keep you from getting tickets as well. I should have been using it a couple of weeks again when I got nailed by a cop for going very slightly over the speed limit. It also has a micro SD expansion slot. I saw one on Amazon.com for $110.

Here’s another great little stocking stuffer—another product from CallPod called the Drone. Just plug it into the USB port of your PC or MAC computer. This little plug and player will automatically find and pair with your Bluetooth headset or stereo headphones. It supports all VoIP platforms for BT transmission and auto switches between incoming calls and music. It controls music players such as iTunes and Windows Media Player. Drone has an extended range of over 100 feet. I’d call this little guy a must-have for $49.95 from www.callpod.com.

There are many portable speaker systems available for MP3 players, many are species specific so that if you get a new player, you have to get new speakers. One that I like because it is pretty much universal takes advantage of flat panel speaker NXT technology with a superb sound for a portable system. It’s available from Logitech and major retailers. It runs on four AA batteries or AC and has a 3.5 mm plug with a 2.5 mm adapter. Unfortunately, it won’t work on devices with non-standard goofy connectors. So don’t buy devices with goofy non-standard connectors. I’ve seen them priced as high as $69.95, but I found them for only $29.95 at www.pacificgeek.com.

I suppose you may also want to consider a Satellite radio player for your car/office/home. However, I a so upset by the merger of XM and Sirius and the uneven results, that I really don’t want to talk about it much. So, I will leave you up to your own devices there so to speak.

If your Windows Mobile device didn’t come with a cradle, you may want Santa to bring you one. They are pretty much proprietary, so you will have to check it out yourself, but I mention it because they make life easier when synching. Try to get one that will charge an extra battery.

It’s probably about time to wrap this up because I still have some Christmas shopping to do and packages to wrap. My last suggestion is a mini-projector. The one I will recommend for now is the tiny 3M MPro 110 that fits in the palm of your hand, hooks up to laptops, cell phones, and other digital output devices. It will project a 50 inch image in a dark room and a 10 inch image in a brightly lit room. At just $360, it is a great portable projector solution for business presentations. It also makes a very affordable large screen TV. Shop around for a better price. Check them out at www.3m.com. I suggest you use it in conjunction with Slingbox to play live and recorded TV. Be on the lookout for more of these devices. I saw several prototypes at CES, and more are poised to hit the market soon.

May your stockings brim abundantly; a merry holiday season to all, and to all a cheery goodnight!

Direct Mail Offers a Step Up To Achieve ROI

2008-12-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Direct Mail Offers a Step Up To Achieve ROI

Calling lapsed mobile subscribers could be 'grave' mistake - Mobile Marketing - BizReport

2008-12-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

Calling lapsed mobile subscribers could be 'grave' mistake - Mobile Marketing - BizReport

Expert from MMA Discusses the Future of Mobile Marketing : Cell Phone / Mobile Advertising

2008-12-18T08:55:00.000-08:00

Expert from MMA Discusses the Future of Mobile Marketing : Cell Phone / Mobile Advertising

Text Messaging Rules The Day For Retailers

2008-12-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Text Messaging Rules The Day For Retailers

Mixed statistics for UK firms’ web presence

2008-12-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

Mixed statistics for UK firms’ web presence

CNBC Contest… » Blog Archive » The Emergence of Mobile Marketing

2008-12-16T08:55:00.001-08:00

CNBC Contest… » Blog Archive » The Emergence of Mobile Marketing

Google-411 Directory Service « Travel Industry Marketing Conversations

2008-12-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

Google-411 Directory Service « Travel Industry Marketing Conversations

AVST - AVST Enhances Speech-to-Text Technology from GotVoice

2008-12-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

AVST - AVST Enhances Speech-to-Text Technology from GotVoice

L.A. Times launches mobile marketing initiative - Mobile Marketer - Media

2008-12-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

L.A. Times launches mobile marketing initiative - Mobile Marketer - Media

LibriVox: more free audiobooks

2008-12-14T14:27:00.001-08:00

Recently I offered an article on how to obtain free audiobooks from most public libraries. I’ve just discovered another free audiobook resource that I’d like to share with you.

LibriVox is a people’s movement started by Hugh McGuire in 2005 for the pure pleasure of sharing literature at a reasonable price—free. This effort is a cooperative one that depends on volunteer readers who transform public domain books into digital audio data. The files created are then made available to the universe through the online catalog, podcasts, and bittorrents.

It all began with a recording of Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent”. This offering became an overnight success with eager downloads. Since then, the mission of LibriVox has become the “Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain”. The ultimate goal is to “make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the Internet”.

To be successful, the project requires volunteer readers. Readers are not expected to read entire books. Reading a single chapter helps move the project forward. Although, you are welcome to read an entire book, if that is your inclination. All you need is the appropriate software and equipment to make an MP3 recording and upload it to the site’s database. Quality control seems to be a group effort as well.

LibriVox will not accept unpublished books. If you are an author who wants to make a book available as an audiobook, you may go to www.podiobooks.com for publication and then approach LibriVox.

To check out the LibriVox catalog of recorded books available, go to www.librivox.org/newcatalog. To look at the list of podcasts, visit www.librivox.org/podcast.xml. The main Website is at www.librivox.com. From here you can visit the forums, read the latest news, see new releases, and connect to the catalog and podcasts.

The list of books available in languages other than English is growing daily.

Download to your heart’s content. There is no limit. There is no check-in time, and no overdue items. If you are inclined, volunteer to become a reader, project coordinator, or to serve the project in some other capacity. You can reach the project’s papa, Hugh McGuire, at nfo[AT]librivox[DOT]org.

Congratulations LibriVox, and keep up the good work!

A Great Christmas Gift: Audio Recorder 2.0

2008-12-14T09:08:00.001-08:00

If you have ever wished you could convert your tape or record collection to digital format, ask Santa Claus for an Audio Recorder. It would make a perfect gift for others as well.

Audio Recorder 2.0 is basically a little white box measuring approximately 3.5 x 2.25 inches with USB and RCA jack connectors. In the box there is a program CD and the necessary cables for connecting to the output device and then to your computer.

It’s simply a matter of installing the software, making the cable connections. Playing the music and letting the box make the conversion as it enters your PC. It will convert recordings from cassettes, LPs, and even 8 tracks (does anyone actually have an 8 track anymore?) to digital data.

The program then allows you to edit the recordings to enhance the sound quality by removing static and noise reduction. It will control audio volume with the built-in normalizer, and increase low volume with a digital amplifier. It automatically separates multiple tracks and lets you add ID3 tags for artist, song, and album titles.

Once you are satisfied with the new recordings, you can publish them as WAV, MP3 or audio CD burned on CDs, or you can transfer them to a remote device for your listening pleasure.

It’s quick, easy, and an efficient way to preserve and restore your old tunes while enhancing the sound quality as you convert y analog sounds to digital data for playback in modern devices.

Tell Santa to go to www.honestech.com. Audio Recorder 2.0 costs $79.99, and the shipping is free. Check out Honestech’s other products, which include VHS to DVD 3.0, Claymation Studio 2.0, and Video Editor 8.0. By the way, these programs are all available in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Proporta Universal Cases

2008-12-13T11:25:00.001-08:00

I’ve often thought that the case business for mobile devices must be a good one, for you need a new case every time you get a new device. I now have a whole drawer full of obsolete cases that are not much good for anything anymore.

Well, Proporta, the case place, has solved the problem, as far as I’m concerned, with a set of new universal cases in various sizes that will serve to protect anything from a PDA to mobile phone to MP3 player to camera.

These cases are handsome in black leather exterior and soft tan leather interior with a full fold-over flap and strong magnetic closure. What I like about this closure is that you don’t have to find a snap. Just fold it over, and it’s securely closed with no worries.

There is a secure belt clip on the back so that you can attach it to your belt or to a bag strap. Personally I cannot stand things dangling from my belt, but that doesn’t seem to bother most people. Instead, I either throw it into my gadget bag or clip it to one of the outside straps. I wish, however, that the belt clip were either removable or optional.

Using a Proporta Universal Case, I can now accommodate new models as they come and go without having to worry about investing in new cases all the time. What a plan.

To check them out, visit http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4040&t_mode=des.

Available in three sizes, they cost $27.95, which is a darn good price for a leather case these days. I had expected them to be more in the $49.95 range. They come in three different sizes to protect your esteemed gadgets.

Internal dimensions:

Small Case: 90mm x 50mm x 25mm
3.5" x 2" x 1"
Medium Case: 110mm x 60mm x 25mm
4.3" x 2.4" x 1"
Large Case: 120mm x 70mm x 30mm
4.7" x 2.8" x 1.2"

S texting d nxt big thng? Or Marketing Via SMS « Travel 2.0 Blog

2008-12-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

S texting d nxt big thng? Or Marketing Via SMS « Travel 2.0 Blog

Calendar Touch is here!

2008-12-09T10:49:00.001-08:00

After a long and arduous round of beta testing, SBHS’ Calendar Touch has been released. It’s a vast improvement over its Papyrus predecessor. This is not an upgrade with a new name; it is a completely new Calendar program with exciting new features.

With finger-friendly all the rage, CT has incorporated gestures, and hence the Touch moniker. Left and right swipes switches dates, which will vary according to calendar view. An upward motion brings up today’s date. A downward motion pops up a handy date picker control screen. Dragging and holding from left to right invokes a slide date picker that really zooms the dates by, but you can control the speed.

The great virtue of a touch screen platform is that it allows quick and easy access to many PIM elements without having to bother with a stylus.

When you install it, you have the choice of selecting the left or right hardware button for CT control menu that only works within CT. At first, I thought it would invoke the program from anywhere, which didn’t prove to be the case, and I wish it were, for the program is not easy to access without a launcher. I would like it always available in the tray bar.

While in the program, the left hardware button allows you to select views: daily, weekly, monthly, list or tasks. There is also a search option. The right button brings up a menu with the following choices: New Appointment, New Task, Go to, Filters, Search, Settings, and Exit.

There are 20 filters available for your convenience that you can use for selecting data by certain criteria--a very nice and powerful feature.

The settings menu displays a grid of nine buttons with settings for the following areas: General, Daily, List, Weekly, Monthly, Tasks, Calendar Tasks, Colors, and Register. Here you can tweak how the data are displayed.

Another innovation you will appreciate in CT is the pop-up feature which magnifies a particular cell or area that you are viewing for closer inspection. This is particularly well-received when in the monthly calendar mode, for you can zoom in on a particular day. More important, however, is that the panel at the bottom of the calendar screen displays all of the appointments clearly.

Task management in CT is wonderful. You can optionally display your tasks in an integrated view with calendar items. You can also create a three tier hierarchical view of tasks according to priority. CT also allows you to assign colors and icons to tasks for sorting and grouping to which you may apply filters.

The search function allows quick retrieval of any calendar or task item in the calendar database. You can search by string values as well. Search is available from the main menu, view picker, and as an option on the menu button.

The developers paid attention to design, display, and color. I think you will be happy with the results, for the display is pleasing and a pleasure to use. You can even tweak the colors to fit your outfit, mood, or purpose throughout the program. CT uses png graphics for a better display experience. CT allows the application of all the themes you use on your device and integrates them into its display.

While CT is a brilliant application, and I fully appreciate its powerful functionality, my only wish is that it were more easily invoked. I would like to be able to access it from anywhere from within any other application at any time. It does not even appear as an optional panel on the Today screen. You have to go to programs to launch it. On the other hand, I suppose you could assign it to a hardware button.

Another SBSH product, PocketBreeze, is a complete PIM application. From its desktop panel, you can access all of your PIM data, which is lacking in Calendar Touch because it focuses on calendar and tasks. Supposedly, CT integrates with PB, but I could not make that happen on my Palm Treo 800w. Perhaps it will work on your machine, and that would be a good thing because you could then more readily access CT from your desktop.

You can try CT free or purchase it for $24.95 from www.shsh.net. PocketBreeze is also available on a free trial basis and costs $19.95. Assuming they work in concert, and that I just experienced a glitch, they would make a good pair.

Real Estate Blog - Are YOU Connecting with Gen Y-ers?

2008-12-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Real Estate Blog - Are YOU Connecting with Gen Y-ers?

Dressing up the Sansas

2008-12-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

My interest in eAudiobooks that you can download for free from almost any public library these days has spurred me to experiment with MP3 players that allow bookmarking, which is essential to a satisfactory audiobook experience so that you don’t lose your place. Two that I found perfect, petite, and powerful are the Sansa Clip and the Sansa Fuze, both with 8 GB storage capacity for very reasonable prices. See my previous reviews.

My next project was to get them some protection in the form of a case, but that was easier said than done. Finally, my old friend Proporta.com came to the rescue with a custom designed case for each device.

For the Sansa Clip, I procured a nifty, grey, silicone case. When I removed it from the package, I wondered how in the world was I going to fit the Clip into the case. The small openings for access to buttons and ports were way too small. Hoping it wouldn’t rip or tear anything, I bravely started to stretch the flexible case over the Clip. In no time at all, I had managed to stuff it in without any apparent damage. But, would it snap back into shape or be like a pair of socks around your ankles with no elastic. There was no need for concern whatsoever, for the case snugly reconformed to the body of the Clip no worse for wear.

At first I was concerned about the fact that the case covered the power switch and navigation button on the front. But when I turned it on, it glowed right through the translucent case, and it was easy to use.

Now I feel ever-so-much better knowing that my precious little Clip is protected from the abuse I inadvertently deliver.

For the larger, but still sleek, Fuze, I found that Proporta had one of its signature Alu-Leather flip type leather cases available. I have used this model of case for many other devices over the years, and found them to be uber secure with the aluminum shield to protect the screen. I was glad to have one now for guarding the wellbeing of my Fuze.

There are two grips about ¾ of an inch long that securely grasp the unit on both sides in the middle. A flap containing the aluminum shields folds over the screen. From the back a strap with snap secures the case shut. It makes a tidy, handsome package.

On the back is a loop for a lanyard, which is supplied in the package so you can wear it around your neck. This is a nice feature because, unlike the Clip that you can attach anywhere, sometimes there is a problem of where to put the Fuze, especially if you don’t have pockets.

The Clip silicone case is $19.95, and the Fuze leather case is $34.95.

I think of Proporta as the case place, for they can cover just about any handheld device imaginable from PDAs to Cameras, to MP3s to phones. Visit www.proporta.com to check out their fine wares where you will discover an array of other accessories plus a repair shop all tax free with overnight delivery and a free present of your choice.

Amazing, Blazing Tiny 8GB Pico USB drive

2008-12-07T14:01:00.001-08:00

I don’t know about you, but I gave up on thumb drives a long time ago. I have a drawer full of under capacitated thumb drives of 64-256 MB. I figured they were called thumb drives because they stuck out like a sore thumb, and I was always afraid they would get broken off. Instead I’ve favored the larger capacity of SD cards for portable and expansion purposes. However, there’s a new kid on the block, and his name is Pico. This little guy has an 8 GB capacity and only sticks out of your computer about an inch. He got my attention immediately and won me over for several reasons.

What attracted me first was his generous storage. I also liked Sr. Pico’s diminutive size. When I first saw him peering through the package, I thought oh, oh, his USB plug is unprotected and could get damaged easily. When I finally managed to cut him free with a hijacker’s box knife and began to play with him, I realized that there was a guard that slides over the contact points to protect them. Very nice. Then I turned him over and saw that the metal case extended to the end of the USB contact tab. How could it fit into a standard USB slot? Normally a USB device fits over and around the protruding plastic tongue inside the female port. Pico’s tab is only half size and slides under the plastic tongue.

Then I noticed the lanyard hole in the device and discovered a short connector designed to fit on a key ring, mobile phone, or lanyard. The Pico is fully armored and geared to travel. There’s a lot to like about this new kid on the block. Check him out at www.supertalent.com.

When you visit the Website, you will notice that there is a whole Pico family of different capacities ranging from 1-8 G. They are all water resistant and weight less than 6g with up to 30 MB (200X) data transfer rate. They are all USB 20.0 and 1.1 compatible, plug and play with up to 10 years data retention.

The one I reviewed above is known as the Pico E, which is a capless, rugged, nickel plated model with a sliding lid. If you want to get fancy or wear it as jewelry, it comes in a 24K gold plated version. Other models include Pico A that swivels open, Pico B is retractable, Pico C is capless and comes as a nickel plated or gold plated model, and Pico D swivels open.

While you cannot purchase these products from the manufacturer’s Website, they are available from NewBiz, New Egg, and SuperMedia Stores. The Pico C goes for the incredibly reasonable price of only $31.88, which is amazing for 8 GB of storage. I found a gold plated one for only $39.95.

If you want inexpensive mega-storage in a small package half the size of a standard SD card, you will want to acquire the new Super Talent Pico flash drive in one form or another.

My Treo 800w gets a new suit

2008-12-06T17:14:00.001-08:00

After investing in a decent PDA, it’s a good idea to protect your new pocket pal with some suitable armor. I have been known to jam a handset into my pocket without thinking along with keys or some other sharp object and massacre the screen. Long ago I ran out of pocket space for lugging around my toys and peripherals and now use a gadget bag. My wife calls it my purse. Purse or bag, it’s never a good idea just to throw your phone in there unprotected.

Some folks don’t mind having a phone dangling on their belt. I cannot abide that and prefer a sleek case without a clip that will fit into my ditty bag.

The Treo 800w is a wee tad smaller than its predecessor the 750w, so none of the cases I had acquired quite fit right and the unit tends to rattle around in the larger case. It took some doing to find just the right case, but I finally found one that I really like. It comes from the MobiHand site and is manufactured by RexRegina Harrison. Crafted from fine Italian leather, the quality of the workmanship is superb with precision stitching.

It’s a classic, black leather, vertical slip case that also comes in brown. I can quickly and conveniently slide my phone into it and be assured that it is protected from scratches, bumps, falls, and crunches. There are openings on the left, right, and top for access to buttons and ports. Of course you must remove it to use the front panel. But, that is not an issue. I’ve found it to be quite the opposite with some cases and miss calls while I struggle to remove the phone.

If you are looking for a compact, sophisticated, no-nonsense case with a lot of class to protect and enhance your pocket pal, I highly recommend this one. To get yours, go to the MobiHand site at http://tinyurl.com/58l56a. The price is $39.95, which I deem reasonable for the quality of this product. Note that I’ve seen the same case elsewhere for as high as $50. Don’t be put off by the photo showing it with a 700w in it complete with ugly antenna. This case really is for an 800w. However, because it is a slip case, it will accommodate a wide range of devices with similar dimensions. It is also shown in five colors, but it reality, is currently available only in dark brown and black.

My one criticism is that it has no opening on the bottom for inserting in a cradle or plugging in a charger or headphones. Otherwise, it’s a perfect case for my purposes.

Energize your Treo 800w with this pair

2008-12-06T15:41:00.001-08:00

When I reviewed the new Palm 800w a few months ago, I lamented the lack of accessories and the new, non-standard connector. More recently I have reviewed several handheld screen control applications as an alternative to cradles, which no longer seem to come in the box as in the days of old. Well, Palm now has a nice cradle available for the 800w, and it’s nice to have a cradle again.

One of the things that bothered me about the new connector is that I could no longer use any of my old Palm accessories I had accumulated for the 700w series. It meant that I would have to get new ones, which is a bother and an expense.

However, I must say that the new cradle is not an improvement over the old one. The old one required a power cord as well as a USB cable. The new one does too. Why not charge and sync from a single USB cable as many others do?

The new cradle accommodates charging a second battery while simultaneously syncing and charging your Treo 800w. The previous cradle required that you disconnect the PDA, open a door, and insert the battery for charging. This was an inconvenience because it would break your sync link, and you would have to start all over again.

The cradle can be yours for $24.95, and I recommend it highly for its convenience and utility. To get yours, go to the Mobihand site at http://tinyurl.com/6nstu3.

What could be worse than running out of juice when on the road or away from a charger? Accordingly, it is always wise to carry a spare battery for emergencies. While you are visiting the Mobihand site, throw an extra battery in the shopping cart. You will be glad you did, and the spare battery compartment on the cradle makes it convenient to keep it charged for emergencies.

A 1350 mAh extended life battery for your 800w will set you back $39.95, but it’s a worthwhile investment I am certain you will never regret.

Vito Technology Launches Rebranded New Site

2008-12-02T09:23:00.001-08:00

Vito Technology, a long-time leader in innovative Windows Mobile software, has announced the launch of a completely new site in time for the holiday shopping season offering 15% discounts as a incentive to visit www.vitotechnology.com.

You may already be familiar with their product line, which includes the following applications: AudioNotes, Suite, GoodWin, SS-Chyat, VoiceDialer, ZoomBoard, AudioNotes Touch, Eye Photo, RingtoneEditor, Task2Gather, Weather, AstroNavigator, FunContact, SoundExplorer, Voice2Go, and Winterface for Windows Mobile.

Most of these applications are finger friendly in the iPhone fashion. And now, Vito is beginning to develop actual applications for the iPhone. Its first two offerings are Star Walk and Task2Gather.

Protect yourself from telemarketers

2008-12-01T10:55:00.001-08:00

Protect yourself from telemarketers

Apparently the rumors about cell phone numbers being released to telemarketers is unfounded, and there is no deadline to register. However, I have been receiving an inordinate number of telemarketing calls and prerecorded messages on my mobile phones lately. In my opinion, telemarketers are the lowest life forms in the food chain and should be hunted down and exterminated. There should be a bounty on them.

Whenever I get a telemarketing call, I politely say, “Wow, that’s really interesting. I’d like to know more about it. I’m busy right now, could you please give me your home phone and tell me when you eat dinner so I can call you back?” Click. They hang up.

The FTC and FCC have provided a modicum of consumer safeguard with its DoNotCall program. Call 888-382-1222 from the phone you wish to put on the do not call list. Or, you can go to www.ftc.gov/donotcall and register up to three numbers at a time. You will receive an email for each number and you must respond within 72 hours to complete the registration, which is good for five years.

However, this only gives you minimum protection. Non-profit organizations, political parties, and EBRs are exempt. I can’t tell you how much those automated campaign contribution calls annoy me and how little response they get from me. An EBR, by the way, is an established business relationship. This means that if you have had any business relationship with a company, they are free to call you. Strictly informational calls such as you get from your dentist reminding you of an appointment are exempt too.

Telemarketing firms are supposed to register and download a list of do not call numbers so that they can eliminate the do not calls from their calling lists. There is a fee, but If I were running the show, I’d charge them $100 per name for the do not call list and make it mandatory.

Now, if I were running a telemarketing company, I would simply turn it into a non-profit organization and pay myself a huge salary and have my bottom-dwelling employees call away with abandon fully sanctioned by the FTC.

What if you have a complaint against a telemarketer who you think may have broken the rules? You can file a complaint online by going to https://www.donotcall.gov/Complaint/ComplaintCheck.aspx. But, your phone number must have been in the registry for at least 31 days. Then you simply supply the requested information and submit it.

What could happen to a low-life telemarketer for breaking the rules? If you would like to read about a case in which a telemarketing company failed to give an accurate call back number so that consumers could complain, go to http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/scorpio.shtm. Each of the defendants in the case received a $530,000 fine, but they only had to pay a small fraction of it, and they were then free to continue with their dastardly deeds.

My best advice is do not give your phone number to anyone for any reason except trusted friends and relatives. It is amazing how quickly a phone number can be put on a list and sold to the telemarketing raptors. If you must complete a mandatory field in a form, use a fake phone number. Another piece of advice is to get a VOiP phone number and get rid of your landline altogether because your landline company will betray you by making your number available to telemarketers. I haven’t had a landline now for at least five or six years, and it feels really good not to be paying the phone company every month.

I highly recommend MagicJack for your consideration. A MagicJack is a little box about the size of a box of matches with a USB plug that you can connect to any computer and start making unlimited free calls all over the United States and Canada. International calls are as little as one cent a minute. The box costs $29.95, which includes one month free, and a year of service. Subsequent yearly subscriptions cost only $19.95. That’s a year, not a month! Visit www.magicjack.com for more information.

I’ve been using my MagicJack for over a year now, and it works like a charm. You can plug any phone into it and use the phone just as you normally would. I have a wireless phone plugged into it that I can use all over the house and even out in the garden, is I don’t get too far from the base station. If your computer has a built-in microphone and speakers, you can use them instead of a handset, which I do on my laptop. If you have a headset, you can use that if you prefer.

There are no extra charges for all the expectable services such as call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting and voice mail. Directory assistance is free, not $1.99 a call. The voice mail service is amazing. When you receive an unanswered call, MagicJack sends you an email with time, date, and number. Then, as an attachment, you get the actual recorded message for no extra charge.

Good luck with the telemarketing piranhas. Don’t forget to register today. Cancel your landline and get a MagicJack.

Winterface version 1.2 now available

2008-11-30T17:30:00.001-08:00

It seems Vito Technology never rests, and as a reviewer I have a difficult time keeping up with their updates and innovations. Not long ago I wrote a review of Winterface when it first appeared. Most of the operational and layout features are the same in the new version. For a detailed discussion of the features, I refer you to my previous review: http://www.smartphonemag.com/cms/blog/108/place-winterface-your-desktop.

Here are the new features, improvements, and bug fixes reported by Vito in a recent press release:

Today plug-in
add favorite web sites
Portrait\landscape mode icon switch
Screens rotation with joystick
"Close All" button in "Running"
Clock icon shows indicator when the alarm is on
SMS-Chat icon shows number of new text messages
Bluetooth status icon toggles Bluetooth on/off with one press
Battery icon shows when there is low charge
Alphabetic ruler for quick scrolling when adding a file

Bug with notification not visible under the lock screen
Bug with power icon on HTC Touch HD/ PalmTreo Pro/ Samsung i900
Winterface lock screen no longer interferes with the default lock screen
Day of the week is displayed below the date on Calendar icon and the indicator of upcoming events doesn't close the date

I installed Winterface on two WM 6.1 devices to test it: Palm 800w and WMg Zinc II. On neither device could I get the Lock Screen to appear. That is an opening page that is supposed to appear when you turn on the device; it displays the day, time, date, with a padlock that you must slide to the right to unlock the screen. It appears in the screen shot above, but, it didn’t appear for me.

On the Zinc II, a Winterface bar appeared on the Today screen that would invoke the program by tapping it. No such bar appeared on the Treo 800w—curiously different behaviors. I also found that after installing the program, my Zinc II tended to lock up. I believe that there was a conflict between Mobile Shell and Winterface, for the problem disappeared when I removed Mobile Shell. I guess you are more or less forced choose one or the other. Fortunately, they are both good programs that will enhance user experience.

Few, if any, of my wishes in my review seem to have been addressed. But those were merely my opinion. For instance, I thought the somber black and white color scheme was like watching black and white TV. I also lamented that it was not possible to nest files within folders for better organization and easy access as you can in other shells such as SPB Mobile Shell.

You may try it for a 15 days free or purchase it for $19.95. Upgrades from the previous version are $4.95. To check it out, visit www.iwindowsmobile.com.

Text Message Blog

2008-11-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

Text Message Blog

The Untapped Potential of Mobile Marketing « So What’s New?

2008-11-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Untapped Potential of Mobile Marketing « So What’s New?