Articles

Summer's finally gone, but we're not done with the giveaways just yet. In conjunction with TeleNav, two lucky readers will win one-year subscriptions to TeleNav GPS Navigator. That's one year of turn-by-turn directions with voice support and on-screen instructions. Route previews. Moving maps in 2D and 3D. Automatic rerouting if you miss a turn. Business finder. Fuel finder. WiFi finder. In the city? There are walking directions. Need more? Check it out here.

Read on after the break for details on how to win.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

For those of you rocking the original HTC Touch Pro on Sprint, and we know there are plenty of you out there, an official ROM update was recently released. Here's what you get:

  • TouchFlo 3D updated to improve speed and stability.
  • Dialer application enhanced to improve the handling of incoming calls.
  • Resolves an issue using the “r” and “w” keys on the virtual keypad.
  • Improves contact searching performance.
  • Includes a variety of minor bug fixes.

This is a full-on ROM update, so be sure to back up all of your important data first because the device will be wiped in the process.

Also, HTC has released a hotfix for the Sprint Snap that "is designed to correct and prevent a memory block issue that can cause the Sprint Snap to lock up or freeze during boot up."

This one's merely a hotfix, like loading an app. That means your data should be safe (though we'd recommend a backup first, just in case), and you'll need to reload this fix should you ever hard-reset the Snap.

ROM update for Sprint Touch Pro
Hotfix for Sprint Snap

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0

BodyGuardz Skins for HTC Snap

Now in stock at the WMExperts Store: Bodyguardz Protective Skins for the Sprint Snap, HTC Snap, and T-Mobile Dash 3G.

The package includes two complete sets of the thin, scratch-resistant films to protect your Snap from the daily wear and tear a smartphone faces while adding almost no thickness to the device itself.

Available now for $25.95 [Sponsored Post]

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Here's an interesting tidbit about Microsoft's My Phone sync service, which is still in beta but will go mainstream as part of the Oct. 6 Super Duper Windows Mobile 6.5 launch day. According to this pic posted on Twitter by I Started Something's @longzheng, a fee "may apply" if you need to "locate a lost phone on a map, remotely lock it or wipe it clean" using My Phone.

The reasoning behind that? Your guess is as good as ours at the moment. Maybe it's to prevent overuse. Maybe it's to prevent abuse. Maybe it's just a pain to do. Anybody have a better idea?

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Oh, the HTC HD2 (aka the Leo) is the gift that keeps on giving. ROMs have been floating around for a while now, and Pocketnow's taken a new build of TouchFLO3D 2.5, ripped out of a Leo ROM, for a spin.

What's new in Build 1919? There's a Twitter tab, e-mails are much more readable without the old envelope-style view. The calendar app continues to improve. Weather and wallpaper are animated. The Footprints tab (remember that?) is around. Facebook and YouTube integration.

Anyhoo, check out the video yourself after the break. We still don't know what build (or version, for that matter) of TouchFLO 3D may be built into the first official releases we see Oct. 6 Super Duper Windows Mobile 6.5 launch day. But let's hope we see some of this included.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Birthdays and anniversaries are important to remember, sure. But we all know how best to use calendars: To know when your favorite sports team is playing. Enter iCalendarFactory, which adds sports teams' schedules to your calendar.

It only syncs 30 days at a time right now, and schedules are manually uploaded by the developer, so it's a little more hands-on than we'd like to see. But it's certainly worth a look-see. So far the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL are available, as well as a slew of European futbol leagues.

XDA Developers via Pocketnow

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Haven't stopped by the WMExperts Software Store this week? You're missing out on some great deals. We've got half-off a select app each day through next Tuesday. What's on tap today? Here's a hint: You productivity fans love it.

WMExperts Software Store

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0

HTC's Touch2 unboxed

Here we see another unboxing of the lower-end HTC Touch2 (not the HD2, not the Touch Diamond 2 and not the Touch Pro 2 — can we get some new names already?). And we're not naming names, but somebody around here is having a seriously tough time with the oversized bezel painted silver like that. "Looks like it's wearing granny panties." Sheesh. Anyway, as part of the Oct. 6 Super Duper Windows Mobile 6.5 launch day in European and Asian markets.

Check out the full unboxing at Electric Pig [via Pocketnow]

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Today's the day our iPhone brethren finally ... FINALLY! ... get MMS. Now they can finally ... FINALLY! ... send pictures over text messaging. Congrats, guys and gals. You certainly have had to wait longer than deserved. (And if you allow a friend or family member to use an iPhone, have them read TiPB's MMS walkthrough.)

As for the rest of us, a big fear is that AT&T's oft-struggling network will come to a screeching halt as thousands of pictures of cats and dinner choices are sent flying through the ether. And, so, we get our troll on and ask: How's it holding up for you?

How's AT&T's network holding up for you now that the iPhone has MMS?(trends)
More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

You can calling it closing the barn door after the horse is out, you can call it too little too late. But our glass is half-full, and we're taking Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's recent admission that Windows Mobile 7 was botched and late as a positive step.

Ballmer (seen above in all his fuzziness) spoke at a Venture Capital Summit for about 200 in California and let loose a couple of nuggets, which of course immediately made it onto Twitter. [via wmpoweruser, image via @manukumar]

Said @pjozefak: "Ballmer says they screwed up with Windows Mobile. Wishes they had already launched WM7. They completely revamped the team."

And said @beninato: "Ballmer re: poor execution in Windows Mobile" 'We've pumped in some new talent and said "This will not happen again" ' "

We can only imagine the weeks and months of stewing that led up to that, but to us it's a good thing. Because the first step to fixing a problem is recognizing it in the first place.

In the same vein, Ballmer sat down for a chat with TechCrunch's Mike Arrington for a brief state of the union. Any Windows Mobile talk was brief and not overly specific, but Ballmer did drop the following:

So I think you can have an Apple in the phone business, or a RIM, and they can do very well, but when 1.3 billion phones a year are all smart, the software that’s gonna be most popular in those phones is gonna be software that’s sold by somebody who doesn’t make their own phone. And, we don’t want to cross the chasm in the short run and lose the war in the long run and that’s why we think the software play is the right play for us for high volume, even though some of the guys in the market today with vertically oriented solutions may do just fine.

Watch Arrington's interview after the break.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Can't get enough of the HTC HD2? Yeah, us, either. Pocketnow got a tip that includes a few more details.

  • The HD2 name is good. (So long, Leo codename.)
  • The phone will launch in Holland by November, for about $800 U.S.
  • As you can see in the picture above, it indeed has a capacitive screen, but multitouch doesn't work in Internet Explorer. That means no pinch-and-zoom.

Presumably that's a current version of PIE running on Windows Mobile 6.5 and not a newer version of the mobile browser — pinch-and-zoom works fine on the Zune HD's flavor of PIE. And we're still pretty doubtful that we'll ever see the HD2 in the U.S. Sorry, folks.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

It's pretty well established that for whatever reason current HTC devices don't come with their graphics hardware enabled  (2D and/or 3D) and while we don't have the energy here to dive into the nitty gritty (that's for a Wiki), we can install a .cab file.

NeoS2007 over at XDA just released his v3 of his famed graphics driver pack for certain WinMo devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Touch HD, Touch Pro 2, Touch Diamond 2 and Sony Ericsson X1).  This .cab basically installs "... the OpenGL ES 1.1 Driver by ATI/AMD with the latest dll's, combined with the latest OpenVG driver".

The idea of course is to speed up the graphics performance when running graphic intensive apps, including Manilla/TouchFlo 3D.  Does it work? It certainly didn't hurt our Sprint Touch Pro 2 and heck, sure it seems a bit zippier. But always hard to tell.  Still may be worth a shot as reportedly it helps with GPS apps like iGO.

Likewise, Noir posted a "d3d driver demo" by game maker MindPol for 480x800 devices. Reportedly they are working on their own driver for their games, to get results like these during game play.  Having recently played some iPhone games myself, yeah, WinMo currently needs all the help it can get.  (Note the MindPol is just a demo and won't work for any software you may have.)

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Good news for those of you using the Google Mobile App: Three new features have been rolled out.

  • My Location is now on board and returns local search results without having to manually input your location.
  • Search options are now suggested as you type, as are URL suggestions. Very cool.
  • If you have Google Maps on your phone, it'll launch when you choose a local search suggestion.

Get the CAB here, and check out more at the Google Mobile blog.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

We're going to ignore for the moment the more-than-likely possiblity that the HTC Leo (aka the HD2) won't be coming anywhere near the United States and instead concentrate on the UK, where Engadget says the phone could be launching as soon as Oct. 12 on the O2 network. Hey, congrats, chaps. We'd just gotten over not getting the Touch HD. Guess it's back to therapy.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Here are a bunch more rumors about Microsoft's Project Pink, courtesy of Paul at MoDaCo, most making total sense and overlapping what we've already heard.

  • Running the show has been Microsoft's "PMX" team -- Premium Mobile Experience -- which includes the assets gained from the purchase of Sidekick-maker Danger.
  • Verizon's the main carrier on board, though other agreements are in place.
  • The "Turtle" sports a 3.5mm headphone jack and a 5-megapixel camera. The "Pure" camera is 8 megapixels.
  • Both devices are dual branded with Microsoft and Sharp.
  • The OS has the same kernel as Windows Mobile 7, but won't look or feel like WM7. The UI is written in Silverlight and uses Seadragon. Looks kinda familiar.
  • Zune HD software and Xbox integration are on board.
  • As these are targeted toward the mass market, parental controls are on board.
  • There is a unified messaging experience. (Should be interesting to see how it matches up against the Palm Pre.)
  • Turtle and Pure will get their own launch party, not at CES.

Keep an eye on the MoDaCo thread, as Paul promises more details.

 

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Good golly miss molly, look what Gizmodo got their hands on:  mock ups of the legendary "Project Pink" devices that are evidently branded Microsoft "Zune phones", made by Sharp.

The first Device above is "Turtle" (from 9to5Mac ) and "...the slide out keyboard houses the mic at the bottom and it is meant to be open when being used as a phone".

The second device, pictured below, is "Pure" and

They will continue to use the App Store model that the Sidekick has employed with over-the-air applications appearing on your phone bill. Danger's phone App Store predated Apple's by two years.

The weird thing is what will these be running: WM7, Zune OS, a combo of both?  And how does that fit in with WM7 in general i.e. application capability? As to carriers, that is anyone's guess though Verizon was rumored early on to be carrying either one or both.

Hey, you asked for a Zune-like phone, looks like you'll get one.  Now the question is, are these your taste? And is this a good idea? Sound off in comments!

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Good news for our friends across the pond on Vodafone: The carrier says to expect the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 in November. That's the X2 and it's sweet keyboard, banana slider and 8.1MP camera. No word on price.

And that's also a couple of months sooner than online dealer Expansys says the X2 will be available, so there ya go.

Also coming down the pike is the LG GM750, which is expected in October and brings along its 5MP camera and black-slab good times.

Vodafone via Coolsmartphone

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Attention Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Apple Phantom Tablet, iPhone, iPod Touch, netbooks, laptops, Newtons, Palm Pilots, calculators, spiral-bound notebooks, loose-leaf paper, pen, pencil and life as we know it:

This. Is. The. Future.

By now you've probably seen Gizmodo's leak of Microsoft's Courier project. If not, take two 7-inch multitouch tablets, sandwich them together like a book, throw in a camera and amaze the heck out of technophiles everywhere.

We wanted to sleep on things and try to digest exactly what we'd seen. And, like everyone else, we're blown away. Surprised it's from Microsoft? Don't be. These are the guys (and gals) who brought us Microsoft Surface. And apologies for beating this drum yet again, but add the Zune HD to that list. Microsoft can do UI. It can do hardware. And it can marry the two.

That said, remember that this is far from a production run. Far, far from it, we imagine, though Giz says it's in the "late prototype" stage. And there's practically no way this couldn't be completely out of the price range of 99 percent of those who'd love to use one. (Right?) Please, please, Microsoft, prove us wrong.

Says Giz:

Until recently, it was a skunkworks project deep inside Microsoft, only known to the few engineers and executives working on it—Microsoft's brightest, like Entertainment & Devices tech chief and user-experience wizard J. Allard, who's spearheading the project. Currently, Courier appears to be at a stage where Microsoft is developing the user experience and showing design concepts to outside agencies.

Says us:

Wow.

Head on over to Giz and check out more pics and a stunning video, then head back here and let us know what you think.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

A team leader at Microsoft China says Redmond's expecting more than 30 phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 before the end of the year.

When you take into account all of the major manufacturers -- HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP -- that number's not all that far-fetched, especially if you take into account WinMo 6.1 phones that will receive upgrades.

Digitimes via Engadget

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Getting tired of the HTC Leo yet? How about its massive 4.3-inch screen and Snapdragon processor? OK, us either.

B3ler3fonte at XDA Developers [via wmpu] is letting loose with some more details, including:

  • No TV-out support.
  • No digital compass.
  • As for the size: "Phone actually feels great holding it and i can say that despite its screen size, its weigh and size (meaning that its really thin) r great advantages."
  • It's got a 1,230mAh battery (at least right now).
  • It'll work as a USB host. (as seen on the Palm 800w)
  • Video res is 640x480.

More pics from B3ler3fonte after the break.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Waze Inc. has officially launched Waze, a free turn-by-turn GPS application, for Windows Mobile. Waze is a social network for motorists to not only provide driving directions but also offer information collected from the users to identify traffic congestion, road hazards and other conditions that affect travel.

The application also has an online component to allow users a live view of maps and conditions. In the coming days we'll take Waze out for a test drive but in the meantime, if curiosity gets the best of you, Waze can be downloaded here.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Kinoma Play, one of our favorite Windows Mobile multimedia players has been updated and now sports location-based features and has tied it into its built-in Twitter app. (Pretty cool for spying on your tweeting neighbors.)

In addition, tweets containing YouTube or Flickr images now open within Kinoma Play instead of launching a browser.

There are a few more bugfixes and updates in this build, too. Find 'em all on the Kinoma blog, and get the update directly in the Kinoma Play app.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

  

So over the last few days you may have heard about Opera releasing their latest beta of Opera Mini, version 5 — which of course is different from Opera Mobile.  The former relies on Java and renders on a server (like Skyfire), whereas the latter runs natively on Windows Mobile and runs direct to the web.

It's been 2 years since version 4 came out, so it makes sense for an overhaul. 

There seems to be a hardcore following of Opera Mini out there though, so we just took it for a spin.  Our thoughts?  Yeah, it's pretty darn good.  In fact, you can really feels how Opera is aiming to merge both Mini and Mobile into one — the graphics in Mini look more and more like Mobile and Mobile 9.7 beta is getting Mini's server-based rendering in the guise of "Turbo Mode".

If you already have Java installed, then just hop here to download the Opera Mini 5 update.  Have no idea about any of this stuff but just want to try it? Boxer112 cab'd it up for us, which you can download from your favorite file host  or grab it from ppcgeeks. Just run the .cab and bam, you'll have an Opera Mini 5, Start menu icon and Java installed.  Easy!

See the full press release here on Opera Mini 5

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
14

Google Sync now pushes Gmail!

Early this year Google released Google Sync, which makes your calendar and apps work is if they were on an Exchange server. Missing from the app, of course, was push capability for Gmail.

That day has come, people.

Google just announced that Google Sync now supports push Gmail for Windows Mobile (5.0 and higher). The usual caveat applies, however: If you're already using an Exchange server for other e-mail, you're out of luck.

Get the full deets here.

More →
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...
0
loading...

Pages